Was awesome to hear from you guys last night!!

HEY!

Man, the living room hasn't changed a bit. I'm missing my place on the couch. The chair looks nice, but I'll be honest, its not what I expected. It looks pretty comfy according to daddy. I got lots of sports and movie's to catch up on and to watch from that place!

Chrsitmas in Cape Town

Well, it was awesome to hear from you guys last night!! I really really enjoyed it! Sorry my voice sounded weird (not my fault) and that the connection wasnt the greatest ever. At least it didnt take like 30 minutes to work like it did last Christmas! haha I was wondering though...how much does it cost to call me?! I'm just curious.
I basically told you all about my week on the phone, but I did go on exchanges with Elder Perry. He's from Whales, and is a sweet missionary. then the next day I travelled to Fish Hoek and went on exchanges with Elder Park. I think that is the reason I'm sick. You always stay up late on exchanges, so I think my body just couldnt handle it and decided to get sick. I'm feeling a little bit better. I was thinking that this kind of was a good time to be feeling a little under the weather because you're not expected to teach like 5 lessons every day. Its a time to strengthen members and just to go about doing good...and thats exactly what we did.

I'm probably more excited to send you that package than you are to receive it! Its gonna be good. I shoulda sent one sooner. If there is anything else you think of that you want, let me know! I for sure bring lots of stuff home when I finish my mission! (an entire suitcase full)

The 2 scriptures are Hebrews 6:10

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

and D&C 31:3-5

3 Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation.
4 You shall declare the things which have been revealed to my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun. You shall begin to preach from this time forth, yea, to reap in the field which is white already to be burned.
5 Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back, for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live.

I think that is about all for today. Thanks for always being such a great family to me, your love, support, encouragement & prayers is what keeps me going each and everyday. Each day that passes is a day closer to when we'll meet again! These last 8 months or so will for sure go by quick quick!

LOVE you guys!
Elder Haws


Elder Perry and I

 

Cooking up a storm!

 

Look at all those cookies we made



The Galis family...cooked a feast for us on Christmas!

It looked cool in person...like the clouds coming down off the mountain

He was making Billtong...or beef jerkey as we call it

A classic Elder Giles look

Looking towards the south pole. soo pretty!



Elder Park and I with False Bay in the background

 

I'll be waiting!! :) :)

Hey family

Thanks for the email. wrapping paper turned over, smart daddy! Shame to hear about the Aggies! dang. and I dont know a single kid in that picture you sent me! haha

My week was pretty good. I went on exchanges with Elder Speed. That was fun. He is a powerful missionary.  One night the AP's called us and said that we were having someone join us for a day. He lives close to East London, and got called to the Uganda mission. He lived in a branch, so the only person who could set him apart as a missionary was our mission president, President Wood! So he flew in in the morning, got set apart, and then we fetched him and took him out with us for a day. He is such a greenie haha he didnt even have a nametag. We had some decent lessons with him. He fellowshipped a lot with the missionaries in his area, so he'll be a good missionary and start his mission on the run. He slept over at some other elders boarding, and the next day he flew off to Jo-burg and into the MTC. Man, if I was him and had that long on mission, I'd slit my wrists and do push-ups in salt water! haha jk jk. (thats a missionary joke)

This week also was the ward Christmas party! It was just a braai. (BBQ) lots of members were there, and I ate a lot of meat! The next day was our Zone Conference/Christmas activity! It was in Bellville, which is like 20-30 minutes away. and since I'm a district leader, I had to go to the pre-meeting, and I didnt wanna be late, so we left like wayy early and there was no traffic and it was wayy easy to get to, so we just got to hang out and chat with other missionaries. The conference was nice! we talked a lot about heavenly father and how sometimes we tend to focus solely on jesus christ, rather than our loving heavenly father. After that we all shared our testimonies, which was cool. then we watched a movie called 17 Miracles. You must watch it!! It was super good. Its about the Willie and Martin handcart companies. I really enyoyed it...maybe cuz it was different than the same 3 movies I watch with investigators and members haha.

We all ate dinner and had like a cool gift exchange thing. I finally got to see the one and only Elder McDonald! YES! He came down from Namibia. Hes a zone leader now. we chatted a lot! We also sang as a zone. We sounded good. Anyway, zone conference was awesome!

Last night the stake had like a choral evening, with lots of singing. it was nice. Theres this lady who helped us sing, and she is like a pro. The final song was "O Holy Night" and she hit the high note! Wow! Powerful. there were lots of people there. When we were driving home, we got to see downtown Cape Town and Table Mountain at night! it was cool.

This morning our geyser (hot water heater) broke! We went over to some other elders boarding to shower..cuz I wasnt about to take a bath like the Africans....put some warm water in a bucket, stand there, and wash. no thanks! hopefully it'll get sorted out soon.

