Hey Everybody,
This week was crazy! Last week after i hung up the phone me and Elder McLain went and got breakfast at burger king then got right on the plane to New York. Some of the missionaries form the other district contacted alot of people but me and some other missionaries didnt talk to anyone. I didn´t because i was too scared but i expected that. We made it to New York just fine and then had a little time before we had to leave for paris on a HUGE plane. It was overnight and long and we had a small child near the front ofour cabin that cried off and on all night so i didn´t sleep well and then i slept through breakfast on the plane. Then we spent our time in Paris waiting for our flight and the other missionaries from the other district talked to some portuguese people but i was now too scared, nervous, and tired to try. When we got on the plane to Lisbon i was scared to death and i don´t think i´ve ever been that nervous in my life. When we landed we went and got our luggage but one of McLean´s bags got lost so he got left behind for a while with one of the APs and the rest of us went out and met the Mission President. I was terrified until i met President Torgan. I thought he was going to be serious or angry for some reason but it turns out he´s a teddy bear. We walked out and he gave us all huge hugs and his wife was taking pictures the whole time and it was great. Then we went and had to declare ourselves and then we went to the mission office where we were interviewed by president Torgan (in english) and told where we would be serving. My interview was good and he told me that i would be serving with Elder Wilson in Cascais. He told me that Elder Wilson was a ´happy´missionary and a good missionary. I didn´t know what that meant so i didn´t ask. After that we went to Mission House and had dinner. The Mission house sits on a hill that over looks one of the most famous momuments in Portugal and it probably is worth a fortune. We had dinner and then a quick testmnoy meeting and then went to bed. I was so tired and it felt so good to sleep ina real bed again! Then in the morning we got up and ate breakfast and cleaned up the house and then went to meet our trainers. We went back to the mission office and had training all that morning and halfway through the training we got put with our trainers. Then we finished the training and we were free to go. We all got pictures taken with the president and his wife with all of us and then we were off. We had to get alot of stuff in Lisbon before we left so we spent most of the day traveling all over lisbon. In one day i rode 3 trains, 1 bus, and the subway all in one city! During that time i got to see Elder Wilson contact some people which was really cool and then we headed to our area. We´re assigned in the Cascais area but more specifically in Estoril. There is a pretty cool story behind our assignmen there so i´ll try and explain it as best as i can.
About three Months ago this area was open and doing alright but for some reason that i´m not sure of it got closed. In this area of Portugal theElders teach alot of lessons and where we live there are two areas, Cascais and Estoril. Cascais teachs ALOT of lessons so when Estoril got closed they had to pick up two areas. After 3 months and a new mission president the area was reopened and we were sent here. We´re opening the area because this area and branch of the church is dying and the members and presidencies of the branches and stake complained to the general authorities and the GAs told our mission president so he sent us. One the most interesting things about this is that Elder Wilson was one of the Last Missionaries to serve in this area. Missionaries never go back to old areas and the president broke rules in sending him back and here they also dont normally send a fresh greenie who doesn´t speak the language to reopen a dying area. So we´re two unusuals here in Estoril. From what i gather the president expects us to baptize so we have one transfer to get some baptisms or the area will beprobably white washed or shut. Theres a little pressure but Elder Wilson doesn´t mind. This is the only area he didn´t baptize in so he looks at this like his second chance. He´s really familiar with the area and he had alot of investigators that were close to baptism last time so we´ve been visiting them alot.
This week has been tough. I swear the people here dont speak portuguese because they didnt teach us this language in the MTC. During the Day outside the house we speak only portuguese and i´m starting to understand my companion but we natives speak i can only pick out words and small phrases.Yesterday we had Zone conference and by the end i was able to pick out a lotmore but i´ve really improved since i´ve been here. My companion is really patient and he corrects me alot but the Elders that live in our apartment say i speak well and the sister in out sone said i spoke perfect when baring my testimony in Zone confrence yesterday (in front of half the mission). I dont believe them but i keep trying. We we knock doors Elder wilson makes mesay the first phrase and then he takes over. Its tough but its good that hes pushing me. He says most trainers just take over but he says he wont do that. He makes me bear testimony alot and pray alot and talk alot so hopefully here quickly i´ll be speaking better.
My companion is Elder Wison. He´s from Nebraska (not spelled right) and he´s been out a year. When i first met him he seemed really cocky about the knowing the language and the area but later i realized he was just really confident. He´s good with the language and the people really seem to love him. He talks with a lot of people and just seems to be able to get along with them really well. He also teachs really well and is really patient with me. I feel really bad because i cant help him much but he says not to worryabout it too much. We get along well and this we has been great. He relies alot on the Lord and whenever we get stuck we always pray and it works out. He corrects my language alot but thats good i´m just praying he´s not getting too frustrated with me. I´m learning alot from him and hes a great training so we dont have to worry about that anymore.
We live with two other Elders, Elder Davis form Florida and Elder Anson who has lived everywhere. They´re pretty loud and they like to joke around with each other so we have a lot of fun.
I serve in Estoril, which is just east of Cascais which east just west of Lisbon. Cascais is one of the most beautiful places in portugal and has some of the wealthiest and poorest people in the country. It has beautiful beaches on one side and green mountains on the other. There are a lot of hills and we work hard so i should be losing some weight. WE live in the Most esxpensive house in the mission and it is REALLY nice. We have brand new appliances and its big, so you can tell mom to stop worrying. We live with two other elders so life is great and alot of fun.
This first week was really, really tough but me and Elder Rich (from MTC, and in my new zone) were told the mission is like the MTC, the first month is the hardest. Its been hard but alot of fun and alot of work. I survived eating my first meal of fish and it was awesome! We sont have alot of active members here but we had some left overs from the other elders and it was so good! Í´ve eaten alot of PB and J this week but i dont mind at all.
Well, This we has been great and i´m going to keep working. Thanks for all your prayers and thank dad for my first letter in the field. Keeping praying for me and i know i´ll be alright. I love and miss you guys.
Elder Haws
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