Write Me!

Elder Seth Haynes
Kenya Nairobi Mission
Upper Hill Road
Next To Citigroup
PO Box 46162-00100
Nairobi, Kenya

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Another Great Week!

Dear Matt Meree Bronzen Porter Hobbs and Jason(peanut),
       So i like Jason, thats my vote! You know like Jason Werth! Anyway i cant believe Megan Metcalf got married. You know i went to high school with Taylor and we were in the same college ward. He was my Elders quorum President after i got released from 2nd counselor. He served his mission in Brazil like everyone and their dog these days. I am glad to hear it went well. I still like Kyle XY though!!! haha Its kinda weird but we are so close with the metcalf family its like now we are in laws. Well I am glad to hear things are going okay with the baby i hope HE is getting big and strong! 
       So we had another great week. I have been playing allot of Bball. The zone here is pretty cool! Easily the best zone i have been in. We are really enjoy doing fun wholesome recreational activities. hahaha and the sisters here are pretty cool. We are really united and are really doing work. The only thing thats kinda crummy is we stay in the land of Canaan and coming into town is Egypt! Yeah i am reading the old testament, its no big deal! We are in the bush which is good but we are just so far from everyone. Like the rest of the Elders stay all in town so we just kinda feel left out. Its good though that Elder Rakotomalala is so cool or it would be hard. Today we went to a zoo/cultural center. It was way fun i got some great pictures. It was really cool cause they built ever kind of tribes houses. They had monkeys, snakes(big enough to swallow a rabbit), Lions, cheetahs, Cranes, Tortoise, and Ostrich. The ostrich bit my hand. haha its kinda cool cause they dont have teeth so its like a book is closing on your hand. It only hurts a little. But yeah it was great. Oh the really cool part is there is a brand new sister just from the mtc in our zone. She is so humble and quiet. I noticed ever time everyone was taking pictures she was feeling bad cause she doesnt have a camera. So i got the whole zone to each pitch in like ten bucks and we got her a really nice camera. We had an elder take pictures of her the whole time with it at the zoo then after we surprised her with it. She teared up pretty good. She is a really cool girl. I just like her cause i think she has only said 3 words each time we see each other. Humility is the key to inspiration! haha
       So about my shamba(garden) its going good. Everything was growing good till the neighbor kids decided to hold a dance recital and tap dance it to death. Like honestly parents control your kids! I am quite perturbed! I think i still have a few corn plants and 2 squash so i think i am gonna booby-trap them some how.(thats what i said i said booty-trap)-Goonies Other than that we are doing great. Staying obedient. Its so true that obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles. Man it could not be more true. I love everyday here. My study has been so good lately and i am really loving that precious time. Oh so did i tell you that i found a ping pong net and paddles on the street so we set it up on a table at our house. Its so much fun! Between that and my comp getting a guitar its heaven when we get home. You can name any song and he can play it. I dont think you can fit anymore talent in such a little body. Good guy.
      So we have a baptism next sunday! His name is muthoka. He is a stud! He is a great investigator. I dont know why i havent written you about yet. I love Huruma. The branch has some outrageous problems but the solid people who pay tithing are so strong. You can go to church and easily pick out those with a solid testimony. If the branch pres doesnt give some people welfare they turn in all their church material and leave. Then when a new branch is called they come back and do the same. Pretty bogus. But the solid ones are solid. We are really close with our branch pres! I have really learned to brown nose to get some brownie points. He is big people(rich) and wants us for dinner all the time. He works right on lake Victoria so he is bringing some nice fish back and inviting us for a feast. Being a missionary has its perks.
      Well We are doing so great. The work is really moving. The numbers we are getting put dar to shame. Man I dont miss it. Thanks for emailing me family! Do you have any trips planned for the summer? Baseball, flea market, Beach? I hope so! Man i miss those trips and riding rollercoasters and losing $254.50. Yeah i still remember. Anyway i hope so much you guys are continuing on. Oh oh oh I got such a great surprise. I got a package from Adams and the Maxfields and johnsons. Man they are so awesome! I am going to writ them this week. But of course it will take a few months to get there. I love you guys so much!

