Hills, and Boldness, and Copies of the Book of Mormon, Oh My! (May 23, 2016)

Anyways, wow! This week has been crazy and fun! Once again, I love being in a trio! And I love Huntingdon! This place is so good, but it extremely hilly. And we ride bikes. Super killer. By the end of this transfer, I better have the best thighs ever seen, that is if I can stay away from the chocolate. #EnglandsChocolateIsTheBest!

This week we have been making a lot of new friends! Stopping by less actives and members. I am slowly making lifelong friends in yet another area. Man it is crazy the amount of love you can feel for a stranger you have only spent an hour with, but it happens to me all the time.

This transfer I am trying to be more bold, but backing it up with love. I hate the words, "it's alright" or "its okay." It isn't alright or okay! It's not okay that someone didn't read their scripture because they were busy. It isn't okay that someone skipped out on church because they didn't get to sleep early enough the night before. Even now I feel like this sounds really harsh, but this is serious. Even if these things are true, the blessings are being missed! God cannot bless us if we are too tired or too busy to do what he asks. That's the truth. 

But enough doom and gloom. The atonement is so real! It really works miracles. I have seen the mention of it bring grown people to tears. It is so real!

I know that this is the true church and that we all desperately need to strengthen our relationship with our Savior. One way we can do that is through daily reading of the Book of Mormon. In our last meeting all of us missionaries were challenged to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. I know what you are thinking, "duh, of course we know it is true. We testify to that to loads of strangers everyday." But they were serious. All of needed to reaffirm  that testimony. And that goes for everyone in the world.

I challenge all of you to read the Book of Mormon and ask to know if it is truly the word of God. And then do something about it when you receive that answer! I will be doing it with you. I can promise that it will bring peace in this crazy life.

I love you! I hope you all have the best week ever!

Love,

Sister Lisa Haynie!

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise. (May 16th, 2016)

Helllloooooo! Hi from Huntingdon! Land of the American Air Force base
and home of the England London mission trio!

My days! So many things have happened! First of all, I love being in a
trio! It is like having a party everyday! Yes, it makes knocking doors
and talking to people a little more awkward than it already is, but
that's okay. It is a fun dynamic. Especially when we are visiting
members. Oh! And Huntingdon ward is so big for an English ward! There
are loads of families and Americans! I never thought that being around
member Americans would make me so happy. Don't get me wrong, I love
the English and getting to meet all the different types of people who
live in England but it just feels like a reminder of something from
home that I had forgotten about.

Don't worry, I'm not trunky. Just really surprised.

Anyways, I absolutely love my companions! Sister Chiping is from
Malaysia and is 20 years old as of Thursday. She is so sweet and
surprisingly funny for how quiet she used to be. She has warmed up to
us. She has only been out 6 weeks, but has such a wonderful missionary
spirit about her. She will do great things ;)

My other companion is a bit louder and tons of fun, Sister Obley. She
is from New Zealand and has been out for a little over a year. She
reminds me that missionary work is a lot less complicated than I make
it. Just love what you do and you will be happy and God will be happy!

This area is really nice but is fairly confusing. Apparently there has
been a Portuguese speaking missionary in the area for a very long time
and so there are lots of Portuguese people who were baptised in the
past and they have gone less active. None of us speak Portuguese so we
are finding it hard to follow up with them. We are also supposed to
teach an English class to people who speak Portuguese... That will be
interesting.

But I am excited to see how this transfer will pan out. Should be
really interesting.

This week we were teaching this woman named Chloe and she is so good!
She really wants what the gospel has to offer. We taught her the plan
of salvation and she really understood it. In my last area, it seemed
like everyone we talked to wanted to blame God for everything, but
Chloe knew that people have choices and that has more affect on life
than a lot of people will admit to. Some people just want to blame
others and not accept responsibility for a single thing. It is a big
relief to finally meet someone who wants to do what God would have
them do. Chloe is a miracle and i am so thankful to have had the
pleasure of teaching her. She is a reminder that there really are
people out there who WANT the gospel.

Love you all and love the gospel and am so thankful for all those who
made it possible for me to have it in my life!

