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

Busy, Busy, Busy

Hello Family,
     Hey hows it going! You  guys seem so great! I am glad you all are doing so well. I got your Package!!! Whoot! Ah i am so excited to open that sucker! I am really so grateful for your support. I dont know what i would do with out you guys back there! Thanks for the pictures this week and all this good stuff. I am so excited for the up coming weeks because i turn the big 20 and i get to call you guys!!! May 6th the last day of the transfer i will be calling. Wow its like i just called for christmas! Man i also got a package from Amy and David and becca gibson! They have sent me letters and package(s). Man they are so great. I want to send them a letter but my thank you will take a good month to get there so if you could find their email i would be eternally grateful so i can thank them properly. They sent me a valentines package full of stuff to make smores! Haha yeah the valentines package just got here. Man mail is lame here. Oh and i kinda am running out of money to receive packages. Like i am so grateful for them, but they are kinda expensive to pay customs on. These last three were $40. We are allowed to use our allotment on postage and packages which helps out but This mail system is so corrupt. 
      Anyway this last week was pretty insane. We had zone conference this week which was so freaking stressful but so spiritual and rewarding. President B said it was the nicest in the mission that he went to. It was nice for someone to appreciate me trying to make things nice. My comp is a whole lot of hot air. I do EVERYTHING! He is so exhausting. I am trying to be patient but he cant resolve a simple issue on his own. I know thats what companions are for but he thinks he is all that and a bag of lays costco family size tater chips! Just an indication of this is his middle name which is Pride!!! haha Malvern Pride Chimbetete. We are having some problems but these are the things i am supposed to learn here i guess. I got a few calls last week from Zimbabwe asking for Malvern. Me and the Pres are a little worried about him. Anyway it was a really good conference and i really got to talk with and spend some good time with president B.
       My favorite part though was having Elder Pocock around. He came in for the conference. All of Tanzania comes to Dar es Salaam for ZC. He is my good buddy from the mtc the one from sugar city idaho. Oh Thanks matt for all you advice. I have never had such trying situations and delt with more suborn personalities and problems in my life like i have since i have been a ZL. Its just hard being one of two white guys in the zone and if something goes wrong its the Americans fault. Its a problem but the lord is teaching me. President be said you were put here because this zone was in big trouble. He said it is 10 times better now. I now know that you are put in different areas for different reasons. Man i learn allot everyday. I feel like once you have gotten along with East Africans you can get along with anyone. I know that love is the only thing that works. I thought how can i keep giving these guys love when they dont respect my effort and service being rendered. Then i thought about Jesus Christ, Does he every stop loving us when we are Bogus? Man i am learning allot but am so excited to be transfered. I have got my fingers crossed to leave soon. Man i really miss the people of kenya. Its just very very different here! I just dont feel like i am building as strong relationships with people as i did there. 
    We have also changed our missionary work completely. We feel that there is no point baptizing into a week branch that wont nourish and keep them. The work is there but they are not being taken care of like they should. So we are focusing on educating members and visiting recent converts and less actives. We are praying this will help these people. They complain that they need more missionaries because they want a stake. But we are trying to pound this into their little brains that if they are complacent despite the amount of missionaries they will never have a stake. So yeah thats what we are doing these days. Sorry if this is so short. We got to go. Thanks for all you do and i am so grateful for you guys. I love you so much!
-Elder Haynes