-Elder haynes
Ps Future package ideas,
Fajita taco gravy sloppy joe guacamole packets and any other seasoning that is good. Anything mexican. I need spice.
Kool aid Pakets! (dont be stingy, Bring em, sugar is cheap)
Instant refried beans, potatoes, Stove top stuffing and anything else Instantly delicious.
Anything eatable really. I miss food! 
Dont worry i am not fat! 
Thanks I love you guys.

Things are Rolling

Hello Hadleys!
    How are all of you doing? It has been kinda a crazy week. Sorry i didnt email you guys on monday. It was a crazy busy day and we didnt get the chance. So today i got sometime and permission from the APs. My heart stopped when you told me about the plane crash. Two of the peoples names are guys i went to high school with.I am so glad it was not the same guys. Man death is such crzy  thing. All those guys future is gone. Please keep me updated on things. I would really like to know if they determine the cause. 
     Man i just have a really crazy feeling right now. Okay so my week was good. It was a little hard but good. We got bounced all week long. We set up so man appointments and people just were not showing up. I guess this makes you appreciate the good weeks though. So although it was a rough week it seems the branch is doing a bit better and we received two golden referrals from members. One was from our newly called Branch mission leader(the branch hasnt had one since last AUG) He has just gotten engaged to a nice young lady who really likes to learn and has a list of inspired questions. She is solid and he said he wont marry her until she gets dunked so we are doing our best with her. Another is from a recent convert who just moved into the branch last week and his wife is not a member. They have only been married 3 months and she loves church. She struggles to speak english so thanks the good lord i know a enough swahili to teach her mixing english and swahili.
    So Matt you better watch yourself! I have been playing ball everyweek since i have been here and i aint gonna lie my skills are being honed as we converse. Haha my companion surprised me so much. He is a little baller. Probably the only African who knows how to play. And he is legit! Haha i have been calling him Rakoto da baller lately. He likes it. Man i have never gotten along with someone so well. I LOVE my companion. He is so great. I never knew what i was missing out on on my mission till now. This is what companionship unity really is! President B just called me out of the blue this week just to talk. He said i just wanted to let you know how much you are loved and appreciated here. It mad me feel really good. My companions wonder sometimes why he calls to just talk but he never calls anyone else. haha So the APs are here for a leadership training and they are staying with us. The current APs are so amazing! Easily the best ones we have had. Elder Raymond trained my companion and my trainer trained raymond so we are all one big happy family. Elder Pocock like my best friend is also the AP. We have so much fun and its so great to be around guys that can laugh and have a good time. Dar was dryer that a popcorn fart! haha Well i gott cut things short this week. Please tell bronzen to write me. Be patient with him. Some thing i read recently said "true doctrine understood changes behavior much faster than the study of behavior changes behavior" They were talking about getting people to do their home teaching but i think applies here to. I just really want to talk to him like i used to. This is just such a crucial time of his life right now. I will pray and study for him. Please keep up and thanks for writing me it really means so much to see your name in the inbox each pday.

-Elder Haynes

A Week of Miracles!!!