Love,

Sister Lisa Haynie!

The Huntingdon trio. We want to come up with a name for our trio, suggestions are welcome!

This was in the back garden of a members house. The house was so massive, even for American standards. Everything in England usually is tight and packed.

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So Long, Farewell, Avidazen, Good-bye ... Bedford (May 10th, 2016)

Hello all. I think I will be known as the sister who always has really
weird transfers. Yes! It is transfer time again! And sadly it is time
for Sister Shamukiga and I to part ways. :( But it is also time for us
to say goodbye to Bedford! Yes, that is right, we are both leaving and
the sisters area is shutting down. Man, shutting an area down is no
fun. Fortunately there will still be a set of elders here so they will
get to pick up all the people we have been teaching, so that is really
good!

However, it does not end there. I will be only moving one area over,
to Huntingdon! Apparently there is an American base there and I will
be in a trio! Ahh! I hear that Trios are hard, but I have wanted to be
in a trio since coming out, so I finally get my wish! I will be with a
sister from the district I have been in, Sister Chiping from Mylasia,
and Sister Obley from Samoa! Sister Chiping has only been out for 6
weeks so we will be follow-up training her. And Sister Obley was
trained by my trainer, Sister Ranck, right before I was trained! My
mission sister!

This transfer is going to be so crazy I can tell. We will see how
things go! I am sure many adventures are in store for us!

'Til next week! Love you all!

Love,

Sister Lisa Haynie!

The Miracle of the Mission (May 7th, 2016)

Hiya! (Sorry sister Wright :/ )

Hope everyone had a wonderful week. This week has been humbling and
rejuvenating at the same time. So I have been out on my mission for
almost 10 months and I hate to say it but I am getting tired. I feel
like my return home should be right around the corner, but I still
have about the time I have been out. That being said, I was getting a
bit worried. I know what I get like when I feel like a break is just
around the corner, especially during high school. I get lazy and
cranky and I don't really put much effort into whatever it is I am
doing.

Now this isn't just going to school. As a missionary, you are on the
Lords time and there is no room for lazy missionaries. So ..... Uh oh.
I was thinking, "flip! What do I do?" I was talking to my companion
about it and she has been six weeks out longer than me, and she said
this is when we have to go take the phrase "Make every last day count"
seriously. That is really good, but how do you do that?

So I was studying one morning and I found this amazing talk by, guess
who? Ding ding ding! You are correct, Elder Holland! And it is all
about what comes from a mission. It is called "The Miracle of a
Mission" and it was just what I needed. And the sacrament. Elder
Holland talked about how he doesn't want us to serve a 10 month
mission, or 12 or 14, but the full thing. To give it all. That every
minute of it is what God intends for the rest is your life. And the
things you learn while out here will affect the decisions and outcome
of the rest of your life.

And I know I am already eternally grateful for what this experience
has already taught me. There is no way I am going to forgo any of the
other things God has in store for me. So that is what I am going to
do. Make every last flippin' day count.

I am so thankful for this experience also because it helps me to
realize what we have that no one else has. The peace and comfort that
comes from the Plan of Salvation. Earlier this we were knocking on a
few doors, ( we don't no manly but we had time and we wanted to work)
and this one woman woke up on the wrong side of the bed... for her
whole life. In all honesty, it sounded like her life sucked. She has
suffered so much! Honestly, she made me want to cry just listening to
her. But she was adamantly against hearing anything we had to say. And
my heart just about broke. I had never felt so much for a stranger
than I did on her door step. And I had what she needed! It wouldn't
fix her life but it would give her the strength to get through
anything! Anything! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing on
this planet that can make that claim, and I had it! But she wouldn't
let me give it to her. You think that this would make me question what
I believe, but no. It only strengthens my testimony.

I now understand a tiny bit of what our father in heaven feels when
his children turn away from him when they should be turning towards
him for that peace that this world obviously cannot offer.

And that is why I am going to make every flippin day count. By trying
to give this gift to everyone who doesn't have it. To those who are
wandering in this dark world with no hope or happiness. I cannot keep
it to myself.

