Thanks For Everything

Its good to hear the ward is good! I want to hear about the shooting activity! It makes me wish we were in this ward sooner. The one week i went i laughed harder than i have in a long time in church. That elders Q is awesome. Matt congrats you finally got your side piece! Do you feel like more of a man now? now you just got to move to texas to get the full effect. Also matt PTL. I Really needed to laugh today! These people in the cyber shop prob think im crazy cause i am laughing out loud pretty hard! My comp has been real frustrating. Talk about trunky. He is just burned out. I am dragging him along.
         So to my surprise today i havent been paying much attention to my feet and it shows. I had some massive foot fungus that was eating away at my feet. it doesnt hurt and i would have never notice if i didnt look the other day. lets just say im missing some flesh. haha nothing a little anti fungal between the toes wont fix. its good now i just walk so much and my feet are so all the time so i didnt think anything of it. they are doing much better now though.
        I had a few good experiences this week, one was exchanges. It was nice to work with someone who has the fire. So there are thousands of matatus (van taxis) here and we were coming back from the other area and our van broke down. So we quickly had to change vans and of course my scripts get unclipped from my bag and the matatu is gone. I dont think i have ever prayed so much to find those things. Luckily i had my contact info on a pass along and i received a call two days later from a guy in changamwe. Area that i was serving in earlier in the week. He told me he tried to sell them but for once it was good that some one didnt want the book of mormon. haha As we finally got to him after a 30 minute drive the other elders tracted into him just after he called us and were waiting for us with that guy. Was it just by chance, I say nay! The lord loves me and is with us all the time. Also we had our two baptisms. We had three lined up but the right before one guy backed out. He was fearful..... Oh dang we have to go!!! I will finish the rest next week.

         so i got some more time to email. but the shift key is missing from this key board so sorry for not capitalizing anything. so yeah what i was saying is this guy was fearful because he was going away to college and it was going to be really hard for him to stay strong because there isnt a branch within a three hour drive. i respect him for really wanting the power to be a solid member. he knows its true. he is a very powerful kid he just knows with out the support system he might fall. we are continuing to teach him though in hopes that the lord will pour out his spirit upon him and give him that strength to stay strong.but the service was very powerful. the speaker just got off his mission and really put it into perspective for these men. it was very spiritual and was really awesome to see this member baptized them. he had never performed and ordnance before so it was really cool. so after the spiritual high we climb into a matatu headed back to our chapel and "aint nothing but a g thang'' by snoop dogg comes on. hahaha we have a saying as missionaries here in kenya. we say T.I.K., this is kenya.
         its good to hear that the phillies are doing so well. all you need is good pitching. please keep me up dated on sports, college football, baseball etc.
         sorry about the professor, he sounds like a genuine ronny.
         oh so its like totally normal for guys here to hold hands which is just not cool. they are just good friends and hold hands. so the other day this member was walking with us and pulled me out of the way of a piki piki (motor bike) and just kept holding my hand. Awful!!! after walking with his sweaty hand clinching mine the phone rang in my pocket. so luckily i said i had to answer and pulled my hand away. and then so he wouldnt try again i put my hands in my pockets. haha wierd.
        but im doing really well. today the scotts are taking us bowling which is so awesome. i really hope i bowl well.
        i have not received any mail at all. first of all it takes forever plus its sent to the mission home and they only bring it down maybe once a transfer if we are lucky. and im really worried about that package i sent you because the scotts said packages take about two weeks and i sent that on the 5th of sept. so i am really praying it gets to you. that sd card had sooooo many awesome pictures. i would email all the pictures but the computers we have access to are super slow and it takes 20 minutes to just up load one photo.
but i am doing well. i love you all so much. thanks for everything. matt and meree i honestly wouldnt be out here experiencing these wonderful things if it wasnt for all the things you taught. i dont think i would be on a mission if we hadnt come to live with you. so thank you so so much for helping me get to this point. i love you all so much and please thank everyone for me for all the help love and support.

