Familiar Faces

Hey Family,

We just made it through a tough week jam packed with interviews, conferences, and flaky investigators but we survived so we have got nothing to complain about.

Going into this week me and Elder Christiansen had "Great Expectations" for the things we could accomplish in our area, but unfortunately we didnt see alot of those expectations filled. We started out the week trying to get a hold of one of our new investigators that we found last week that seemed like a golden investigator. We passed by a few times but never were able to catch her at home so we ended up leaving a bunch of notes on her door saying we would come by later. We expected to run into her eventually but instead, she sent us a text message saying she would be home for a while but that we could come by after the 22nd. We were pretty surprised, to say the least, when we got her message because our members and actual investigators rarely call our send messages let alone someone we just met. But I wont complain. I´m actually pretty excited to talk to her this week because the first time we taught her she had all the right questions. We had found her knocking doors, and had told us to come back the next day because she didnt have time then. We had done what we call "the prayer contact" that president Torgan used on his mission in Brazil where we offer to say a prayer to bless the persons home instead on going right into a contact. So far on my mission, this contact has help me find the majority of my investigators. But anyway, Ana Bela (investigator) didnt end up being home the next day so we left her a note and came back the day after that. Luckily, we caught her at home and she let us in to say the prayer with her. As she let us in she made sure to explain that she never lets strangers into her house but for us she was making an exception. We then said a prayer with her and blessed her house and then began talking with her to get to know her a little more. But before we had much time to talk to her she started asking a lot of questions about us and the church. The questions she asked were almost strange because they were all questions that could be answered by the message of the Restoration. She first asked about the Book of Mormon, then asked why there are so many churches while at the same time explaining her belief that she thinks there should only be one true church. Then, before i could respond to that question she told us how she had already asked God many times which church was true. At that point in the lesson i had to try and not look too excited because she was asking all and i mean ALL the right questions. So we ended up teaching her about the Restoration, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon, then left her a copy to read and pray about. That lesson was one of the best lessons i had taught in a long time and really left both me and Elder Christiansen on a high. But ever since we taught that lesson we have lost contact with her but tomorrow we should be able to talk to her. So please pray for us so i dont mess this up!

We also tried to get in contact with the guy who found one of our pamphlets but he turned his phone off so we couldn´t get a hold of him. The other people we found last week have all turned out to be busts so far but we haven't given up on them yet.

But in happier news, we had interviews this week and Disrtict conference which means i saw alot of president Torgan this weekend. My interview with him went well but put a little more pressure on me. I saw that because he had explained "the process of Conversion" that we have to follow as missionaries in order to become instruments in the hand of the Lord. I think he said he got it from a member of the seventy, but he said we have to follow this process to become truly converted, so we can help others become converted as well. But in my interview, President Torgan brought up the fact that we baptized last we in an area that hadn´t baptized in 3 or 4 months, and then said that i had already been following that cycle before he had explained it. He then told me that he knows i´m a hard worker and that i always try my best. He also said that i´m not a missionary that makes excuses when i fail but rather repents and works harder to improve. He then told me that he and the Lord have great confidence and love for me. So with all that, you´d think i´d being feeling pretty good about myself, but instead i feel more pressure than ever. So now, whether not those things he said about me are true, those things will now be expected of me. But i´m not too worried because this will only push me to work harder and be better than i was before.

And since this week was District Conference, i also got see some familiar faces from Portimão. The Portimão branch is in the Algarve district so i go to see alot of members that i met there, along with some recent converts. It was a lot of fun to see all the familiar faces and also to see the members crack a big smile when the remembered who i was. But i think the best part was hearing the announcement that two people i taught in Portimão are now going to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. One of those men is also already making plans to go to the temple to be sealed to his wife(who i also baptized) and their children this spring. It was an incredible experience to see these families that i had taught for so long as investigators as strong members of the church. It was an experience that i wont soon forget

We still have a month before Christmas but it seems to be getting alot closer every day. Its strange because i dont know where i´ll be on Christmas day because transfer day is four days before that. So who knows where i´ll be.

Well, i think thats it for news this week. Be sure to tell Warren for the advice and email he sent! Keep praying for us! Eu amo vocês!