I would strongly urge anyone considering a mission, please serve.
There is something about forgetting yourself and turning outward. It
changes you into that person our father in heaven sees and that will
be that strength to friends and family whose hands hang down now and
in the future. You will never regret it!

I love my Heavenly Father and my saviour Jesus Christ! And I know that
The Church of Jesus Christ, Christ's true church that so many gave
their life in service so that others could benefit from with no
earthly reward, is so true! It is that thing that can allow you to
overcome the trials that are bound to come.


On a lighter note, I am so excited to talk to the fam! Happy Mother's
Day mum! I miss and love you all! Have the best week ever!!

Love you all!

Sister Lisa Haynie

Ps. Sorry for the novel.

This what I see on every corner. Very different from the desert of Arizona.

That is our flat complex. On the river. Yep, pretty posh.



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Talking About the Best Thing Ever (April 25th, 2016)

This week has been really good for me. Monday we had interviews with the mission president and his wife. It is always good to talk to the people in charge of my life. I know that President Stevens is someone called of God to lead and guide this mission, to do the Lords work. 

Man I have learned so much! I have learned a lot about myself as well as other people. Lately I have found that if I ever have anything to complain about another person, if I only take a second to look at my self, I find that I do the same thing! So I am learning to not complain and look in the mirror when ever I might have something negative to say. Humility is a wonderful thing and the savior was the perfect example of it.

This week we have been teaching a guy from Kenya, but grew up in Bedford. He has been to a lot of other churches and said that he really likes our church and has noticed a big difference. In many many other churches, he said that you can go to a service and leave without speaking a single word to anyone else. But at our church, people talk and there are classes to discuss and answer questions, and people want to know how you are doing. He said that is something he really likes that is not found many other places.

 I wasn't always a fan of going to church, but more and more, a am loving it! And I am seeing that it something given to us from God to help us. That is why God asks us to keep the sabbath day holy, not because he wants us to be bored on Sunday's but because he wants to allow us to have that spiritual upliftment to last us throughout the whole week! I am finding that is how it is with all of gods commandments, and as soon as we learn to trust him, we can see the blessings!

I am so thankful for this time to serve heavenly fathers children! A chance to help others and not think about myself!

Love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!

Love, 

Sister Lisa Haynie!

Sent from my iPad

On 18 Apr 2016, at 17:45, Lisa Haynie <lisa.haynie@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Hello everyone from the land of miracles and change!

This week has been so interesting! The whole start of the week was
really rough! We pretty much had nobody to teach. So we did a lot of
finding and stopping by less active members. By Friday, I was about
ready to give up. We were doing our weekly planning and I wanted to
just throw my hands in the air and go back to bed. We had pretty much
no one to teach and even those we had were not progress or showing a
desire to do anything, so we had to think about not meeting with them
any more.

Even with our efforts in finding people to teach, we were not seeing
any results. No body would call us back or answer our calls. I felt
like there was nothing to be done. But the next morning, we got up and
went out and worked and did the best we could. We came back to our
flat for lunch and I had fallen asleep and woke up to the phone
ringing. I answered it and it was a girl we met the week before! We
had set up a time to see her and when we got there, she wasn't there.
We were really disappointed, but we never got a number so we couldn't
call her. So we just left a note on her door with our number and just
prayed we would call us back. And she did!

And it didn't end there! We had loads more miracles! Everything
started to pick up. The Lord has been blessing us for the work we have
been doing. A scripture that perfectly illustrates this principle is

Ether 12:6
And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I
would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and
not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no
witness until after the trial of your faith.

Once we show our faith in God and we work as hard as we can, he will
then shower us with blessing!

I am so thankful for trials. I do not ask for them, but I am so
thankful for the person they make me! I know it sounds strange, but I
know that our Heavenly Father knows us perfectly and knows not only
what will help us the most, but exactly what we can handle and he
won't send us anything else!

I love my Heavenly Father and I am so thankful for the honor of being
able to serve him and his children at this time.

I love you all and hope that when trials hit, please turn to our
Savior and Heavenly Father who are just waiting for us to reach out
for him!