A Week of Miracles!!! 
      I love Eldoret! I love my companion! I love the people! Its like i have come home!(Kinda) Man what a great week! Okay first of all talking to you guys again was so fantastic! So there is one down fall to Eldoret, the places to email. The computers are terrible. So Thanks for sending me a voice recording, but i wont be able to hear it for a long time. I have tried to down load it on 4 different computers and they are the best most expensive place in town soooo its all emails for the next while I am here. Sorry! 
      So let me tell you about my week. Alright so tuesday was amazing. We got a call monday night from a guy who lives in Sango. A town about 40 miles from eldoret. He said he found a gospel principals book in Nairobi and was very touched and wants the missionaries to come teach him and his whole family. We didnt know this place even my companion has only been in the area for 1 transfer and his last comp was a little dead he didnt see much of it. So we have been counseled to sick to center of strength so i really was kinda sketchy on going. Even if they want to be baptized they have to be attending church and its to far for them to travel. So we kept having the feeling we need to go. So we did. So we took a matatu to a town called soy. Its about 30 miles. Then we hoped on some piki pikis and headed into the deep bush! Along the way i wash thinking this is crazy we dont even know anything about this cat! But we finally arrived in a little town called Sango. And by town i mean 2 buildings. There we met a lady who spoke perfect english who said her husband is Wycliff, the guy that called. So we took a walk. We walked for about 45 minutes. before reaching their place. So along the way it was the prettiest green place ever! The trees were growing in an arch over the roads. So cool! So we get to his house that is like on the top of a hill over looking a huge beautiful valley. Like so green and the mountains are just awesome. It was like a movie! So i head somthing kinda loud so asked wycliff what the noise was, he said its waterfalls. just 5 minutes walk from his home is like 40 foot water falls. I think i might buy a mud hut there! So we go into his home which was not made of mud, it was a legit nice nice house. He has turkeys chickens ducks cows and the biggest personal garden i have ever seen. So we go into his house and sit in his giant living room. He has a full book self in there that is labeled "the church of jesus christ of latterdays saints library. He has hymn books, books of mormon, Gospel principals, ensigns etc. Like my heart started pounding when i saw that. So he sits down with his wife and kids and tells us his story. He found a gospel principals book in Nairobi in a trash can at a bus stop while traveling to his home.He read the whole thing and called the number and connected him to salt lake. He talked to a girl who was from kenya but serving in salt lake on her mission. She directed him to a branch in nairobi he could attend. He was taught and baptized and now lives deep in the bush. He got married and had children and teaches them everyday. They read the book of mormon as a family every night and hold their own little church service in that living room. It was amazing. He told me to ask his three year old daughter who is the living prophet and of course she said thomas s monson. I cant believe some peoples faith. He said he even pays his tithing and fast offering. His tithing he sends to the branch in nairobi where he was baptized and fast offerings he pepares meals for his really old neighbor who doesnt have anything. Man i cried! So we taught his family how to conduct music because thats all they are lacking at this point. So i taught the mama how to lead and we sang hymns for like an hour. Thanks to sister worthen i am awesome at leading music now. So this man called the mission pres and invited him to his home. Pres B says we will go together when he comes to Eldoret next. Man i love my mission.
       Next I got a call from brother David. A baptism i had in mombasa. He said he is a branch missionary and spoke in church on baptism. I was so happy. He said he has already got his passport and everything preparing for his mission in Jan. Exactly 1 year after his baptism. Man that one i cried like a baby. He is so converted to the lord.
      Next we contacted a guy named timothy. He is a very lonely sad guy about 45 years old. He has allot of problems in his life. We invited him to church and he was there 30min early. He participated in classes and loved every minute of it. So when we contacted him we gave him the joseph smith pamphlet and he said he had read it 5 times. and when he showed it to me it looked like it went through a washing machine. He asked for a book of mormon and we taught him the restoration through out the week. He came again to church 30min early. I am just astounded by this guy. You can see he hasnt eaten in a while and walks two hours to church and has never once asked us for money. In elders quorum we had a lesson on prayer. The teacher asked if anyone had recieved a answer to a prayer lately and would like to share. Timothys hand was the first one up. He stood up which was kinda cool and told everyone that he prayed about the book of mormon and knows its true. He said he has never felt such love before in his life. He teared up and said he has found god and knows this church is true. Man we arent doing anything the lord is doing this work for his children. Timothy is getting baptized very soon. 
      So to top it all off we received a referral from the elders in town of a guy on the matatu who asked a few Q's. We were able to go to his home after church. He was a young guy named Jared. He is newly wed to his wife Honest. I have never seen an african respect his wife like this guy. You could just feel that they already know gospel culture. I have never felt the spirit like i have in that lesson. Once again i cried they cried we all cried. They were so interested in life after death we talked allot of the Plan of Salvation. They are coming to church next week and want to be baptized. Man i am turning into a softy out here.
      So that was my week. Probably the most spiritual on mission so far. So a little bit about Eldoret. We have 4 branches here one has a chapel and they have a district. Its sooo nice. We have a senior couple here called the Babcocks. Sister babcock is nice but that elder babcock is a little different. I wont say anymore about that. haha They just are still learning culture and that Africans are smart and educated people too. hahaha members dont like them which is a little problem but we are praying for them. I wish the Worthens could have just transferred with me. haha
       Oh oh oh so another thing. So we have a big yard where we stay and i planted a rather large shamba!(Garden) I planted the squash that maria sent and i found watermelon cantaloupe and Sweet corn. Pssh who knew right! So  i will up date you on how that goes. haha
     So that has been my week. This place is so good! There are some problems in the branch but we are working well with members to get it fixed up quick. I love you guys and hope you are doing so good. Man i am really lost in the work here. Its like i am back in mombasa again.
     IMPORTANT!!! Okay so Matt Meree if there is any way humanly possible to pick me up from this place in just over a year from now that would be so amazing! I can give you all the info in the world but unless you are here you will never understand. As long as you can pay for flights everything else is not a problem. We can stay with couples and I know every form of transport for hardly anything and members will feed us. It would be so cool if that is anyway possible. think about it and get back to me!
   Well i love you guys I hope you had a fantastic week. I pray for you guys everyday and again thank you so much for all your support and all you do for me. I love you guys!

