Patience is a process of Perfection!

Whats up best-est family in the world

Man, sometimes it seems like yesterday I was in this email shop typing an email to you! time flies! To answer some of those questions....I cut my own hair, havent gotten the package yet, I did get transfer news, shame that guy got bit by a lion, my supply of my "eternal underwear" is just fine, yeah its mid 40's at night, I'm better at K's and Celsius, Yeah daddy shoulda packed that letter with stuff, shoes are fantastic, and I just heard it was Mandelas b-day but no celebrations! I think that answers all of them!

Okay, so on Tuesday morning, literally 15 seconds after the alarm at 6:30 went off, the phone rang, and it was President Wood! Transfer news! I talked to him first, and he informed me that I would be training a new missionary straight out of the MTC!! Elder Wolfgramm! He also said that being a trainer was a big responsibility and I would be expected to train him well and be obedient and work hard. your trainer plays a very big role on what kind of mission the person your training will have. If you 2 don't work, and just jack around, that will affect his entire mission! I feel the pressure on my shoulders, but I can handle it. President said that he wanted a baptism this transfer too! I'll see what I can do.... soo Elder Grow went to Queenstown. He actually phoned me this morning and said that there was like 2 inches of show on the ground! crazy! Elder Grow was ready to leave Mdantsane. I miss him! but, I'll be staying in East London for the first year of my mission! yahoo!

Alright, missionaries have their own lingo. so when a person trains a missionary, he becomes his Father, and then the greenie becomes the son of this trainer. So Elder Aires was my dad (trainer) and I'm his son. So it looks like I'm a DADDY now! haha. His name is Elder Wolfgramm, from West Valley, Utah! His parents are from the island of Tonga! He was born in the states though. He graduated in 2010 and played D-line at Snow college! Basically, he's legit! A big boy at 295lbs, but soo humble, so loving, so teachable and awesome! But he is for sure a greenie! Doesn't know anything about life as a missionary, so I got to teach him everything I know! There's a boat load of things to learn about life as a missionary, but so far so good. The only down side, I guess, is that he SNORES!! He said he got in a fight and broke his nose, so he snores like a freight train at night! haha Elder Staheli hooked me up with some ear plugs...yeah, they don't do a darn thing! haha and he like falls asleep fast (probably cuz I work him soo hard) so I just am going to get used to sleeping with a companion that snores! haha.

It was funny, Elder Staheli decided to go to the store before he got here, and buy green things for dinner! haha we had like salad, green pepper, cucember, green  jello, green cookies, green cool drink, green peas and made him drink out of a green cup! haha it was funny.

I love him to death, but I'm not gonna lie, his knowledge of the gospel and the things we teach is for sure at a greenie level! haha in all the lessons, I literally have to do all of the teaching! Like I just have him read the scriptures I tell him to, and maybe if I'm lucky he'll bear his testimony at the end of the lesson! haha its cool. I'll teach him how to be a powerful teacher! Just give me some time! I'll shape him into a masterpiece! and I wont lie, I was probably very similar at the beginning of my mission! but no joke, I've taught the entire Restoration lesson and Plan of Salvation lesson! haha its hard work, but I can do it. The good thing is, is that he loves mission so far. (ha, just give it a few weeks, it'll be hell) hahaha jk

But I, not gonna lie, it would be nice to be serving somewhere else! haha nahh, I love East London. I'm spending my 1 year of my mission in the same place, even though I've served in 3 areas. It was actually kinda strange, I got a new planner this transfer, like every transfer, and a missionary had already written in it "patience is a process of perfection" hmmm, interesting. it was totally unplanned and just mere coincidence

This morning, President Wood called us and told him that my companions uncle passed away. He had cancer, and Elder Wolfgramm knew his time was coming, but still, he was kinda sad this morning. I gave him a big hug and we talked about it a little bit, and he'll be fine. he's tough as nails!

Yesterday, he had to bear his testimony in sacrament meeting, and I kinda coached him up on the main things he should say, and he went up and NAILED it! I felt like a proud father.

I have to talk so much, I honestly get sick of hearing my own voice! haha

We got a pretty busy week ahead of us. Lots of walking and teaching.
Heres some scriptures for ya...2 Cor 4:14

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

and D&C 88:22

For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.

and 105:4-5
4 And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom;
5 And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself.