Com amor,

Élder Haws

Finally!

Hey Family,

When this week started i thought it was going to be the transfer of my mission, but by the end of this week, things had really turned around. I just figured that i had already tried everything to help this area but had seen no results, that is until this week.

So the first thing i should probably tell you guys is that Abela finally got baptized. And no i´m not kidding, it really happened. We had planned on the baptism being this week, but we had said that many times before so you can imagine that there was a little bit of unbelief on my part throughout the week. But strangely, everything seemed to run smoothly all the way up to the day of the baptism. Throughout the week i had called her a few times and she seemed fine, but i also got the feeling that she might try to run from us again because she said that she couldn´t talk to us because she "didnt have time". I thought she was using that as an excuse, like many people do, to not talk to us so i tried to talk her into a short lesson in the chapel on Wednesday. We really had nothing that we needed to talk to her about but i felt it was best we talk to her about something so we could get an idea about how she was feeling about the baptism. So we ended up talking about the baptismal program for about 3 minutes and then we let her go back to her busy life. But we were glad to have the lesson with her because we found out that she was really busy but at the same time, was still very determined to be baptized that week. But on that Friday, the day before the baptism, i called her again to make sure the plans we had made for the baptismal speakers was going work. I was really nervous about that phone call because i knew it would give her the opportunity to make an excuse to not be baptized that week, like she had done many times before. So when i called her i didnt know exactly what i was going but i had faith that it would turn out ok. But when i started talking to her she said a phrase that from this day forward will strike me with fear..."...Elders, i need to tell you something". At that point in the phone call i figured she was going to try to cancel the baptism, but instead told me that the person she wanted to speak at her baptism wouldnt be there so i would have to speak. At that point i was instantly felt relieved and quickly ended the phone call by confirming the rest of the plans of the baptism before she could have a chance to have second thoughts. So after that phone call i felt pretty relieved, that is until later that night as we were walking home. For some unknown reason i began feeling like the baptism wasn´t going to work out, which feeling stayed until after the baptism was over the next day. So over a period of 24 hours i worried constantly about this baptism until we showed up at the chapel in Faro the next day to see her there waiting for us. I had at first been worried that she wouldnt show up, or that she would call at the last minute and say no, but thankfully, that didnt happen. So we got everything set up for the program and started filling up the baptismal font when the last great obstacle we had to face appeared. To this point, we had over come, or better, the Lord had helped us over come Abela´s fear ofd water, her lazy brother, and our branch president, only to be opposed by a broken water heater. We discovered this problem after the font was halfway full and as we were about to start to program which thankfully gave us some time to fix the problem. When Abela found out the water would be cold she told us there would be NO baptism if the water was cold. So me and the Zone Leaders, who were thankfully present, got to work to try and solve the problem. The Zone leaders immediately called the member who´s in charge of the up keep of the chapel to see what the problem was and how we could fix. He regretfully replied that nothing could be done to fix the problem that day, which left me thinking that Abela has to be the next Primary President of the church or something like that because Satan obviously didnt want her to get baptized. So after that, me and the Zone leader started brain storming to see if we could come up with any ideas. I told them that i would heat water up on the stove and then trow that water into the font if i had to, in order to make the baptism happen. So, after a few more phone calls, thats exactly what we did. We filled all the pots we could find in kitchen of the Faro chapel with water and started heating them up on the stove. We even went as far as put pots in the oven to heat, but that didnt go as well. So after we started heating the water, we started the baptismal program, that was very short because we didnt want the water to get any colder in the font while we waited. Ablea was also in a hurry to get home because she had a very important appointment to be at back home so we were all in a big hurry to get the baptism done. So we sang two verses of "I am a child of God" then had an opening prayer that was followed by a short testimony on baptism(given by yours truly), and then we had the baptism. Luckily the water had heated by the time we were done so we were able to get the hot water in the font before Abela got in. So at that moment in time, we felt pretty good about our selves, that is until we found out that the hot after we had thrown in had only heated the surface of the water, and not the whole font. But by the time Abela had gotten in the font and yelled, " its colder than a frozen fish!" it was too late. By that time her brother was in the font and was ready to say the baptismal prayer while every missionary in the room(4) was praying that it would go well. I was standing at the back of the room because i wanted our picky branch president to be the second witness to the baptism so that we were sure it was valid. So right before she went under the water i prayed at least twice that things would go well and they did. She went under the water and a second late the branch President gave Abela´s brother the thumbs up meaning he could bring her up again. Moments after she hit the surface i tackled the Zone leader in front of me with joy while Abela gasped for air. So everything went well with the baptism even though Abela kicked and flayed, her whole body stayed under the water. So after that, the rest of the weekend ran smoothly and she was confirmed yesterday in church. But i have to say its a great feeling having that weight off my back. After all that time we finally got her baptized and it feels great!