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!!!
    Time aint a thang! Yeah i dont know if you know but today is my 8
month mark! Man i just started. Time is nothing. So how was easter?
Any fun stuff happening that side? Our easter was pretty special!  So
we had two baptisms. Grace and Mercy, twin sisters, were baptized by
their father who was baptized like 8 monthes ago. We have been
teaching them since i arrived in Dar. They are SMART girls. They are
six teen but they talk like they are 25. Man some of their questions
really kept us on our toes. We were very excited for them. So saturday
night we had correlation meeting with the Branch Mission Leader. This
guy is a slacker!!! Man he is frustrating. Anyway he was supposed to
fill the font that night so we wouldnt be doing it on sunday. So after
the meeting he asked the guard to fill it. Elder Kiggundu and i both
said no its okay lets wait till tomorrow its to late now. The guard
said no no no its fine i will remember to turn off the water. We both
again said no but this guy insisted. So we ignored the promptings of
the holy ghost(not smart i dont recommend it) and went home. So sunday
morning we get to the church and of course there is like an 2 inches
of water in the ENTIRE chapel! Happy Easter! The guard fell asleep!
Every member was scooping water and trying to mop it all up. DISASTER!
haha it was really funny at the same time. Luckily the whole chapel is
tile! So it was tempting to lather up and have a giant slip n slide.
haha But it was really cool to see everyone come together to get
something accomplished. We kept apologizing and the members were like
hey it is a blessing to serve. It was really cool. I think these guys
are finally catching the vision of the church. Anyway so we had a
great service and the baptisms were so cool and the girls bore some
really powerful testimonies after. It is great to see the fruits of
our labors. We then headed right after the service to a members home
for easter lunch. This mama can cook! Oh man i ate so much, then after
that great experience we headed to our house to drop off all the food
they sent with us. Then we headed to the Bagenzis for easter dinner!
haha i am not eating today. It was like thanksgiving i seriously
gained seven pounds. Seriously these people wont let you leave till
you eat everything they cook. I hope i come home in decent appeal.
haha but it was a great day. Without all the eggs and bunnies and what
not i really got to feel the great love of our saviour. Who knows why
eggs were introduced. "Okay we got this holiday where we celebrate the
resurection of jesus christ what shall we do to celebrate? Uh how
about eggs? What do eggs got to do with jesus? Alright we'll hide
them! Dont worry theres a bunny!" hahaha what is up with our wierd
traditions? Anyway it was good.
      So we are doing great very overwhelmed but doing great. The
sisters arrived in Dar this last week. Wow talk about different. Man
so we only have african sisters serving in this mission so you think
they would be go getters cause its like the same enviornment. They
SHOULD just hit the ground running, Nay! These are the most needy why
did they come on mission sister missionaries! AH this week has been
exhausting! I mean there are amazing sisters but it is definetely not
these! Our zone is really struggling. Since i have been here in Dar
mine and my comps numbers are better than the rest of the zone
combined! It is really hard. I am at whitts end. Luckily Zone
Conference is this Friday so we can discuss things but the APs are
constantly asking me to fix it and i dont know how. I have tried all i
know how. They have a pride issue also having a young missionary lead
and council because they think they know how it should work. I have
been praying like crazy but it seems to be getting worse! We will see
if president has some insite. We are the biggest zone in th mission
now by far so we should be tearing it up! Whats the worst part about
it is our DLs are the worst ones setting the bad example for the rest.
Pray for us Please!
     Well I hope you are all doing good! I know the spring fishing
trip should be this week! I am so stoked to hit slam cove when i get
home. Man it is hard having conversations with these guys about what
we do for fun in america. They look at me like i am so wierd. They
dont see fishing is exciting at all. Anyway, Bronzen congrats on your
win against canyon view! I would tell you to pack your bags if you
lost to them. haha i dont think we lost any game against them while i
was in high school. Meree, Ryan Palmer has been accepted into the
dental hygeine program! He is such a stud! Do you guys ever get to
grace good old conrad carwash with your presence anymore! I think i
will work there when i get back. Miles and jeremy are back from
mission and both are working there again. haha I think Miles bleeds
conrad blue! So i feel bad about not voice recording you guys i dont
know what to talk about cause anything interesting i write in email.
So maybe if you give me a list of random questions it will be able to
get a nice little voice recording for you next week. Oh my goodness.
May 6th is so stinking close! Man once again time aint a thang. So i
have a specific question for matt, What do i do to help my zone? DDMs
are only conducted for the sake that we are supposed to and no one
listens to the ZLs. Please I am in need! Porter! You are such a little
stud! I have listened to your recording of you singing like ten times.
I felt the spirit so strong i teared up. I bet matt and meree were
proud of you! So have you got a girl friend yet? With a voice like
that you should be beating them off with a stick! Keep being a great
big brother to Owen and dont give bronzen such a  hard time! Have you
beat my record in the 3 point challenge on Wii sports or is it still
standing? Matt thanks for always making me laugh in your emails, it is
much needed right now! Thanks for being a great example to me! Meree,
How is the diet? I dont see why you need to diet. Diets are for
shmoos. How is working out? You got calves yet? Well i love you all
and i hope i will have alot to tell you after Zone Conference. Man it
is really nerve racking doing the trainings for an entire country.
Pray for me. Well i love you guys so much and again thanks for the
support and your love!

