June 18, 2012 - Family Email

Hello,

Pres Clegg's Last Zone Conference

Hey I just got back from playing soccer and it was great!!  I had a lot of fun.  It is really weird I always play forward because no one else scores a lot.  I almost make like every attempt at goal so that is fun.  So today we played all white Americans against all Spaniards and we wrecked them.  I have no idea how a bunch of Americans that don´t play soccer that much beats a team at their favorite sport.  So that is news for you; America is still the best country at everything we do.

So this week was really good and super busy at the same time.  Planning for Zone Conferences are always really hard work and usually take up a good chunk of time.  We spent all Monday afternoon after P-Day setting up the whole place.  So Elder Seely did a musical number that was unreal.  Have ya´ll seen the movie 17 Miracles?  It´s about the Willy Handcart company?  Well there is a song in there that this man remade of the hymn "Savior Redeemer of My Soul" and Seely sang it and it was soo good.  He got a member to play the Piano and the Flute and Pres Clegg started weeping right at the start of the song and it made it really hard for Seely to hit the high notes at the first.  So I recommend watching movie, well buying it and listen to the song.  The movie is amazing, I cried like 10 times and it really made me really appreciate the Pioneers.  When I went on the trek I didn´t know what to think or care, but now that I know that the church is really true I love them with all my heart.  Zone Conference was good I loved working with Elder Estrada everything feels good.  Estrada he is focused and we have a lot of fun together.  We taught lessons to the Zone about planning.  We used the little story about Nephi building the boat and applied it to planning.  We didn´t have a lot of time to teach it, so Pres Clegg was mad at me haha.  I can´t wait for you to meet them, you will feel like you are next to an apostle when you give him a hug.  I can´t wait for you all to hear his talk, speaking of that make Heather go with you to listen.  He is the most amazing man, you will have to tell me what he speaks on and my guess is he will talk on hearing the voice of the Lord. 

Singing "God Be with You Till We Meet Again" at Zone Conference

Okay so the investigators this week was a little rough.  Loana is being insane and said that she doesn´t want the church anymore.  Her mom is a member and LOVES to argue like none other.  So she always yells at her daughters and so in fighting back Loana said she wants nothing to do with the church.  So we had a member go and talk to her and she is making it all better.  The member is also going over again today to talk to her so good thing Elder Seely baptized this little 14 year old girl because she is the one helping us out.  We are also getting the house all fixed up so that has been taking up a little time as well.  We ended up dropping Lorena, Katerine and Rosa.  We think it was the best thing for them and I am super sad.  I honestly don´t know what I did wrong or what I didn´t do for them.  I gave them my whole effort and all my testimony.  They have been to church 8 times now.  I am really bummed that we had to do that.  We only talked to them for 5 minutes and took off, we didn´t really say good bye or anything so we will see.  We told them to call when they want to progress.  They really love the missionaries so we will see if they come back.  We are told to have enough faith to drop good people to be able to find more.  Grace and Isabel lie and completely dropped us.  I see them around in the street every once in a while.  They make me sad as well and I have no idea why they don´t want it.  I bet they have read the whole Book of Mormon.  The new people are doing great, well Mauricio is a little flaky but Jorge and Betty are awesome.  They have been to a baptism and to church twice.  They have felt the spirit and we tried to set a date with them and they think they need to be 100 percent prepared.  So we will just keep working with them and we still have a lot to teach.  Rosalia and Olga are not really progressing, they haven´t been to church and they are super hard to get with.  Rosalia is super weird and she doesn´t even care about learning.  So that is about all with the investigators and we got 7 new ones this week and if they are progressing more I will let you know how they are going.  So I love you all so much! 

Sending some awesome Sisters home

Father Happy FATHERS DAY AND B DAY.  I didn´t forget because Americans from Utah showed up and they reminded me it was fathers day.  So I love you and I was thinking about you.  How old are you 25?

CODY

June 11, 2012 - Family Email

Hello everyone!!

Well that was fun, I loved seeing everyone in those pictures!  I feel a lot better after seeing those!  Zac looks like a little cute kid.  He also looks like a Hafen.  So about the packages, the only time that the missionaries are coming up here to Sevilla before the end of the transfer is tomorrow for Zone Conference.  So don´t send them to the base because who knows how long it will take for them to get to me.  I could leave Sevilla at the end of this transfer because I have been here for 4 transfers.  So just send the package here to the address I already gave you.  I am sure we aren´t moving, we have already spent a lot of money and they still haven´t done a single thing to the apartment. 