-Elder Haynes

Mother's Day

Wow, I am glad to hear you had a great day! It was so good to talk. I just wanted to say thanks for all you guys do! I will pray very hard for peanut and God is definitely telling you guys something. Haha you guys aren't going to be interviewed any time soon for successful birth control. You are definitely in my prayers. I want to voice record you guys more its just kinda hard without having something to answer ya know. So if you can send me a little one everyweek i promise to do it too! Well thanks again! And i think i will need that card soon so thank you so much for doing that! I love you guys so much and the laughs were much needed!
Elder Haynes

PTL! I am Headed to Eldoret!

Hey everyone!
    First off i must apologize for my lack of communication. Can i blame the Tanzanian government? So as you probably heard from the worthens power has been a big problem here. Just in tryin to write you this email the power has gone off twice. So i am trying to be patient. Thank you sooooooooooo much for all the birthday stuff it is so great. Man i am so spoiled. I dont deserve all that. Sorry i havent got to hear the birthday singing but i will hear it next week. Great news i am being transfered!!! Whoot! I am headed back to kenya. PTL!!! I am going to be a ZL in Eldoret. I have wanted to serve here since i have been out. Its so beautiful. And..... Its cold!!!! Its the coldest place in the mission. We are up in the mountains. Its north east Kenya. Oh i am so excited. My companion is Elder Rakotomalala. He is from Madagascar. He is so awesome and as humble as they come. I know him pretty good already so i am ecstatic! Well i will have all the information for you and..... sorry power went again, will catch you up on everything on sunday. I am flying to Nairobi on wednesday. The sadest part is that i am leaving the worthens. Sister worthen almost cried but she is so happy for me to get out of this zone. I have tons of pictures i will send next week of my birthday and such. Well i love you all and appreciate all the love and thank you so much for a great 20 day. Man i am old these days.

-Elder Haynes

Ps The resees cake type deal was amazing. I am eternally in your debt! 

A Package Came!


Hey Family!
    Thanks for the birthday wishes and the pictures! Is that owen or a porter clone? Seriously i cant tell! He is huge. Is he talking? I wrote all of you some letters. I hope they get there before i get home! haha You guys look so good! This picture makes me home sick. Man Baseball!!!!! Bronzen are you freaking kidding me? What are you eating? Meree what happened to me! Gosh dangit i just want six feet! Can all the family, i mean all the family, Fast for me to grow. I need just a few inches. Is that wrong? Yes it is. Oh so i got to watch conference! Talk about amazing. I have officially have been called to repentance. Seriously, I could have been getting all that out of conference this whole time!? Its like everything applies so much more from the investigators to family to my companion. Its like they talk with God and know exactly what we need! haha  I loved the talks! Man those men, I hope i can be a fraction of what they are someday. I love this church! Oh i have yet to open the hefty package that you sent. I am not gonna lie its hard but i have yet to break into it. So my companions birthday is the 26th so i might open it with him. I think i am gonna wake up early and make some banana pannies for my comp. We will see. Its hard to be kind and share things with my comps cause they dont appreciate or like them. But we will see. 
    So i dont want you to worry... well nevermind i wont tell you that. Anyway so things are good. Like i mentioned last week we are really focusing on members. I need to be transferred. I love change! I just need a new place to serve with a comp who is ready to go with the fire. Since i have been on mission i have had to take the lead. I wish i could see it from the other perspective. I dont know if my personality can deal with it though. haha but we are doing great. So the Worthens are taking me out for birthday dinner. They called and asked if they could take us for pizza at this nice Italian place. Sister Worthen she told me i am her favorite! haha but its not a cheap meal. The food here is either dirt cheap or like high end ritzy stuff. But sorry this week has not been to exciting. Thanks for all you do! I miss you guys so much. I love you!
-Elder Haynes