Week 70 (November 6, 2017)
HELLO, my family and friends.
This week was a good week! We worked really hard and had some good success!
Monday- We had a good FHE with the owner of our house and some more people who are renting rooms. We invited some investigators and they actually came. It was super spiritual.
Tuesday- We had our district meeting, and I just burned my whole district the whole time because they’ve been really hard to deal with. Then later we had a lesson with Susan, the one who loves sports more than God. She has strong desires to change, but she is really reluctant to do it!
Wednesday- Wednesday was fuuuulllll. We taught Jorge, the guy who came to church. He told us that earlier in his life he was listening to the missionaries but never received an answer, and for some reason, he wants to meet again. He is now reading the BoM and praying every night. Then we had an appointment later with Teresa. SHE GOT HER ANSWER!!! She even brought up baptism with us. But she wants her family to do it with her. That´ll be fun. She has a son named Alvin, and I always scream his name. ya know, Alvin and the chipmunks??
Thursday- We taught Jorge again, taught our crazy investigator Fabio, and had an FHE with our ward mission leader. We got 6 references. It was a good night. Also, we ate Jello with them.
Friday- We taught two families and invited them to baptism. They said they would think about it. That’s a start lolol.
Saturday- Saturday was a desfile (parade) in Sicuani. So that means that no one was home. It was a long day of walking.
Sunday- Stake conference, I sang in the choir, and it was GREAT. Later we taught a new investigator named Magali.
Well, I don´t really a whole lot to share this week. It was an overwhelming week personally for me. But what doesn´t kill ya makes ya stronger. I´ve learned a lot that on my mission, if we feel bad, or if we´re caught up in our own problems, the best thing we can do is emulate the Savior´s example and serve and turn outwards!
There are two kids in my ward Named Miyagi and Daniel. I call them Mr. Miyagi and Danielson.
Elder haws
Week 69 (October 30, 2017)
This week was a good one.
Tuesday- We had our meetings and taught a few good lessons. We have an Investigator named Susan. She is a really good person, it's just that she isn´t super willing to change and get baptized. But she loves the feeling she has when the elders come over.
Wednesday- We traveled to Cusco, had interviews with President, the Assistants gave us a training, and I got my package from Mom and Dad. So good.
Thursday- Multizone conference, we learned about our purpose as missionaries and the importance the Book of Mormon plays in our lives not only in the mission but in every day of our lives.
Friday- We had divisions. I was with Elder Troncos. He's a new Zone Leader and new in the mission. He just turned 6 months old. He´s also 24. It was nice to get some advice from him. We taught the Restoration 4 times that day and it really strengthened my testimony about the Book of Mormon.
Saturday- We found an old investigator named Milagros. She is really good, its just that she is Catholic and believes in Santos. Not a good thing. But we gave her a Book of Mormon and told her to read as she traveled. We´ll see if she does or not.
Sunday- We met with the Priest Quorum 1st assistant, Abel. We talked about our ward and the things we can do to make it better. Our ward is really weak and shrinking, in just the past 6 weeks 5 families have gone less active. We´re doing everything we can to help. We´ll see if we can have some miracles.
Monday- We had a lazy day. it was good.
A few things, nothing exciting happened this week, nothing that would go in a Liahona happened this week, but let me explain why it was a week to remember.
Every day, we have a choice. We can wake up and say, "It's a good day." Or we can groan and roll over and say, "Not again". And those little words can define your life. A lot of my friends are getting and are already home from their missions and I´ve been able to see the big change in each and every one of them. And its made me think, "Am I doing everything that I can? Am I remembering what I´m going through?" Sometimes on my mission, I´ve felt like I haven´t appreciated my trials enough. Or in better words, I haven´t appreciated the person God has made me.
A lot of us complain about the things we go through, but President Herrera gave me some advice this week we could all learn from. He told me, "Elder Haws when you are going through a hard time, enjoy it."
That advice hit me really hard! How many of us enjoy our hard times? No one. But how many of us enjoy learning from our hard times?
