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