Alright, now the info you've been dying to hear...the phone call home! So we'll call from the chapel here in Meadowridge. The phone is like "locked" I guess, so I cant call you. so you'll call me! I do have the mission cell phone if things dont work out. so dont worry. that number is xxxxxxx. Dont call that if you dont have to. Call this number xxxxx that is the number of the chapel. Elder Giles is gonna call first at round about 8:30pm (Cape Town time) so just phone me up at like 9:30pm!! I'll be waiting!! :) :)

I've realized that missionaries are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! haha

President Monson said ?
"Let the christmas star shine brightly
upon your home this year.
gather your family nightly,
and feel the spirit near"

The scriptures are D&C 113:8, D&C 10:45, D&C 104:18

Well, I am very excited to talk to you guys! It's been too long!! I cannot wait!!! :) :)

TALK to you soon!
LOVE,
Elder Haws

Dusty was online while I was posting, it was late... so I sent him an email... here is his response...

dang daddy, go to bed! run up the stairs a bunch of times, or go outside and run around the culdesac!! haha that just gets the blood pumping, rather than calm you down! haha   and dont count sheep, talk to the shepard hahahahahaha

Elder Grow! I missed him! and the other guy has the same name as my current companion..Elder Giles

 

My fellow transfer mates at zone conference



the "greenie" we were with just for a day



Looking out over Cape Town from Bellville



There is such a sweet spirit about kids.

Heyyy

The house decoration looks okay. It took me a second to figure out what in the heck it was haha looks like a flag from a country in Europe.... but its a present, right?! and dad, please dont tell me you used printer paper for the white lines hahaha! you crack me up :) and heck yeah, you better run that ragnar run next year...im expecting you to! I'll run one with ya when I get back...how does that sound?! I wasn't disappointed with the christmas package at all...it was filled with lots and lots of love from my great family...what more do I need?! we'll pass on the Skype this year...and any picture will be fine for the Christmas card. Be creative, and just make sure I look decent, okay?! yeah, I get my hair cut every once and a while..and okayy, now we're talkin with this package. I'll keep my eyes open and see what I can do. Heres the thing...if I send it home by boat, it takes like 3 months to get there.... but if thats what you want.

We didnt do the mall thing. theres a guy in the ward that is like gonna assist us, so it'll start up in January.

Mommy, of course I'm flossing. not every single night though. and Elder Giles never brushes his teeth before he goes to bed. He is lazy.gimme a dental fact that'll convince him to brush haha and thanks for the REAL recipe

"South Africa, A World in One Country!"

As for the week here in Cape Town, it was nice. We practiced singing for our upcoming zone conference, that was fun. We helped this awesome guy in our ward move to this nice house! That was fun. We also got invited to the Relief Society activity! We helped set up, which they really appreciated. there was about 30+ sisters there. They all made like decorative Christmas hats to wear, and yeah, Elder Giles and I were the judges! haha it was fun.... and of course, there were so many fancy decorations, food afterwards! haha it was a fun morning to spend with the loving sisters in the Meadowridge ward. At church it was the Primary program. I could tell the primary president was stressed, but it turned out amazing. There is such a sweet spirit about kids. I enjoyed it a lot. and plus we had 5 investigators there, so that was a bonus.

There was a sad part of the week. that sweet lady we always visit in the hospital who has cancer told us the doctors told her that she's only got about 3 weeks to 3 months left here in her mortal probation on the earth. She's not doing too well, but I sure do hope and pray that whatever happens will be okay. I love that lady. I really do. I'm not taking my health for granted any more.

Our car was making all kinds of squeaking noises! So we took it in this morning, and of course, when the guy got in to listen to the noise...it sounded normal with no noise! haha! but eventually it squeaked and he said we needed new break pads, so we got that all sorted out. We were near the mission office and popped in to say hi and decided to do some service for the 2 senior couples that work in the mission office. We washed both of their cars, which they were very appreciative, and we washed the AP's car. We watered President Wood's tree he planted. Shame its dying haha. he's up in Namibia right now. We did that all this morning, on our p-day! haha.

This upcoming week is going to be busy. Tomorrow is exchanges. Thursday is the ward party at church, and then all day Friday is our zone Christmas activity! Its going to take up the whole day! They are even flying the elders from Namibia down, and it'll be all of us elders here in Cape Town. Its going to be freakin fun! I cant wait.

This week I clicked 15 months! Wow. 9 to go.  The scripture is D&C 124:45-46

45 And if my people will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of my servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily I say unto you, they shall not be moved out of their place.
46 But if they will not hearken to my voice, nor unto the voice of these men whom I have appointed, they shall not be blest, because they pollute mine holy grounds, and mine holy ordinances, and charters, and my holy words which I give unto them.

I'll try and find out some details about our phone call and let you know next Monday!
My time on the computer is up.

LOVE you!
-Elder Haws

Christmas is getting closer. What a great time of the year. I'm excited!