Miss you all SOO much! Thanks for all of your love, support, prayers and encouragement! Means a lot to me and keeps me going!
Elder Dusty Haws

Its not the best picture, but if you look closely dad, you can see the kids flying kites made of black garbage bags! haha They were having the time of their life!

Their kites were made of black trash bags. TIA

Dear Family,

Thanks for sending the package! daddy, I'm dieing for a small sports update! and listen here, the only advice I have is to JUST DO IT!! You either have the desire or you don't. the gym is one place that I'm going to be spending a lot of my time when I get back! ah, I honestly miss 24 Hour fitness and the Fieldhouse at USU. I did get a nice workout on exchanges...it felt amazing!

We thought we were going to get transfer news this morning, but I guess we'll get it tomorrow...which is not as nice as today cuz we have to go shopping and say goodbyes to people, but I guess everyone will just have to wait till tomorrow. The anticipation is killing me! I reallyyy wanna know whats going to happen this next transfer.

Like I mentioned, and you can see in the pictures, I went on exchanges with Elder Oyiembo. He's from Kenya! He was telling me about how back home he would go out hunting with like spears and stuff all day to catch food and stuff. it was sweet. Like thats Africa! He's a total greenie on mission, and kinda shy and stuff, but he did good in the lessons we taught.we had fun together.

We spent a combined 21 hours with less active members this week. 2 of them were recent converts. man, LA's can be frustrating. they're such liars! haha we were gonna walk with one to church...like we reminded him the night before, and everything and had it all set up, then that morning we phoned him like 4 times, hooted the horn, banged on his fence, nothing! lame. but other than that, we dont have many investigators to teach...but we still work hard all day.

We bought 2 chocolate bars for the Nyandoro family for their birthday, and the kids literally went insane and crazy when they saw them. they only both cost 10 Rand, but they were like screaming and soo happy! they are so humble.

Saturday was Elder Grow's 20th birthday! I bought him lunch on Friday, and gave him his fav candy bar. He was happy. and he made sure that everyone that we saw or met knew that it was his birthday! haha.

We had a special, unexpected fast yesterday. president asked us, as a mission, to fast to soften the hearts of the people of the Namibian government to let our elders stay there. I dont know all the details, but I do know that Elder Grow and I were suffering walking around in the sun with no one to visit, tired and thirsty, yesterday! haha. We survived though... and got lucky and had 2 nice DA's, back to back! It was niiccceeee. I love Xhosa food. chicken, rice, chakalaka, potato salad, and cool drink. yum yum.

We saw some township kids flying kites, and their kites were made of black trash bags. TIA

Soo heres a fun fact for you. here in South Africa, when you pass, or overtake a car, you put on your hazards to thank the person, and sometimes the person who got overtaken puts their brights on to in a way say thank you! cool huh?

Happiness truly is the greatest of all riches! and the 2 scriptures of the week are
D&C 98:2-3

2Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.
3Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.

and Matthew 9:37
 37Then saith he unto his disciples, The havest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

Well, days just keep flying bye! Im having such a blast here in South Africa. Im motivated and excited for this work, and just love every second of every day! I can tell when the time come to go back home, its gonna be hard, but I'll be excited to see all of you!

I'll let you know the transfer news next week. maybe I'll be outta East London? Who knows. What I do know is that life is good!

Cheers!

Elder Haws



Us singing at the end of District Meeting!



Look at tata's BIG belly haha

I look weird, but the view is nice



Elder Oyiembo and I on exchanges!



Eating some Mgqushu in the car

Only the best from Elder Haws!

Hi Family

Thanks for the cool pictures this week! congrats Sadie. haha. haven't gotten the invite yet. Shame mom, you and Raleen's dreams of us 2 getting married are now shattered. sorry! Of course I remember President Northcutt. That guy is awesome! I would be honored to have him as a mission president. He always has good stories. No problems with people wanting to kiss me here, but sometimes the BIG Xhosa mammas go in for a hug, but just cuz they don't know any better.

