The Fourth of July?‏

Hey Family,

As of today my mission president is President Queiroz. It’s a little hard to believe that the Dansies will be gone in a couple of hours. It’s been a fun ride with them. I’ve always been able to rely on them to talk BYU sports with me, but now we have doubts. President Queiroz has been living in Utah for around 20 years but I don’t yet know if he’s a Cougar or Ute fan. Pray for me.

Life is going on as usual. After four or five days of clouds and winter coats the sun came back and it’s HOT. Good times. I thought I was going to get to use long sleeves for a little while. I guess not. This morning we ran to Itajai with the hopes of playing basketball with the Zone Leaders and some members. It had been 2 weeks since I’d gotten to shoot so I was all kinds of excited to play. When we showed up we found out that we had no ball, no members, and the Sisters showed up (so there was no possible chance of playing football). I ended up tossing the football around with Elder Harmon a little before the sisters pulled out a deck of Uno cards. We played one round before the security guards threw us off the premises. Good times. We always play basketball at the University in Itajai, and today we learned that they don’t allow anyone to play any form of card games on campus. That was a new one. Do they even have that rule at BYU-I? If not it doesn’t exist in the USA.

Last night we found out that our baptism this Saturday won’t work out. Don’t worry. We’ll splash him next Saturday. Then we’ll have at least one baptism on the 19. Transfers are showing up on the 23rd and no one has any idea what President Queiroz is going to pull. This last transfer that President Dansie did surprised everyone, even the Elders who are going home in 3 weeks and have witnessed 15 transfers. IT just so happens that in this next transfer my current Zone Leader Elder Gilo and my trainer Elder Martin will be going home. Elder Martin left Concordia in October and has been serving as Zone Leader in a city called Lages (the coldest city in the mission) since January. If I don’t get transferred this month I won’t get to see him again. Don’t worry, I’m not going to cry if I don’t see him.

Sorry if this email is short or lacks exciting information. We’re working hard, the members won’t stop giving us referrals and there aren’t enough days in the week to teach everyone. Wish us luck. If anybody has fun little stories or fables that teach (or could be adjusted to teach) positive messages and/or doctrinal principles please send them. It’s always nice to mix up the lessons a little bit.

Thanks for everything. It’s hot, there’s a ton to do, and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Hoping the parade comes back to 4th street in 2009,
Elder Haws(mo)

(PS Is it already the 4th of July again? That's my 2nd time here in Brazil)

One More Time with da Rocha‏

Hey Family,

Life is good here in Navegantes. It finally started to cool down a little bit and now everyone is talking about the coldest winter in history. Just to give you an idea: I’m still walking around in short sleeves. It’s fun to see everyone shivering in their winter coats, trying everything in their power to stay in the sun, while I’m hanging out in shorts and a T-shirt. Oh well. I guess I’m just going to have to accept the fact that I won’t be seeing snow for another 17 months. That’s just not fair.

Good times working with Elder da Rocha. He doesn't speak English as well as Elder Lacerda… yet. We’re definitely working on it. He is from Recife, the capital of Pernambuco. Pernambuco is one of the most northern states in Brazil, and rumor has it that the sun rises on Recife before any other city in North or South America. Recife generally reaches temperatures of 104-110 degrees Fahrenheit year round, never measuring less than 70 degrees in the winter. Unfortunately Elder da Rocha feels cold from time to time down here in the south. Poor kid.

Hey, we have some requests from a ward member named Daniel. Daniel is Luiza’s husband. We baptized Luiza May 24th, and Daniel has been helping us in multiple aspects of the work all along. He has a couple questions for the family. He wants a recipe for corn dogs. He ate them a few times on his mission but doesn’t know how to make the batter. He’s also curious regarding a few prices. How much do the following items cost? A Mr. Potato Head, the book “I Have an Answer”, and the book “Missionary Pool”? He said not to send anything until I’ve confirmed prices with him, but if at all possible, could you throw a Mr. Potato Head in? Just get me the prices next week and he’ll pay me in Brazilian Currency. Luiza, his wife, fell in love with Mr. Potato Head after watching “Toy Story” and has wanted one ever since.

Nick Birch is home? Is he really going to play baseball at BYU? Alex is coming home? When did that happen? Jake will be home in a couple months, and Josh Tew is probably already packing his bags. This is almost too much to believe. I’ve still got 11 months ahead of me.