Love Elder Haynes

This Is How We Roll

Hey Family,
      Wow you guys are busy! But think about it, the best memories we have had is when we are the busiest. Yeah just so you know it says this letter was sent an hour ago! haha so if i would have come earlier to email i would have missed it. I hate how long mail takes. It actually could take only two weeks but because i am in mombasa it is all sent to the mission home and brought to us just when the APs come which is only like once a transfer if we are lucky. So yeah i havent got any mail yet. Just a letter from AMY in the MTC. Bless her heart!!! Tell Bronzen way to go in school! Thats awesome. Thats also cool that he just wants to focus on baseball. For him to even think about playing up these days he has to eat sleep and drink baseball. What classes are you guys taking? Where has Matt been working? The camel in the picture was just chilling on the beach. No owner, just chillin. Thats how we roll in africa. Our investigators are doing well and progressing. The baptisms are this week. We found three awesome amazing families this week and they are very open to the church. People here are so humble though and just listen and believe everything you say. Its good to a point but annoying cause you never know if they really understand cause they dont ask questions and are pretty shy reserved people. I have to pull their personalities out cause my comp is the same way. He has been pretty frustrating lately. He only has a transfer left and it shows. He is just short with people and isnt really sincere. When he bears his testimony he just rattles it off and you dont feel anything. I am doing my best to be a PMG missionary but i am still human and i have a personality. Many guys out here forget that and just teach a lesson and not people.
       We ate pizza inn the other night! So good to taste american food! It still doesnt even compare but just to have a break from beans, rice and chapatis its heaven. I have eaten some pretty sketchy food and am doing okay with it.
       So sister scott is like my mom/grandma! We had DDM at their house this week and we had french toast, bacon and hash browns. Then cake and ice cream. I love the USA. I tried to explain to some members what an appetizers and desserts were. The just looked at me like i was crazy.
       As far as stuff in packages, just hide valuable stuff. Oh and right before i left i left my ipod on the ping pong table and told matt to put stuff on it. I hop he knows where it is.
       I write keaton and jordan every week. We always stay in contact. But it would be nice to hear from our family members. If they get some time out of their busy lives maybe they could email me. I saw the blog. Its looking good. Hopefully you can get my package soon so you can up load lots of pictures.
      Its good to hear you are being blessed! I hope the missionary work with the grumpy old man goes well.
      I have not bitten my nails since i have been in Africa! I feel goofy every time i cut them though cause i feel uncoordinated. Its just to sketchy to put your hands near your mouth let alone in. We play games as we are walking cause its pretty boring. We point out how many people are publicly urinating. Who ever sees the most at the end of the day wins. I saw twelve the other day. Its ridiculous. Also I feel like its quiggly down under, or national geographic here for all the body parts ive seen. Women got to feed the babies in our lessons and thats what they are for so why cover. Uh it bugs but this is africa.
     Its to dangerous to ride bikes here because of all the crazy drivers. We take a van taxi called a matatu if it is a really far distance. We really could be much more productive if we didnt have an hour walk between visits. Its frustrating but o well. Transfers are in two weeks but im pretty certain i will stay with my comp till he dies in november. Tell bronzen he cant touch my scoot! haha Maybe when he has his permit.
     I am doing good other than that. We are pressing on in the work of the lord. I dont think i will ever get used to cold showers though. We are so spoiled in the US. I look forward to p day like its my birthday. haha we say p day is our sabbath. But yeah i really hope you get that package this week. I want you guys to see my pictures from all my adventures!
I love you all! Thanks for being dilligent in the emails!