-Elder Seth Ryan Haynes

PS I am so sorry about not getting more pictures to you! Between this
lame camera and these third world computers its rather hard. Be
patient with me!

8 Months Already?

Well hello!!!
     Another week! So can you believe i have been out almost 8 months? Crazy right! Time be a flyin! Wow so i got some news for you good and bad. Mostly bad! Every comp i like I get for one transfer. So me and elder kiggundu are being split. He will be training and i am getting Elder Chimbetete. He is From Zim. We are also getting sisters in the zone :( so we will be the biggest zone in the mission. I am still a ZL and it is stressful. I am ready to be released! Sorry i dont have much time to write today, but know i am doing good and time is flying by. I will have much more to report next week. I love you all
Elder haynes

Walk, & Walk, & Walk

This is how we do it!
    haha my comp always yells "this is how we do it in uganda" so when its american something i say "Thats how we do it in america"! Yeah America is awesome. Be greatful guys! So there is something called working to hard i guess. haha I had a case of heat stroke this week. We had a full day of appointments and a lot of walking, I mean ALLOT of walking. My companion and i were laughing the other day cause in the call letter book you get before you come it says be prepared to walk six miles a day. hahaha i dont think we have ever not walked that far. It has been a constant 112F for the past week.You know humidity changes everything. So i was like super dizzy and ready to throw up all day. The next day i felt the same and went and worked. I finally decided this isnt normal and told Elder Noll, (isolated Mission Pres. for TZ) He thought i had malaria cause its the same symptoms. But yeah i had to take a day and sit in front of the AC which was on and off with our electricity and drink cold water. I went crazy sitting for the whole day. I think my body was expecting a break from this heat a long time ago. Man i went from st. george summer to Mombasa to Dar! These are the two hottest places in the mission. I need a break. I mean red neck farmers tans are not hot! Anyway im good now i just got blasted by the couples to not run faster than i am able. If they didint want that why did they make me a zone leader and give me two teaching pools. haha im good now though. I gotta suck it up!
     Tell porter congrats on singing in church. I can just picture his little smile. Good for him! I am excited to hear. I assume you got the recording. Bronzen is such a stud! I am so proud of that boy. I hope he keeps up the good work. I cant believe he is starting! Tell him way to go and dont be complacent! Meree just so you know you said we are 2,000 miles apart when we are actually 9,000 miles from each other. haha das far! Thanks for the recipe! I will make it tomorrow morning.
      We have got electricity back but it is in and out all day. Its not fun sleeping in a mosquito net without a fan. Elder Dewitt has a American digital temperature doohickey type deal and he left it at our flat. I decided to oogle at 2am and it said 95F. Das hot! The government here is real corrupt. They turn off the power when they are in a shortage but only in the ghetto which is where we are staying. They only turn it of once it gets dark though cause thats when people dont usually need it. But thats the only time we use it! We dont buy food anymore cause the fridge turns off and it spoils. Its funny cause the couple missionaries live in a big people place so they always have power. Lame! We are the ones dunking people we should deserve the meme(power). haha but i love every second of it. It makes me realize how good we have it. Its all part of this crazy adventure. To answer your question we bathe twice daily(usually by candle light, it a nice experience you should try it) when we have water but once every few days if not. Power and water go away all the time. We drink water but everything has to be filtered. We have a filter system in our flat and we carry filter bottles. These things are so cool. They have a filter in the bottle. Any water that is sketchy is good through this thing. hahaha some elders even filtered their pee through it one day. hahaha This is AFRICA!
   I havent heard from anyone in the family lately. Well matthew does pretty good to write every few weeks. When is tish due? Gosh i still cant believe she has a human being inside of her! Our baptisms have been pushed. People are not coming to church again. Did you get the pictures of our last baptism? 
    I promise not to pull a "DJ" as you guys say when i get home. I gotta have some time to transition. Heck its snowboarding season like 2 and a half months after i get home. I will be around for a while. Dont trip! Speaking of trip can we plan a family vacation like right after i get home and before school starts. Cali, flea market, baseball game, six flags, and beach? to answer the heat Q, Because we are considered an equator city there are only two seasons. sunny and rainy. I call them liars cause i have been here 7 months and its all sunny. It is kama kwaida every day in dar. The tan line is getting worse and worse. I think i can recover though. My watch line is pretty bad but it like it. haha its proof im out in the work everyday.
    Our investigators are doing well they just need to sacrifice a little more to keep commitments. Haha that is hard asking a african to sacrifice more! We receive transfer news this saturday so we hope we get another companionship back so we can just focus on one area. But yeah This is my report! I love you guys and thanks for all you do. Sorry about the recording. I just dont really know what to say. haha well tutaonana wiki jio!
-Elder Haynes