So, I’m throwing in a photo of our district this last transfer. After every district meeting we would go outside and play catch with the football for 15-20 minutes. Good times. Elder Lacerda (far right) and Sister Dantes (right) both got transferred and Elder Flores (the Mexican on my right) is sitting at home right now. That kid will be married here in a couple months and maybe even have a kid before I get home. I also attached a photo of Anderson (our most recent baptism) and his family. His little sister Tais is only 7 but she’ll be getting baptized in March. We started to teach the parents on Saturday, they were REALLY receptive, and we’ll be going back tonight. Wish us luck.

Brazilian Winters don’t exist, the members won’t stop giving us referrals, and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Praying for Snow,
Elder Haws(mo)

Welcome Back Cummard!‏

Hey Family,

Thanks for the photos of the kids Jenny. They’re great. Thanks for coming back to BYU Lee. I don’t know what we’d do without you. Go Celtics. Don’t let Kobe even think about another ring.

Another week ended, another transfer ended, and another soul entered the waters of baptism. That last one is the happy story. My first night in Navegantes we went to visit Marcia and her family. She smoked and drank coffee, didn’t want to marry her boyfriend/husband/father of her children, but liked going to church. After two months of working with her she agreed to get married, was down to one cigarette and one cup of coffee a day… but moved to Cacador (a city in the central north region of the state). Two of her kids stayed with her aunt, who had already been responsible for raising them. We continued visiting the kids (ages 11 and 7). Saturday we baptized Anderson (photos next week) and it looks like we’re going to start teaching the aunt and uncle. But that was just the good news Saturday. Last night we found out that Elder Lacerda is getting transferred. He’s going to… Cacador! He’ll show up, get the family married, and start tossing bodies in the water. At least that’s the plan. The Elders who have been in Cacador decided that she lived too far away to visit, but not anymore.

Today we celebrated the last P-Day of Elder Flores. He served for seven months as assistant to the president and his last three months as our zone leader here in Itajai. We played basketball with him and his dad. Yes. His dad came to pick him up and brought all kinds of goodies. Sun Chips, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Whoppers, etc. Elder Flores is going home, and we’re going to miss him, but he’ll be at BYU so I’ll find some way to hunt him down. Poor Elder Harmon. Zone Leader, 5’10”-ish, always ends up guarding me in basketball. The worst part is that I end up guarding him too. Today I must have blocked at least 10 of his shots. I almost felt bad. Just to be a nice guy I stopped posting him up for the last half an hour or so. Instead of backing him down in the post I starting hitting 15-foot jump shots. He tried to tell me that big guys aren’t allowed to do that. I tried to explain that I’m a Haws but he didn’t seem to understand. Poor guy.

This next transfer I’ll be working with Elder da Rocha. We were in the same district when I was in Imbituba. He’s a good kid. We already worked together on splits once, but now we’ll have a little more time to work. The only problem is that this next transfer will only be 5 weeks long. Time’s going to fly by.

The new president arrives this month. Life will start changing. Wish me luck.

Thanks for everything, and sorry this letter is so short.

It still feels like summer, transfers are turning the mission upside-down, but I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Awaiting the Switch,
Elder Haws(mo)

Elder Jackson?‏

Hey Family,

Today I got to play basketball in the shoes the member gave me. They work great. It’s just too bad that I don’t. I’ve never been able to shoot outside of the church, and it definitely holds true down here. We played for a little over 2 hours and the only shot I hit from outside the key was a free throw. ONE free throw. It’s a good thing I was bigger than everyone. Inside the key should have been a dream come true but I don’t have any touch. Oh well. Now I just have to teach Brazilians how to throw a pass into the post. The best “entry pass” I received today was when a sister-RM missed a 3-pointer off the backboard.

It’s still HOT down here. When ever we get a day of rain it will cool down for around 48 hours, but then it’s back to a scorcher. Last week we went to a Pizza Rodizio with the ward. Think of Tucano’s or the Rodizio Grill (they bring the food to your table/all you can eat), now imagine that with pizza. It was a surprise trip. We’d eaten with an investigator family at 5pm, and then went to the pizzeria at 7. Unfortunately I was only able to eat 33 pieces of pizza. Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to redeem the Haws family name next time. The only other interesting note is that we are going to have a baptism next Saturday. I’m finally emailing a couple pictures from Beto Carrero World. The height limit is for the BIG TOWER, the tallest tower ride in the world. Don’t worry. I rode it anyway. 3 times. I’m also sending a picture of the roller coaster. Feel free to laugh. It was weak. I’ve also got a picture with the Dansies and of Luiza, our last baptism.