I Love the USA

Hello family, thanks for the package! I might get it in the next month. I also sent you a package on the 5th with a few things and my sd card with over 500 pictures so i am really praying it arrives safely. So i first will answer questions so i dont forget. Matt, we are currently teaching 10 investigators that are progressing. 3 are getting baptized on the 24th and 7 have committed to baptism and are very excited. There is a problem with 3 of them getting to church though cause they live so far. Nichorus, Nielson, and Steven. They are very poor young men who live on the furthest part of our area. If they were to walk they would have to start at midnight to get there by ten to start church. We are really praying that god will provide a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he comandeth them. The others are doing well another young man named samuel and two sisters patricia and carol. Patricia was a referral from a sister in the ward that is amazing. She was invited over and we taught her the first lesson. She told us she was a muslim and a year ago she became christian. She attends a reformed christian church. She seemed kinda wierded out by the restoration at first but then started to understand. she committed to read the book of mormon and ask if it and what we were teaching her is true. I felt prompted to invite her to give the closing prayer and asked her to ask right now. She accepted. I have never heard a better worded or sincere prayer. The spirit hit her so hard she could hardly finish the prayer. We sat in silence watching her cry and watching the spirit teach. She said she had never felt like this before. Wow hey did i mention the church is true. Porter my mission is so awesome and i am loving every minute of it. The ice cold shower every morning is the only bad thing. But yes i do think about you buddy. You and owen constantly bring a smile to my face throughout the day. Bronzen, i havent met that sister yet cause she lives in Nairobi, but i asked sister broadbent and she said she knows her and she will be home this month some time. Dude how is football? You have a family name to up hold so you better hit hard and go balls out every play. Body size doesnt matter in football. The coaches look are hard work and heart. Bronz you out hustle everyone! Lift, lift, lift. That is all.(send pictures please via email or mail) Matt, i have not heard about any sacrifice challenge but i know they have study goals each transfer. Meree, I would love my ipod with tons of uplifting stuff. Tab choir, conference talks, the bible etc. Oh phase ten :) i miss that game. Any treats really cause you cant find american products here. OH OH OH cereal. I didnt think i would miss anything, but cereal is sorely missed. They have it  here but it is bad quality stuff and is super expensive. Meree, i havent heard anything about general conference but im sure we get to watch it. Matt, I dont have to wear shower sandals cause the first thing i did was detail my bathroom and shower but other guys do. My toilet is broken like half the stuff in my flat. That is what they call apartments btw. So i had to fix it and jimmy rig it to be able to flush. I woke up today and cleaned for like 5 hours solid. My comp is one dirty african. I made him clean his bathroom today! You remember the tv show hoarders, yeah its like one of their bathrooms. Our tap water in the flat is salt water so we cant drink it. Brushing my teeth is kinda nasty. I am teaching my comp to be cleaner. Cause we have nasty bugs in our flat. I jixed (chlorox) the whole place today. My comp really stinks and i found out why. He buys anti-perspirant with out deodorant. Dont worry, tu nagi funza! (He is learning). Meree thanks for teaching me the importance of cleanliness! The hadley way isnt the only way but its pretty damn good! Heck my comp didnt have dish soap when i got there and washing a bowl that had raw meat juice with cold water and his hands. Crazy! He thinks im a clean freak. Matt, im getting used to the sweat. I carry a hankercheif and use it like crazy. I have not eatin anything besides rice, beans, chapatis, and beef. Every DA we have is the same food. Oh and ugali. Which is a cake made out of maze meal and water(seriously just those two ingredients). Kinda like grits but thicker. Like no joke you can make a boucey ball out of it. Pretty bland. My taste buds are adapting though. As far as recipes go, we are able to get most everything, just not as good. Cheese is the so expensive which is really sad. It is ten us dollars for a block. So we just go to the same place and fill up on cheese every time we shop. Last p day after we emailed we went and played soccer on the beach. Sadly that is the only sport i will be playing for the next two years. But it was fun. Our zone leader is a white guy from SA and was playing dirty and it was making me mad. He was also bragging about how tough he was cause he was training with the army before he came out. So the ball came to me and we were kinda going back and forth with it and he decides it would be a good idea to hit me in the groin. Big mistake! I bull rushed him and slammed him on the sand and pinned him in 3 seconds. I would have broken my high schools fastest pin record. I wouldnt let him up until he apologized. I bent his glasses pretty bad but all the elders say man dont mess with haynes. I kinda felt bad after mostly cause i had massive stomach ache, but he deserved it. He played fair the rest of the time.Oh so we had DDM on wednesday and the senior couple was there. Hmmm... just guess where they are from... Taylor. Brother and sister scott. They know Sheila so well and talked a lot about mark. They are actually cooking for us this week. Finally american food. Oh so i told you we take a ferry to the mainland everday, so there is this preacher on there shouting everyday. And the other day he sees me and says Hey muzungu! Welcome to kenya. Over 1000 people on the boat and there eyes go directly to me. Like i said i turn some heads. This man is full of it. One of the members friends has a problem and asked him to pray for her. He said if she sacrificed 3000 shillings(which is a ton of money for these people) to him he would pray on her behalf. but she also had to fast three days and he promised god would answer her question. People pay this guy and it makes me mad! Tell the ward thanks for the support and tell our siblings to email me! OH tell tish the watch has been a so nice  to have! And Oh My Gosh!!! Dont even talk about panda! Talk about major craving for the past month. And wasting it is oh so sad! Have you been to the wash lately? Tell ryan to email me and tell me whats new there! Oddly i miss the wash. After working there for 3 1/2 years it kinda becomes part of you. Please send me pictures! i would love to see what you guys are up to. We go every thursday to an orphan home and do service. We also travel out to this guy from northing utahs home. He owns a coconut oil company here and his house is insane!!! He makes some cheese! The investigators that live very far are this guys employees.Anyways i dont have much more to report. I love you all and i am loving every minute of this priceless experience. Love Elder Haynes

ps please let me know as soon as you get that package!!!