To answer something Aunt Julie asked, no I don't have a South African license. My Cali license works over here. Thanks daddy for the sneak attack letter! It made me smile! Maybe you could group all of your questions together so it would be easier for me to see them and so that I could make sure that I answer all of them. It's hard to always try and scan for them haha. But daddy, you're a genius! I support your invention 100%! haha thats smart. I miss you and me always doing those little handyman jobs around the house and the yard. Yeahh the members go to the bush too, they have like a ward activity when the "booty" (young boy) comes back from the bush, so they don't drink the beer.

Good news, the weather was warm this week! but sometimes it gets kinda chilly in the night. so its either enjoy the daytime hours in the sun in a short sleeve shirt, or suffer through them in a suit coat and then be kinda warm at night. Mommy, those sweet and expensive shoes are absolutely amazing! I love them, so much. you sure did take care of your son before his mission to make sure I was set for these 2 years. Thank you! but I'm not gonna lie, the bottoms are getting pretty worn out...we'll see how much more walking I'm going to be doing these next 14 months and how the shoes hold up.

This week was just okay. a week ago we met President and Sister Wood! Wow, totallyyy different than the Probsts. they were both just kinda hanging out chatting with us while the other elders were still arriving, they were chewing gum, and just totally chill. then, they were like cracking jokes when they were introducing themselves to everyone. It was funny. here are some of the first words President Wood said "we're from Alaska, where many are cold, and few are frozen" haha! D&C121. They both shared their conversion stories and testimony. it was powerful. then, we each took turns interviewing with them. While I was in with president, Elder Grow was sitting with sister Wood. President is awesome. He just like asked about my family, then asked me to share my testimony. It was a nice interview. He said he loved my smile :) niceeee hahah. Before they left, he told us to go tear up our areas! haha for sure different, but I love them! He is more lenient on what we can do on p-days. Like today, there was no problem with us to go to the lion park..which would take a lot of asking from President Probst! hmmm, that makes me think, what is President Probst up to these days...

During the week the elders worked hard. Did we see much success? no. did we do all that we could so at the end of the day we were satisfied? yes!

I mean, on Saturday, we had some appointments in the afternoon, but we taught one at 2pm, then from 3pm till 8pm when the other guys picked us up, we walked! yeah, we sat down like twice, but we were just walking everywhere trying to contact and follow up on as many people as we could. and I'm not gonna lie, walking in a township at night is scary! Like the dogs, and other people walking on the street can be shady. We don't plan to walk at night, but sometimes that's just what happens. Yessie, I have seen and met some crazy, weird and strange people! man.

Yesterday in sacrament meeting, the 3 speakers all spoke on the same topic..which was "what does my membership in the church mean to me?" it made me think.....

Well, this week I finally finished the New Testament! now, I'm going to read the Book of Mormon again! I love reading that book. studies and reading in the morning is something that I really look forward to every day. I learn soo much every morning.

The good scriptures of the week are
Alma 26:12,16

"12Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
16Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."

 and

Luke 21:19  "In your patience possess ye your souls."

Next week is transfers! to be honest, the area is tough, and I've been in East London for a looooong time, but I might be spending my entire first half of my mission in pretty much the same place. Does that fact bother me? Yeah seeing new places would be nice and shopping/emailing at the same place gets old after many months, but I know the Lord calls elders to serve where He needs them...so who am I to want to go anywhere else. just like the hymn."I'll go where you want me to go, I'll say what you want me to say, I'll be what you want me to be" it's as simple as that!

Missionary work is so rewarding in every aspect. Both for me personally, and for those that I teach. Time is just flying by! I always think about how much I love my family and how much I miss them! Don't get me wrong, I love Africa and the people, but there's only one place like home and my family! But then, as soon as I get home, I'm going to miss Africa and all of the people! ah! I'm learning a lot about myself over here. I have lots of good days, but some days seem never ending. I've discovered that attitude is the little thing that makes a big difference. I'm not going to settle for meritocracy. Only the best from Elder Haws!

Until next week!

Elder Haws



They call me...the white tiger!



 

Kind of a cloudy day, but it still was beautiful


 

haha JUMP!




Malgus brothers!

 

Elder Farley and I walking through shacks

 

Our big service project





The baptism! Pam and Chris



That cheetah is looking at me!

 

Malgus brothers!

Yeah, that's a Lion



LOVE all those people!