Well this last week was really good, we went to Zone Leader Conference which was weird because it was the last one for the Clegg´s which is super sad.  It was really weird the first 20 minutes of Pres Clegg´s presentation or talk whatever you want to call it (we also call them TALLER which is a Spanish word and I no longer remember the English word) was about marriage.  He talked about never feeling guilty for thinking about a girl friend or a girl.  He told us to pray to know when the moment comes to propose to her.  It was really amazing.  He also focused on not waiting for a big sign from God to know to marry a girl when he was giving you signs from when you had first met her.  I really liked it.  After he stopped talking about that he was like "I am not sure why I said that" haha.  Hermana Clegg knows I have a girl friend and she thinks that Heather is gorgeous, she made me show her a picture.  Then in the middle of President Clegg´s talk about marriage he gave me crap because I had never mentioned I had a girl friend and they like to know about that.  Usually they just give Manning crap about girls haha.  Well anyway they really focused on our responsibilities as Zone Leaders and transition to the new President.  It was really good and made me excited for change even though I am going to cry when they leave.

So this last week we had a lot of success and reached the standards of excellence.  We really worked hard and I love my comp.  Estrada and I get a long really well and he just wants to work hard and be obedient.  I love the difference and the feel of the change of companions.  He is for sure one of my favorites with Shaver, Waite and Banbury.  We did a lot of finding while teaching.  So we found three new people that showed up to church yesterday because they met a member named Diego.  We taught them last night and they are amazing.  One of the guys named Mauricio, I contacted him twice in the street and got his number twice but never really called him.  Well they were great.  Their names are Mauricio, Jorge and his wife Betty.  They are all from Ecuador.  So Lorena, Katerine and Rosa.  They are going okay, not really progressing to baptism.  They love us more than anything and would probably die if we didn´t pass by the house.  So we are going to drop them this next week if they aren´t going to get baptized at the end of the month.  We will tell them that there are other people that want to get baptized and we are going to go find them instead of wasting our time here.  They may or may not freak out a little but we have tried everything and they won't drop the coffee and commit to a baptismal date.  So Olga and Rosalia are doing well they haven´t come to church yet but they did come to see a baptism on Saturday and they loved it and thought it was so beautiful.  We had 9 investigators in church and 4 come to a baptism this last weekend.  Florencio is a new guy we are teaching from Ecuador.  He is really good and he kinda like broke down to us and told us that he has never really ever in his life been happy.  He has had a crappy life and not very sure if God exists.  He believes in him but doesn´t know how it feels because he has never been happy.  So pray for him.  Also we taught a new girl that is super cute and cool from Nicaragua.  Her name is Paula and she is 22.  She loves us and really likes our message and is reading the BOM.  She hasn´t been to church yet.  Well Loana is doing great and has read 4 chapters out of the BOM and really likes it, which is amazing.  She is coming around and really likes us now.  She has been to church 4 times and and she is still on for the 23rd.   Well the work here is doing well and we are working our butts off!  I have to give a lecture to my zone tomorrow with Estrada I am excited.  I also have to say bye to the Clegg´s for the last time tomorrow!  I am not happy about that.  Seely´s new kid is awesome, a real big sweetie I love him to death.  He is from American Fork. 

Well I love you all!
CODY

June 4, 2012 - Family Email

Yay!!!  my brother is finally married! 

Well that is cool!  I was wanting some more pictures but it´s cool.  I feel really bad that I wasn´t  there, but to be honest I didn´t even think about it this last weekend.  I actually forgot until late Saturday night that he was getting married!  So I want some pictures!!  The wedding looked great but I don´t even know what it looked like and I will try to find the video.  Okay so I watched it you look really happy mom!  Well I hope the whole wedding was really fun and good!  I wanted to see my family at the wedding!  No one took pictures???????

So this last week was really busy!  I haven´t felt so tired in a long time.  I had to wake up an hour earlier than usual two days in a row for transfers so that took a toll on me.  After moving out of apartments by your self is a lot of work and especially cleaning a house where missionaries have lived in for a year just leaving junk and a lot of missionaries that go home all left out of Sevilla.  Elder Seely and I literally did all of the work until Elder Estrada came in and he really helped a lot.  We put in a large amount of time to the point we hardly got to work, but the last two days we taught nine lesson with people and set 3 fechas (dates) of baptism.  So we got Loana for the 23rd of this month.  Loana is doing great and really progressing.  She used to not talk to the missionaries and was a really rude girl.  She is actually 14, I am not sure where you got 7 from.  She has been to church 3 times and been to a baptismal service.  She has really opened up to us and talks and jokes around.  The other two dates are for the 30th of this month and their names are Rosalia and Olga.  They are from Bolivia and really good ladies.  Olga has a lot of interest and really progressing and has read a lot of the Book of Mormon.  We brought them to the church and they loved it and Rosalia filmed parts of the church so that she could keep looking at them haha.  We have had a good week with Katerine, Rosa and Lorena.  They are doing well and better.  They keep drinking coffee but they can get rid of it.  Katerine wants to wait until her testing is all done to be baptized which is at the end of this month.  So all is looking well investigator wise.  That is all that happened this week, sorry it was so boring but transfers was really hard Elder Estrada and I were running to every side of the city all day long and then we were cleaning so that is kind of the life of a Zone Leader sometimes. 