Wow, that was a mouthful. But on to other things.

This week also turned into a week of miracles because we found 4 new investigators and got two great references from the mission office. The first is from a member in Lisbon who has a brother who lives outside of Tavira and already likes the Elders, and the other is a man who found a pamphlet and called the mission office asking for more information. So with all this miracles happening at once me and Elder Chrsitiansen are excited to see whats going to happen throughout the rest of this transfer.

In health news, I was kicking a soccer ball around a few weeks ago that left my left leg(which i didnt use) sore which resulted later in me losing the feeling in the top part of my left foot. Its not quite as numb anymore but if anyone has any ideas as of what to do i would appreciate the info.

Also, this week we are having district conference here in the Algarve and we are having interviews with president Torgan so this weekend is going to be packed with travel. Fun fun. But at least i´ll get to see some people that i know from Portimão so that should be good.

Well, i´m about out of time so i better get going. Thanks for all the love and prayers on my behalf! Eu amo vocês!

Com amor,

Élder Haws

Here We go Again

Hey Family,

We made it through another week here in Tavira and we actually had some success so it actually turned out to be a pretty good week.

But, first things first, transfers. I got the call just a few minutes ago form the secretaries but i dont know how i should take it. Me and Elder Christiansen are staying together for one more transfer here in Tavira. When i first got the call i honestly couldn´t think of what to say. And over the phone i heard all the Elders in the office laughing as they told me what was going to happen in my district. At first i was really upset because i have been so frustrated here that i knew it was time for me to leave. I figured that if i was going to stay i was going to kill someone. But now that the annoucnment has sunk in, i think it´ll be ok. I´m still wondering why i´m supposed to stay, but then i realize that the Lord does everything with a purpose. I feel like i´ve learned alot here through all of my trials but i guess the Lord wants me to learn a little bit more.

But on to happier news. We talked to Abela this week and we marked her for baptism, again. But this time we really think she´s going to go through with it. We went there on Wendsday with our Branch President to talk to her and teach a kind of farewell lesson because everyone figured i was going to leave. But everything in the lesson went well and we marked her for the 13th of this month, which happens to be this weekend. So after the lesson we were all feeling really good but then something happened on Saturday that put a chink in things because on that Saturday we had our meeting with the branch President. In that meeting we always talk about our invetigators and so ofcourse, Abela came up. So when we started talking to her our branch president pulled out one of the church manuals and starts reading form one fo the sections that talks about baptism. I didnt think anything of it until he got to the part about if the investigator wants to be baptized by someone from another branch, which is whats happening with Abela. He then read about how that person has to show him(the president of the branch that the investigator will attend) a temple reccomend or another type of reccomned that says they are worthy to do the baptism. At that point a fight broke out between me and the branch president because i felt that he had gone looking for an excuse to stop the baptism from happening. He was never 100% behind us on the baptism adn wouldnt even consent to annoucing it in church so they members would know. I could believe that after all we´ve been through with this lady, our branch president would be the one to stop our baptism. I what i didnt understand was the fact that that part of the manual almost unknown to everyone so its never enforced. We argued for a while but didnt solve anything so we left the meeting with a bad taste in our mouths. But the next day we resolved everything and we are back on good terms but it was shaky for a while. But now, everything should run smoothy this week. So i guess one plus of me staying is that i might get to see this lady get baptized. But if she doesn´t get baptized this weekend, i´m considering dropping her.

And by the way, tell Jenny thanks for the pictures! It always nice to get those from her every P-day.