Heyy family,

Thanksgiving Dinner

I got your small Christmas package! thanks! I kinda opened it and checked it out, but I now have it under my bed and wont open it till Christmas! My temple recommend is good for 2 years, and remember I got it stolen, along with my license, from 24 Hour Fitness! It expires August next year. Thats exciting that Ryan Parker is coming home soon! Wow!

This week was pretty good. last Monday we played some basketball! It was freakin' fun. I'll be honest, most of the other elders were pretty un-athletic, and had no clue what basketball is haha but we still had a good time. I can still get the rim, easily. It felt good to sprint down the court, even though we were only supposed to play half court haha! It wasnt competitive at all. After that we got fed a freakin' nice dinner at FHE.

BONK

Another thing worth mentioning in this email is when I BONKED my head! aww man! So basically in our boarding my bed is slightly under a counter top. Its just the way the room is organized and situated. anyway, I'm not sure what in the world I was dreaming about, but in the middle of the night, I hit it pretty hard. It obviously woke me up, but I didnt realized exactly what happened until like 5 seconds later I put my hand to my head and felt and saw the blood. I got up and like washed it off in the bathroom, but I kinda had a headache after that. It finally stopped bleeding and eventually I made it back to sleep. All this while Elder Giles was sleeping like a little angel. I wanted my mommy to take care of me :) haha the next few days were embarrassing. I would just tell everyone that Elder Giles and I got into a fight or that I like wrestled a lion haha. Its healing up nicely and isnt very noticeable.

I witnessed and was a part of a miracle this week. I mean, you see tender mercies and small miracles all throughout the day, every day, but this one just stood out. The Scheepers family love us missionaries, and we love them! Brother Scheepers is like a builder and like handyman and can do it all. Thats how he makes his living. He has had some back problems in the past, and earlier last week he tweeked it again. He was worried cuz its how he supports his family and he needed to have a healthy back. Anyway, that day that he jacked up his back we werent even planning on visiting him, but we were supposed to do service for some people near his house. They ended up not being home, so we just popped in to the Scheeper home cuz there's always something to so there. it turns out they were planning to paint this room, and were SO happy that we showed up to give them a hand. but brother Scheepers also thought it appropriate to ask for a blessing. We administered to him, and yuppp, he was fully healed. He said the rest of the day it was feeling better, and that the next day when he woke up, he was completely healed. amazing huh?! Theres power in the preisthood, I promise you! that was cool. He even shared that experience in his testimony on Sunday in church.

In church our recent convert, Teacher from Zim, bore his testimony! It was totally unexpected. He is a boss! haha he did such a great job, and bore it from his heart. I was proud. He wants to come fellowshipping with us, and wants to serve a mission.

I guess the elders quorum in the ward is going to be singing at the ward Christmas party or whatever, so we had to practice. Man, thank goodness I was never in choir. That was torture haha. nahh, it wasnt that bad, just not something I really enjoy doing. Singing is fine, I'll do that, but all the techincal parts is what I'm not the biggest fan of. I guess the Lord is trying to teach me something cuz our zone is singing for the zone Christmas activity, so we have to practice this week...niceeee.

Elder Giles and I are struggling to find people to teach. knocking doors is very ineffective, the former investigators dont want much to do with us (thats why they're formers) and the members arent giving any referrals, so we're kinda in a pickle! We're been thinking of how to find solid father led families that are going to build the kingdom of God here on earth, and we came up with the idea of going to them. so where are the families all together...at the mall! haha so we've come up with the idea of like standing outside of the mall and having like a poster or something and just talk to as many people as we can. What do you guys think of that?! haha. we'll see....

Well, I'm not gonna lie, I'm tired. I can feel the wear and tear of spending an entire year in the service of the Lord, giving my very best and 110% each and every day. It can take a toll on my frail 20 year old body haha. I kinda think back on the year and all the walking days in mdantsane and training Elder Wolfgramm and being a district leader, and having not really any days off to kick back and relax, man! I guess thats what mission is all about though, right?! Every elder goes through it and experiences it. and look at me, sitting in a car all day haha I guess I can be a whimp sometimes. I'm still working hard and dont have any regrets, so thats good, and I plan to keep it that way. I have this quote by Elder Hollond. he talks about not settling for being just a mediocre missionary. He goes on to say how they wanna have a ambulance and a stretcher there in the airport when I finish my 2 years of inspired service. I can promise you I wont have anything left after these 2 years, I'm trying to accomplish all that the Lord has called me here to do. I cant stop, and I wont stop, ever! haha.

Here are 2 scriptures that I came across and kinda liked when I read them during the week.

3 Nephi 7:18
And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were  not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.

D&C 58:64
For, verily, the sound must go forth from this place into all the world, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth—the gospel must be preached unto every creature, with signs following them that believe.

Christmas is getting closer. What a great time of the year. I'm excited!

Well family, I love you. I miss you. I hope I'm making you proud here in South Africa as a full time missionary. lots of people know the name of "Haws" over this side. What a great name!
Love,
Elder D.Haws


The baptisms in my last ward!!



Yummy