So this week I´ve started to make a list of all the learning experiences I´ve had, and its been a week to remember. And to be honest. I feel SO HAPPY! I'm so grateful for everything and everyone in my life that has made me a better person.
Week 67 (October 23, 2017)
Well this week has FLOWN by. Time is moving very RAPIDO. The bad thing is that I can´t really remember a whole lot about the week. lol. I´ll try to catch ya´ll up.
Monday- Changes, we had a lazy day. But after we took our investigator Joel to a FHE and it was great!! We talked about happiness and how the gospel is the path to that.
Tuesday- My comp and I decided we needed to find more people to teach because our investigators aren't progressing. So we contacted all day long. Great fun.
Wednesday- A good day, we taught a few lessons and found a family we have been looking for forever!!! They don´t seem super interested but they accept our visits, we just have to help them a little more lol.
Thursday- MIRACLE. We have a family named Familia Delgado. They are an unexpected miracle. We found them a while ago but they haven't progressed. On Thursday we had a lesson and it was the most spiritual lesson I´ve had in a LONG TIME. They for sure felt the spirit. It was awesome. We left from the lesson silently. But then we celebrated. Hahaha.
Friday- Pretty normal day. Taught a few lessons. Nothing cool really happened.
Saturday- We spent all day long working. It was frustrating though, we walked around all day and had nothing. But still that's nothing out of the ordinary.
Sunday- they had a Census here. We had to stay home all day long. Because if they caught us on the street, they would have given us a fine. Lol. Peru. But we had a sleepover with the other elders and we had a good time. We studied and slept. }
President on Sunday challenged us to read 15 chapters from the Book of Mormon. I read the war chapters in Alma. WOW. I love those chapters.
One of the things I loved was that the Nephites fought for a righteous purpose. They didn't just fight to fight. But they defended what was theirs. Too often I think we fight, with others or even with ourselves, for purposes that really don´t matter. The book says they fought for their freedom, religion, rights and their country. Those are pretty worthy causes. I invite you all to think about why you fight your fights. And why you win or lose those battles too.
I love you all so much! Keep it real.
Week 66 (October 16, 2017)
Well this week went by really fast. This transfer went by super fast. This email is gonna be super fast. Lol jk.
Monday- Machu Picchu. Can´t get enough.
Tuesday- Absolutely nothing.
Wednesday- This was our only day of good work. We did a lot of walking but we found some really good people! We have a new family that we found who we think are super prepared! But we´re hoping to rely a lot on the spirit to keep us on the right track so they can progress.
Thursday- We spent the whole day passing out flyers for the activites we were going to have on Friday and Saturday. So we didn´t really get a whole lot done.
Friday- We spent all day long finding "Meet the Mormons" to watch at our Mission Night. And when I say ALL DAY. I mean literally all day long. We had to download the video, find a laptop, find the keys to the church, work the tv in the chapel and that's not an easy task here in Sicuani.
Saturday- We had a Stake Leadership/Missionary activity. We played some games, and had a futbol tournament. Super sweet. My ward definitely won. Then later in the day we had a couple citas, helped some people move some stuff, taught our 11 year old investigator Joel, and ate some cake baked by the Youth in the ward. It was ok.
Sunday- We walked around all day watching drunk people and no one was home. I'm not sure, the mission handbook says that Sunday´s are the best days to work. When here its the worst day to work. Culture.
I'm not perfect. The Lord has helped me see that in so many ways. And I'm not afraid to say I'm not perfect because I know that no one else here in the world is. We try, and do the best that we can, but sometimes we cannot overcome the natural man or woman inside of us. If any of you have not read or listened to Elder Holland´s talk from this past conference I encourage you to go and listen to it. I was reading in Alma this week, in the chapters when he talks to his kids and burns the crud out of them. When I read this....
11 And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.
(Alma 41:11)
Alma doesn't say that we are evil people and that we are the worst and that we should just go and not do anything because we have no hope. But for me he is saying that Life is hard. It is hard to be happy. We have everything against us. But we have God behind us. Don´t get discouraged if you feel unhappy. Its supposed to be like that. Just remember, in the words of my good friend Elder Westbrook who just finished his mission, "Happiness isn't a lack of challenges, its a hope that they will come to an end."