Well, I´ve got mixed feeling about this next transfer but we´ll see how it goes. Keep praying for me and i know i´ll make it through ok! Thanks again for al the love and prayers! Eu amo vocês!

Com amor,

Élder Haws

There´s Aways Something‏

Hey Family,

We just finished another really tough week here in Tavira but we´re still breathing so i´ve got nothing to complain about. And sorry about the late email. Yesterday was a holiday which means all of Portugal shut down. But hopefully nobody got too worried.

This week we had some ups and downs but we seem to have made it through alright. This week we tried to baptize Abela(again), but unfortunately, it didn't work out. We had a really great plan going into the lesson we had with her but things didn't turn out the way we wanted. We had planned on going there with one of the Zone Leaders so that he could do the baptismal interview so that the only other thing she had to do to be baptized was get in the water. But when we got there and brought up the topic of baptism she started making excuses, like always. She had at first told us that she wanted to be baptized in October, but she said that that no longer worked. Her excuse was that she had gotten sick and didn't feel well enough to get baptized, but after asking a few questions it wasn't long before we found out that she didn't want to get baptized because she is still afraid of water.But luckily, i had my trusty MTC companion with me, Elder McClean, who jumped in and helped out a lot. He shared the story from the Bible where Christ atones for the sins of the world. He explained how Christ too was scared to do what he knew he had to do, but did it anyway because he knew it was the right thing. Then after he made the decision to obey, Heavenly Father sent an angel to comfort him. He then applied that story to her, by saying that she too is scared to do what she knows is right. We then tried to get her to accept to be baptized that weekend but she didn't go for it. I thought it would be easy after that but her brother(who's a member and who will do the baptism) and his wife(also a member) weren´t helping much. So we ended up settling for a baptismal interview to end the lesson. So Elder McClean and Abela went in another room to do the interview. He also took that opportunity to talk to Abela one-on-one about the baptismal date for last weekend, and after confirming with her brother to make sure he could be there to do the baptism, they agreed on the date. But unfortunately, we called the brother to make sure he could still do the baptism that weekend, he said he couldn´t. We had figured he would say that because he wasn't never really supporting of the date in the first place, and because he said that his work might complicate things. So all in all, we worked hard this week with Abela but nothing came from it. But it was interesting because in the interview Elder McClean told her that she was very prepared for baptism to which she agreed and then said that she had put her baptism off long enough and wanted to be baptized. after the the lesson and on our way home, Elder McClean told me about the interview and who she was so ready to be baptized but just wouldn't get in the water. At one point he even said, "Man! That lady is such a headache!" to which i responded, "Yep, Try dealing with that for 10 weeks!" Unfortunately, something always comes up when we mark her for baptism. But surprisingly, this time it was her brother. But this week we´re goping to go there to see if we cant mark her one last time before the transfer ends.

It was a really interesting and humbling experience working with Elder McClean again. Before i went into that lesson i was pretty confident that i knew how to be a missionary, but after seeing how Elder McClean taught, i realized i still have alot to learn. He is probably one of the best missionaries i have had the privilege of serving around and i hope that one day, i can be half the missionary he is.

And in terms of member meals this week, we got fed not once this week, but twice! We got feed randomly by the Branch President and his wife and another family this week. The Branch President called us out of now where and wanted to feed us roasted chicken on Friday, then on Sunday, one member randomly asked if we would like to eat with his family. Both meals were great, but what made them better was the fact that Missionaries don't normally get fed in this area...ever! And so far this transfer we´ve been fed 3 times so i´ll count that as a success. It may not be baptisms but i´ll take what i can get.

So now we have 6 more days left until transfers, which means that these 6 days could be my last in Tavira. Its kind of a sad thought but at the same time i think its time for a change. I really love Tavira and i love the members, even though some of them are really weird and ware scary wigs. But i´ve really noticed that this area has taught me alot about being a missionary and working in the church. This learning experience has been really humbling but i´ve found alot of joy along with all the frustrations.

Well, i better get back to work. Next week is transfers so i should know what will being happening to me before i email you guys.
Thanks for all the prayers and love. Eu amo vocês!

Com amor,

Élder Haws