4th of July in East London!



HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!

Hey Family,

So Elder Grow is already done, but I'll try and type fast! sometimes, I dont know where the time goes when I'm on the computer!  HAPPY 4th OF JULY!! Check out the end of this scripture..Alma 10:6...see the 4th day of the 7th month! haha Today for studies we read 1 Nephi 13! God Bless America.

I have no clue the address of the chapel..but there is one in NU2 and the one we go to is in NU13 by the BP and Sasal garages (gas stations) as for the map, I used to work in NU1 and 3, but now I'm in the area where it says Mdantsane Q and R and now I live in Amalinda, and used to stay in Vincent. I don't need those pics daddy, it'll just depress me! haha I'm too tired and its too cold most mornings to work out, so my muscles are suffering. Just load that CD you're making for me up with cool versions of hymns! Like not just the boring ones, use a variety! Thanks. I haven't met the mission president yet. We get to meet him tonight!

As for the week, it was just okay. On Tuesday we walked, no joke, from 1:30 until 5:30 without sitting down! it was tough. but we do have this sweet new investigator who used to be taught my missionaries, but they dropped him. he is a math and physics teacher and his wife is a less active member. We had 2 fetchin powerful lessons with him! They were niceee. Hopefully he'll progress and start coming to church and stuff.

Went on exchanges with the one and only Elder Staheli! man, we had a blast! The first thing he did when we got into the boarding was grab all those random ingredients and cooked that gross food and we both ate it! yuck! just a bite though. then we just talked and played Phase 10 till like 1am! man, he has some crazy stories from his time in the military, and with girls! That next day like pretty much all of our appointments canceled but we still taught and have fun.

During fast and testimony meeting, a mamma said, quote "this week was hell" hahaha only in Africa. and another funny thing here is that most of the kids only know how to say how are you..and good morning! and it cracks me up when its nighttime and the kids say good morning haha. they always are just out playing on the streets with no shoes and no parents in sight. they shout "mlungu" at us..but sometimes we first call them mlungu's and its funny to see the confused look on their faces, or we call them sissys (girls) haha

But on a serious note, Elder Oyiembo's sister died this past week. True she was only his step sister, and before he left she was sick, but still, he's never gonna see her again. He's a stud, and didn't let it bother him, but it got me thinking what life would be like if my sister passed away, or someone that I loved. It would be extremely hard. Life if a fragile thing!

Now is the time when most boys go to bush. Now let me tell you a little something about bush. Basically, boys go to bush when they're like 16-17 and get circumcised! Like its a major Xhosa tradition! If you don't go, you'll probably never get married and just get teased for the rest of your life. So they make these little huts (like the pic I sent a few weeks ago) and stay in them for like 3-6 weeks and just, well, suffer! They don't drink anything, cuz that'll mean they have to pee! I am for-sure glad I'm not a Xhosa boy, cuz life in the bush sucks! Like not often, but sometimes they die and stuff. but when they come back from the bush, they have a big 'ole celebration! we shortly stopped by one, and all the big mammas were literally shouting!! and singing and stuff. Totally African. It was weird to see like the relief society president singing and stuff hahah. They have a little ceremony and pretty much eat goood Xhosa food! The members don't do this, but everyone else, they drink Mquombotie (wrong spelling) but its homemade African beer! yuck. anyway...

Well, I didn't get any post this week! aw man, no body loves me! haha I'm in what missionaries call the tunnel. the time after 6 months through the time until I have 6 months left when everyone forgets about you hahaha

Its orange season, so we eat those a lot! Elder Grow chucked one at our car as it was driving away, that was funny! haha. also, eggs here are cheap. we can get 24 eggs for like R25...or like 3 bucks! Niceeee

The good scriptures for the week are 1 Peter 2:9-21, 3 Nephi 1:22, &

Jacob 4:6
"Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea."

Life as a missionary is fun! I cannot fathom the fact that I'm clicking 10 months on Saturday! Hittin' the double digits!

Talk to y'all next week!

LOVE,
Elder Haws

This morning we saluted the small flag I put in my planner



Elder Grow and I walking the hills of NU14



It was cold, but look at the cool pictures on my desk



Elder Staheli and I on exchanges