Love you all!!
Week 65 (October 10, 2017)
Well I can´t remember a whole lot about this week.
Monday- Qeshwachaka a sweet Incan rope bridge that we went to. So sweet.
Tuesday- District meetings had a couple appointments
Wednesday- Normal day
Thursday- Peru played Argentina and no one wanted to talk to us at all.
Friday- Had a couple appointments, felt the spirit. Contacted a few a dogs.
Saturday- I cant really remember...
Sunday- Had an amazing testimony meeting in church. A women in the ward whose husband isn't a member brought the spirit in so strong. And we had 3 investigators come!! Also I started playing the piano in sacrament meeting. Then we traveled to Cusco to go to Machu Picchu. Round 2.
Monday- WE WENT TO MACHU PICCHU. It was awesome. Pictures don´t do justice. Highly recommend.
sorry I honestly cannot remember a whole lot about the week. But I was reading in Alma 37 this week. that is when Alma talks to his son Helaman. And he gives him some advice that we can all take into account. He tells him, that it is easy to "Pay attention" to the words of Christ. But I love how Alma doesn't say that it is easy to actually do what Christ says. It is not easy. But if we really listen to the Prophets, the scriptures and to our own personal spiritual promptings it will be easy to "pay attention". But we need to push ourselves to ACT on what we hear.
I love you all so much! Keep it real
Week 64 (October 2, 2017)
Well this week was definitely a super trying week for me personally. But also saw some awesome miracles.
We have an investigator named Sacett. She is 16 years old and has a very very firm belief in God. A while ago she was receiving the visits from the Elders, and she wanted to get baptized. But she went to a christian church youth camp where they talked bad about the Mormons. So she came back from her camp and REFUSED to get baptized. She had so many questions and even started rejecting the Elders visits. Well this week we found her. And convinced her to just visit with us one more time.
So there was A LOT riding on this one appointment. If we taught with the spirit and convinced her of the truth she would stay, but if not, she wouldn´t ever find the truth.
Nervously we met her at our church and started teaching. Well first we asked questions. We taught the restoration and she agreed to keep praying. (phew.) But she did not agree to another visit. (crud.) But we had hope. After lunch we decided to fast for her. I never really had a strong testimony about fasting. So I doubted for a little. But we did it anyway. The next day came and there was no call from Sacett. We finished our fast. Still no call. The sun went down. Still no call. We were actually super depressed. We though we lost her. Until one member of our ward found us and told us this.. "Elders I talked to Sacett today, and she told me that yesterday she had decided to attend another church. But then she met with you guys again and you convinced to come to church? And that she wants to meet with you again!"
HOLY FLIP FASTING WORKS.
(that's what I wrote in my journal)
So we´re visiting and everything is great!
Monday-I went to Cusco and loved my life. We went on a double-decker open roof tour bus.
Tuesday- We had a pathetic Ward Council
Wednesday- We did a whole lot of walking and little success
Thursday- Caught our recent convert, Nelly, ditching school. Had an appointment in the night time with her and she wouldn't read the scriptures or pray so that's chill.
Friday- Taught a new investigator named Virginia. She was absolutely crazy but she´s the best!! Also started an English Class we had whopping 3 people come. PROGRESS PEOPLE. Also had a meeting with the bishopric. Made a TON of plans for the ward.
Saturday- You already know it was conference. And you know I watched it in English. You know Jeffrey R. made me cry.
Sunday- Talked my comp out of going home, had MORE CONFERENCE.
My week was super challenging. But God helped me out a lot to find out the person that I'm becoming and what I need to do better! I'm so grateful for a Savior. An older brother who knows and loves us. He suffered to know our pain and pay our way. There is nothing more precious in this life than to feel His love. I know He lives. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he translated the Book of Mormon. Just read it. And you´ll know like I do, that life is just a test. And no test lasts forever.
