It's Beginning to Look a lot like... SUMMER‏

Hey Family,

Christmas is around the corner but there’s no snow in sight. It’s a sick joke. What’s even worse is that we might be having a rainy Christmas again. Go figure. I don’t know what I do to deserve rain every time I talk to you guys on the phone. I guess whatever happens, happens.

Andrew French is off to Chicago North? When? I might be wrong but I think Elder Soares might be there. Do you guys remember? Right as I got to Navegantes Ronan Soares left on his mission for Chicago. I just don’t remember if it was north or not. Either way, have Andrew keep his eyes open for a Brazilian named Soares. Send him a hug for me.

The Christmas Conference was amazing. We ended up having an extra zone at the conference so it was PACKED! We only had about 20 elders at our house for the night. The 115 of us just showed up and left in the same day. An enormous night in Floripa would have been awesome, but against all rules.

The call should work out great if you call me around 2 or 3 o’clock. Elder Hill is planning for his family to call in the morning. If anything changes I may have to give you guys another email. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to the president first.

I don’t know what else to mention. I’ll be talking to you guys next week .I already opened the little package and will open the big one as soon as I get home. Thanks for coming.

Christmas is near, the rain is here, and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Preparing for the Holidays,
Elder Haws(mo)

Christmas Conference‏

Hey Family,

Mike Jorgensen is already back from his mission? AND he got married? That is awesome. I had completely lost track of when people are getting home. About a month from now everyone will probably be back except for Shipley and me. Oh well. We’ve still got some work to be done.

Yesterday was stake conference (in our new chapel) so we got to see President and Sister Queiroz as well as the rest of the missionaries in and around Joinville. This week we were going to have Zone Conference on Friday but it got canceled. Instead we will be going to Florianopolis on Wednesday to have a “Christmas Conference” with around 100 missionaries. It might be the most absurd idea the Queiroz’s have ever had. Unfortunately our bus will leave from Joinville at 4 am, which means we’ll be up around 3. On the bright side we will see almost everybody from our group. Elders Bateman, Andrews, Cornaby, and I will all be there. Oh yeah! I’ll also run into Elder Santana (formerly Elder C. Silva), the elder I trained in Imbituba. It turns out he’s training right now. I guess that might make me a grandpa. I guess that means I’m REALLY old.

As far as the Christmas call goes, it will end up being ~5 hours difference. We will officially have the new phones in full operation on Wednesday. In the past you guys have called to:

***-****-**** and
***-****-****.

This time the number will be:
***-****-****.

You will still have to throw the Brazil Code in front but the area code is ** and the phone number is ****-****. Any questions? Good. We’re still planning the specifics for Christmas but you guys could call around 2 or 3 pm, which would translate to 7 or 8 down here. If that doesn’t work for you, just tell me. If that doesn’t work for me, I’ll let you guys know.

Where is Greg going to be living, and what will the classes be? Did he pick a major yet?

The rain has slowed down, the sun is out, and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Preparing for the Red-Eye Bus,
Elder Haws(mo)

Cleaning Up After the Flood‏

Hey Family,

The rains are slowing down. Last Tuesday we were at lunch with a member casually chatting about the weather when she turned the news on. We watched as a national network talked about Santa Catarina for 20 minutes. That has never happened before. They then proceeded to show that Spain, England, Mexico, and the US were also talking about the weather down here. I was surprised. Then I got worried that you guys would be stressed out about us. We’re fine. The biggest thing that happened in this ward was that the other companionship that lives with us couldn’t get to there area the day of the rain. The two biggest roads in our area turned to rivers but we were still able to visit our investigators. I’ve seen pictures of other elders walking (not swimming) in water that covered their nametags. … Do the math.

Thanks for the packages. I’m still holding off for a little before I break them out. The anticipation is killing the other gringos in my house. It doesn’t bother me though. I guess the newer guys just tend to be a little more excited about Christmas. I still find it hard to believe that I’m one of the “old guys”. Who knows, maybe I have learned a little bit about the work, but I’m still trying to figure it out. Each area, each companion, each ward, each investigator, and each discussion is different. Some kids still don’t realize that there is no clear cut formula for success in any situation.

I’m glad Thanksgiving and the birthdays went well. Christmas should be amazing for you guys. WHITE. After the single greatest rainy season in recorded history (that still hasn’t ended) people are anticipating an over-charged summer. OH BOY! Don’t be surprised to see Haws come home crispy. Good luck with the snow!

Wow. I have no idea what our schedule is going to be for Christmas. We’re trying to work it out with a couple members. It would end up being a lot easier to know the new phone number we’re going to have. I imagine we can just do the call in the afternoon. I’ll keep you posted. I hope to have everything worked out with the members next week. OH. I won’t be having P-day the weeks of Christmas and New Years. Just on Christmas and New Year’s Day. As such, I might have a LITTLE trouble sending emails off, but I’ll do what I can.

The sun is out, the roads are dry, and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Soaking Up the Sun,
Elder Haws