SCOTT JACKSON IS IN IDAHO FALLS? Unless I’m horribly mistaken, which is always possible, I DO remember him. He and the rest of the rest of the saxophones warmed up right next to us and he even played bari sax in the Pep band with me. The kid was an animal. Wow. Give him a hug and make him commit to coming back to the band. How much time does he have on the mission? Will he still be serving when I get back? Schedule splits for next May!

Thanks for the pictures from the T-Ball game. I’m glad to see everyone wearing BYU blue. Is that Spencer in the brown jacket with the beard? Is it just me or is he getting a little bigger? And I’m not saying that he’s threatening 6 feet. I’m gaining weight. I don’t know how much, but I’m gaining. You can see in the photo with President and Sister Dansie. I miss hills. These flat areas are killing me.

The weather is still hot, my basketball shoes are Nike, but I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Posting Up the Soccer Stars,
Elder Haws(mo)

Who Needs the Rules?

Hey Family,

Sorry. I can't get the computer to accept my pictures. To make things better this computer doesn't have Microsoft Word so this letter will be written without spell-check. I hope that I still remember how to type well enough in English that you guys can understand most of the message.

Beto Carrero World last week wasn't nearly as good as expected. By that I mean that I was upset I paid $30 for that experience. The main attractions of the park are shows so we expected to be free to ride the rides as much and as often as we liked. As it turns out, we never waited in a line. The problem was that none of the rides were worth going on. The Big Tower was completely overrated. The rocket at Lagoon is by far a better ride, regardless of heigth. In fact, I was technically to tall to ride the Big Tower. Rather than just sit on the side I walked in and no one said anything to me as I rode it 3 times. The roller coasters (one real and one for kids) we're both less exciting than the little red roller coaster that was at the fair a few years back. The only fear I had was hitting my head on one of the supports as the ride went along. If we had either had more money or wanted to spend more money we could have seen the shows and done some of the "Pay-to-Play" attractions. As it was, we showed up at 10:30, did everything that had potential to be cool 3 times (we even went on the Brazilian version of "It's a Small World), and we were leaiving the park to catch the bus at 1:30. Beto CArrero World would be cool for families or dates, but it's not really worth a missionaries time (money).

I don't know if I told you but last week but they moved Zone Conference to June 2nd (yesterday). It was good, but got quite a few missionaries crying because it was our last one with President Dansie. At the end both President and Sister Dansie hugged each missionary (yes, Sister Dansie hugged the Elders and President hugged the sisters) and gave us a slide show of the mission. The President and the assistants talked a lot about transitioning to the new mission president so I hope it all works out ok. The Dansie's leave when President and Sister Queiroz arrive on June 30th. President Queiroz and his wife are both native Brazilians but have spent around 2 decades living in Utah. Transfers will be June 18th, but the next transfer will only be 5 weeks long so President Queiroz will be running as soon as he gets here. It's no fun to be losing the Dansies but they made everyone promise to visit them in Utah. We're already planning some parties. At Zone Conference I got to do some good chatting with former companions Elder Wright (Concordia) and Elder C. Silva (Imbituba). Nearly every brazilian has the last name of Silva so he's now Elder Santana. Elder Wright is serving as a Zone Leader in the southern half of Joinville and Elder Santana is in Sao Bento do Sul. The elder who trained Elder Huber is now in my zone so I got some time to talk to him about life. Thanks for the letters. As always Elder BAteman and I spent a majority of the ride home reading up about BYU sports. We're both anxious for winter here to end. Not for warmer weather. Not to be closer to going home. Just because we want to start reading about cougar football again.

Dad bought shoes? I thought I told him not to. I guess the old man doesn't have any respect for elders anymore. Oh well. Ramos (a memebr here) has been askign me every week if you guys are going to send a copy of "The RM" that he can buy from me. Besides that, I'm doing fine. I've had to pay bills and do a little traveling lately so I had to use personal funds for grocery shopping today. I'm currently waiting for a refund from the mission office for mission expenses. This part is never fun.

The weather is still warm, we're back in Navegantes, and I'm fine so stop worrying about me. Annoyed at a wasted 30 dollars,
Elder Haws(mo)