Moving Along!

This work is moving!!!
   Wow you guys seem like you are doing so well! Oh before i forget tell Porter i got his letter! Thank you so much buddy i love it! Its hanging in my closet. Also congrats on singing in church on sunday! I hope you tear it up. Bronzen i just stood up in front of this computer as i read that you made the team! You better work hard my friend! You are so privileged! Its so good to hear matts work is constant. I bet he is so tired everyday. It sounds like me and my comp lately. Today marks one week without Meme(electricity). We cant sleep in this heat! We are about to give up taking showers cause its pointless with the way we sweat. We are try to juggle these two teaching pools still and we are dead at the end of the day. It has been hotter than usual this last week it was around 43c everyday which is 109F yeah it be hot up in her! We are working really hard. We are teaching a new family and they have come to church every week. They wife has committed to baptism and the husband will be soon as well. Its so nice teaching families! I just got a letter from the family i baptized in Mombasa. They are so strong and thanked me so much for bringing them into the light. They are serving faithfully in their callings. I felt so good when i read that today. They said they could see god in me. I have really changed out here and i dont ever wanna go back. I have found something here that i have never been able to find anywhere. They say mission changes you but i never thought like this. Man i love this work.
    Well we have 4 baptisms set for the 25th so we will see if they keep their commitments and  progress to that day. Every day is an adventure here. I made banana pancakes for my comp this morning and he loved them. Oh it was so good it was like home! I told him about that other syrup you make meree so could you send me that recipe? I dont know i kinda am running out of things to say these days. Just know that we will need like a full week of talking when i get back to give you a full report of my expeditions. Thank you so much for writing during your busy weeks it makes me feel so good to receive that support every week. Well i love you all and hop your doing so well. 
Elder Seth Ryan Haynes

Another Week

 Another Week!!!
   How is everyone? Tell Portly happy birthday again for me! Did bronzen make the team i have been dying all week to hear the news! Otherwise are you guys staying strong. So i failed to tell you last week but this week was the Leadership training. President B is probably by best friend these days. He and sister B love me and it makes me feel nice. They came and personally inspected my flat while they were here and they couldnt believe how clean our house was. Yeah we get brownie points for that. I keep my house nice! But it was a great meeting with him and he asked me what i want to eat after the conference and i said a burger and fries and a coke. I was totally kidding but he said thats exactly what he was thinking! So he gave me 100,000 Tsh to leave the meeting and go order all of us some bomb town food. I love Mzee Broadbent! It was a blast to have all the guys here in Dar.
    Elder Pocock was in my MTC group and is like my best friend. He is a ZL in Arusha TZ. We had so much fun this week. We even slept on the roof of my house! Well we had two baptisms yesterday!!! Two more have entered into his fold! We were planning on three but Adam the Rasta man needs some more time. We are little worried about him but we hope he holds true to the feelings he has felt. We went to the Game this week i will send some pictures from it. I am doing well. Not to much more to report on. I really rely on those questions you guys give me cause i never know what to write. Well i love you all and hope life will keep moving. I am grateful for all you guys do for me and i am so excited for may 16. Love Elder Haynes