Be Grateful

Be grateful! If nothing else be grateful. Hello family! Its good to hear life is busy and blessings are coming. You should see this place! It has its beauty but man it has ugly. The area im in is called Lakoni. So we actually live on Mombasa island. everyday we take the ferri across the channel to our proselyting area. Its pretty cool. We see giant oil tankers coming in everyday. Oh did i mention its the Indian ocean? Well it is. I honestly never thought i would see it before i got this call. So Elder Baylejusa and I have three baptisms on the 24th. George, Mark, and Leonard. They are young humble men looking for a better life. Everyone here knows the bible so well. Its humbling cause i dont know what i should yet. There are so many Muslims here!!! Which is kinda hard because even if they accept what we are teaching and want to convert it is a huge process. They have to have a meeting with the mission pres on top of the baptismal interview. It is also very difficult because of how serious their religion is. They can be killed for forsaking their previous beliefs. So its rather intense. We are discouraged from teaching them but if it works out they are the strongest members. Oh tell the metcalfs i met the callahans. they are the doctors of africa. So driving to mombasa from nairobi we saw elephants, baboons, and zebras just off the road. There is a tribal people here called the messiah. They are the most fearsome people in africa. Lions are said to even stay clear of them cause they kill anything that stands against them. To keep their strength they go a week on just a drink mixture of blood and milk. Yuck! That doesnt even sound half good cause the milk here is disgusting. They put so many preservatives in it it just tastes nasty. I would rather drink skim. Crazy right! So most of the people have a really hard time saying haynes for some reason its always hayness or aynes. Everyday all the little kids yell muzungu which means light skinned. I turn some heads here. I have never been stared at so much. All the kids love me though. Their parents send them out to touch me because it brings good luck to their family to touch a white person. I am learning a lot of the language. The members are teaching me alot. The branch here is kinda struggling cause the branch pres isnt very serious about his calling. Only a few people have callings and lack of planning on their part means when in doubt have the missionaries speak, teach, bless, uh frustrating. We will steer them in the right direction though. So kenya is the lowest baptizing mission in africa, but we have a 99% retention rate. This is good for me because i am a firm believer that true conversion takes time. We never push of harp for baptism. it is always their choice. in uganda they are baptizing thousands but most never come back and some never get confirmed so i think we are doing just fine. I have lost a few pounds but nothing big. It is only like 80 degrees here everyday but the humidity is awful. I sweat and sweat and sweat. This mission only calls men to serve because boys wont last. We walk like soliders. we easily walk 15-20 miles a day. These shoes are going down fast! I washed my first batch of laundry today by hand. Once again be grateful. My forearms will be massive when i get home. I am sleeping better but i am afraid i will be tired for two years but thats okay. My feet are fine. A nice member in SA cut my hair and its just how i like it, but i need to really find someone here with some really talent. Soda here is so cheap and every where you go there is coke. Which makes it hard not to drink. Not to mention its only 25 cents for a bottle so i dink a lot. Water is just so sketching and must be filtered for us americans to even consider it and even it can give you diarrhea. My mission pres is probably the coolest man in the church im my opinion next to holland. His theory is work hard play hard which is just so nice. You need fun times to stay sane here. I hope everyone is doing good. Im getting so addicted to the spirit in our lessons. The joy i feel makes me want to have more and more. Lets just say if it was in liquid form i would shoot it up. They have cyber shops all over so i will always have internet access. Tell everyone to send mail too cause its better that christmas! I love it here. This new training program is hard but good. We study two hours of comp study every morning so we dont get to start proselyting till 11 everyday. We also have a portable dvd play as part of training to watch PMG videos. I cant believe they trust us to have these things. The lord has really been raising the bar for missionaries. I love this work and my testimony is reaffirmed daily. So something thats pretty cool is crime isnt very high here and its not cause there is a lot of law enforcement cause i haven't even seen a cop since Ive been here. Its called mob justice.Theft is taken very seriously and if you are seen stealing someone will yell theif! Then everyone around beats him down bad. I have seen it twice already. Its kinda cool but scary at the same time. Anyway i love all of you and hope all is well. I am sending some stuff today so look for it in the next few weeks.
love elder sephers

Headed to the Mssion Home

Seth was able to call us on Wednesday, August 31st to let us know that he made it safely to the mission home where he met President and Sister Broadbent. It only took 7 hours by bus to get there! He has been assigned to serve in Mombasa as his first area and he just happened to be praying that he would be sent there. He sounds exhausted and is loving every minute of it!