I am doing well!  I am always good, the mission isn´t about me. I figured out that I am not here for me so maybe that´s why I don´t talk a lot about me.  I really just have forgotten me and I don´t ever have any complaints.  I am just in such a routine I don´t recognize anything anymore.  I really didn´t enjoy my time with Lignell that much.  I mean he was a funny kid but not a good example in anyway for the zone I thought.  So maybe that is why I never talked about me because I never felt good or the spirit with him.  I didn´t like teaching with him one bit.  He doesn´t care for the people or doesn´t know how to give and serve.  He was a very selfish person.  However I love my new comp he is a good kid!  He speaks perfect Spanish and really good at the work.  He is a special Elder.  He has been out for 10 months and grew up speaking Spanish in the home.  He was born in Guatemala but grew up in Utah.  His brother served the same time with Elder Waite in the Barcelona Mission so he and his brother were in Spain at the same time.  We are going to tear the city apart here in Sevilla.  I really am super happy don´t worry about me I just didn´t feel good in the other apartment with Lignell and Masterson.  Me and Elder Seely are a lot more happy and content. 

So the new piso we moved into is a joke!  Don´t send anything to it yet because it is super crappy.  We are most likely moving with in a week so that kinda sucks we will have to move again.  The piso leaks underneath and is ruining the house of the people that live below us.  So I will let you know about the package sending.  You could just send it to the American base the guy said I can send stuff to him still and I will get it at Zone Conference in two weeks.  Or just wait it is up to you.  Oh so I want one more CD.  It is called BEAUTIFUL DAWN by MERCY RIVER.  Thanks mom I love you!  So today I am going to buy shoes and a side bag because it is too hot with a back pack and I am dying of heat here in Sevilla, it is already a 115 degrees!  That is hot!!!

 

I love you!

Elder Cody Hafen

May 28, 2012 - Family Email

Okay how is everyone??

So this last week was a little rough!  Good news, I am not leaving SEVILLA!!!  Elder Lignell is getting transferred and I am staying here and getting Elder Estrada.  Elder Estrada is from Utah but was born in Guatemala.  I played soccer against him once because he went to Olympus High School.  I am super stoked for him to come here and be a Zone Leader with me.  He is also coming from El Puerto haha.  So I am excited for things to change around the piso and my boy Elder Seely is going to train!!!  So we will all live together and I am so ready for Elder Masterson and Lignell to get out of the piso because they are gross!!  They suck at cleaning and I am sick of making my comp´s bed every morning. 

My new address because we are moving is:

c/ LEON XIII 14, 4·C
49001, Sevilla, (Sevilla)
Spain

Elder Banbury and Hermana Letendre

So send the package here we move in on Wednesday and I am in charge of all the transfers and there is like 20 missionaries going through Sevilla.  I am going to be really busy these next couple of days with moving, cleaning, teaching and transfers!  Oh well, it will be a good experience for me.  So today we had a P-Day in the piso of the Elder´s in Utrera, that is where Elder Banbury lives.  We had a Zone bbq so there is a little photo with Elder Banbury and Hermana Letendre.  Hermana Letendre is the best missionary in the world, probably due to the fact that she is 26 and a Lawyer.  We were all wearing the same jersey so we had to take a picture! 

So we finally found out where Grace and Isabel have been.  Grace got surgery and they are completely terrified of getting baptized too fast even though they are ready.  We still haven´t talked to them because they won't answer the bloody phone.  We will get in contact with them.  We also got in contact with Rosa, Katerine and Lorena.  Katerine has really bad health problems.  She has Scoliosis back problems and when she gets nervous she goes like into shock and can´t breath and her legs go numb.  So we were trying to get her baptized this weekend and wanted to give her a blessing to feel better and she went into shock and it was really scary.  Elder Lignell was pushing it really hard just to get another baptism before he takes off.  She came to church the next day though with Rosa and then later that night Lorena and a member made a crap load of food and fed like six missionaries and we had a mini party for Elder Lignell and Masterson.  I came late because I was doing numbers in the church for the Zone.  Elder Banbury and I did a split that night so that was fun!  We did good this week finding new investigators.  We found 7 new people that hopefully will have potential.  One of the seven is Nadia´s little sister that has come to church like 3 weeks in a row.  Her name is Loana and she is good friends with one of Elder Seely´s recent converts.  So she is looking really well and has a lot of potential.  She used to not talk to any of the missionaries at all and would ignore us.  The first time we taught her she cried for some reason I hope it was that she felt the Holy Ghost which she wouldn´t really admit.  We are going to bring Elder Seely´s recent convert with us to help teach her so she feels more comfortable even though she is starting to open up to us.  So things around here are looking good!  I gotta take off I am running late today.  I love you all so very much and next week I am going to the mission home for Zone Leader Conference so hopefully I write you Monday!  

Katerine, Rosa, and Mom

I love all of you and good luck with the WEDDING!  CONGRATS BRADY AND JAYCEE I AM PRAYING FOR YA´LL!

It's party time!

The girls at the party

Love,

Elder Cody