Happy Days!

Love,

Sister Lisa Haynie

Hopefully you can see this. This is us getting pumped to find people!

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Reminder of the Zone I was born (started my mission) in! In England you can find the same street name in every town!

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Roller Coaster Ride! (April 18th, 2016)

Hello everyone from the land of miracles and change!

This week has been so interesting! The whole start of the week was
really rough! We pretty much had nobody to teach. So we did a lot of
finding and stopping by less active members. By Friday, I was about
ready to give up. We were doing our weekly planning and I wanted to
just throw my hands in the air and go back to bed. We had pretty much
no one to teach and even those we had were not progress or showing a
desire to do anything, so we had to think about not meeting with them
any more.

Even with our efforts in finding people to teach, we were not seeing
any results. No body would call us back or answer our calls. I felt
like there was nothing to be done. But the next morning, we got up and
went out and worked and did the best we could. We came back to our
flat for lunch and I had fallen asleep and woke up to the phone
ringing. I answered it and it was a girl we met the week before! We
had set up a time to see her and when we got there, she wasn't there.
We were really disappointed, but we never got a number so we couldn't
call her. So we just left a note on her door with our number and just
prayed we would call us back. And she did!

And it didn't end there! We had loads more miracles! Everything
started to pick up. The Lord has been blessing us for the work we have
been doing. A scripture that perfectly illustrates this principle is

Ether 12:6
And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I
would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and
not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no
witness until after the trial of your faith.

Once we show our faith in God and we work as hard as we can, he will
then shower us with blessing!

I am so thankful for trials. I do not ask for them, but I am so
thankful for the person they make me! I know it sounds strange, but I
know that our Heavenly Father knows us perfectly and knows not only
what will help us the most, but exactly what we can handle and he
won't send us anything else!

I love my Heavenly Father and I am so thankful for the honor of being
able to serve him and his children at this time.

I love you all and hope that when trials hit, please turn to our
Savior and Heavenly Father who are just waiting for us to reach out
for him!

Happy Days!

Love,

Sister Lisa Haynie

Hopefully you can see this. This is us getting pumped to find people!

Reminder of the Zone I was born (started my mission) in! In England you can find the same street name in every town!

Sent from my iPad

Bedford! (April 11th, 2016)

Hello all!

I cannot believe I have reached my half way mark! How the time has flown!

This week we went on exchanges in Watford with the Watford Sister Training leaders! It was really good! I learned a lot! Sister Mussman is really amazing. She just listens and then gives the best advice ever!

And guys, the atonement is so real! You may not have known, but I am really rubbish at stopping people in the street and inviting them to learn about the gospel. But as the Preach My Gospel book says, "Nothing happens in missionary work until we find people to teach." I have felt like a terrible missionary for so long because I have never felt like I could "find".  But while talking with Sister Mussman, we decided on making some goals and some plans to overcome this obstacle.

And this time I was going to actually take what I learned from exchanges and do something with it instead of just forgetting about it a week later. oh yeah, and included God in this goal. Probably the biggest step in this was to just do it. Yep! Nike has it right. Just do it. And keep doing it. Don't ask me how this works but it does!

Yesterday, we had about 2 hours to fill and we really needed people to teach. So we just went out and talked to people. And we were successful! After a week of halfway attempting to find, we really put our whole selves in it and God sent people our way! When you do what God asks you to do, he will bless you. But you must continually be doing his will.

I hope you have all had a wonderful week and I hope that you rely on God and the Atonement with whatever you may be trying to overcome. Big or small, if it is important to you, it is important to God!

And Oh man General Conference was sooo good! Elder Duncan's talk about forgiveness in the Saturday Morning Session. So good! If you were not able to listen, go back do it or read them. 

I know that Thomas S. Monson is God's chosen servant on the earth! I know that this is Christ's church on the earth today! And I know that God is ready and waiting to help us overcome anything and everything!

Love you all!

Love, 

Sister Lisa Haynie!

 We Live right next to a river and there are always so many swans! And I never knew how big they were! They are scary too. But beautiful :)

This is the andoh family. They are from Ghana. They are super cool!