Enjoying the New Bedtime‏

Hey Family,

Life is getting pretty crazy down here in Joaçaba. We’re officially halfway through Carnaval, which means the biggest is yet to come. Having to be in early is killing our work, but our obedience will have to lead to blessings. The Lord is watching over us, sees our willingness to obey, and will take care of the rest.

Wednesday night Elder Cook got here just in time to partake of the birthday cake. I think I already mentioned, but each month we have a “Branch Birthday Party” for everyone who has a birthday in that month. Elder Cook was more than happy to get of the bus and get stuffed full of dessert.

Elder Cook has been in Brazil for a total of 6 months now. 2 months in the MTC (São Paulo) and 4 months in Navegantes. Needless to say we’ve spent a good amount of time discussing that city. I was more than pleased to be informed that he and his trainer managed to baptize just about every investigator I left behind. He’s from the same group as Elder Hill (my companion in Joinville). Elder Cook is from Las Vegas, Nevada, attended one year at UNLV, and his passions include guitar and hockey. He’s the first REAL hockey fan I’ve spent time with so he’s teaching me plenty of little facts and interesting stuff to know. His NHL team is the Edmonton Oilers, he is 5’11” has reddish-brown hair, loves personal study, and is eager to start baptizing again. We’re going to have to start granting that wish! Joaçaba here we come!

You want me to bring home the winter clothing stuff to give to Greg? The only thing I was planning on leaving was the waterproof exterior to the coat. I’ve used it enough that it doesn’t have the same guarantee anymore, and a member liked the look of it enough to start bartering for it. Just give me the word and I’ll leave it in the suitcase. Unfortunately I won’t have the option of giving a lot of stuff away. My clothes don’t fit many people.

You guys are already planning the sacrament meeting in May? Relax. We’ve still got PLENTY of time. Nearly 3 whole months. Remember parents aren’t aloud to get trunky… at least not until the missionary already is. I was talking to an Elder the other day whose mother started a weekly countdown in her email beginning at 20 weeks. That’s absurd! No one is allowed to try that stuff.

I’ve started to laugh at the weather. Every night it starts to rain just as Carnaval starts to happen. The same thing happened last year in Imbituba. I think somebody upstairs doesn’t approve of this party. If nothing else, at least we get to go to bed a little early.

Thanks for everything. The cards should be arriving soon, the festivities should be coming to a close and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Avoiding the Apostasy,
Elder Haws(mo)

Called to Serve‏

Hey Family,

Congrats on the Temple Greg. Don’t be a slacker. Go whenever you can down in Provo. It might be “a little walk away” but it will be a whole lot less than you’ll be walking on the mission just to eat lunch! It’s worth a little extra effort. I’m not sure if Lisbon has a temple or not, but you probably already know. It might be tough to get in a lot of temple attendance on the mission. Just in case you were wondering:

“Somos hoje conclamados a servir e a pregar o rei Jesus,
Dando ao mundo nosso testemunho,
Proclamamos sua luz...

Juntos todos juntos, marcharemos em união,
Prontos, sempre prontos, a cumprir fiel missão,
Firmes entoamos, este hino triunfal:
Jovens de Sião, lutemos pela causa celestial.

Somos hoje conclamados às fileiras dos soldados do Senhor,
Vamos pelas sendas e atalhos,
Para demonstrar valor...

Juntos todos juntos, marcharemos em união,
Prontos, sempre prontos, a cumprir fiel missão,
Firmes entoamos, este hino triunfal:
Jovens de Sião, lutemos pela causa celestial.”

You might be able to find an audio clip if you search for “Chamados a Servir”. It’s pretty cool. If you want an actual translation of the Portuguese version I can get it to you in the future. Jordan Hatch is heading to Salvador? Poor kid. It’s HOT. I’m just glad he’s a virtuous kid. There’s lot of stuff going on in that city this week that… let’s say… missionaries don’t want any part of. Salvador is arguably the city with the largest and most intense Carnaval (Marti Gras) in Brazil. I wouldn’t be surprised if the missionaries get locked down in there house for 2 weeks up there. Apparently Joaçaba has one of the biggest Carnaval celebrations in southern Brazil. As such I’ll have to be home with windows closed and doors locked by 7 pm Friday-Tuesday. Wish me luck.

This week is transfers. It just so happens that…

I was so happy to read some of Dad’s last letters. I had noticed that for the past month or so it has been a lot more pleasant to read about the BYU Basketball. Little did I know, it’s not because we were winning, it as because Coach Rose made Tavernari stop talking to the press. It was a very good call. Without him saying anything stupid, nobody talks about him. I can’t remember a single article in the past two weeks worth of letters tat so much as mentions his performance. It’s kind of funny.

… Elder West is getting transferred to Mafra, a city on the border of Paraná and will serve as district leader. I will be receiving Elder Cook as my new companion. He will be entering his 4th transfer, his second area, and I will be his second companion. Did I happen to mention that he’s spent the last 3 transfers (while I was in Rio Tavares, Joinville, and Joaçaba) in Navegantes? Very good times.

The sun is out, my shoes are holding out, and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Awaiting my fellow Navegantese,
Elder Haws(mo)

Cake

Hey Family,

Life in Joaçaba keeps on coming. To answer your question Mom: Yes it stopped raining; no it’s not cool and fresh. My companion, Elder West, is not an ENORMOUS kid. 6’0” 170 lbs. Everyday by lunch he looks like he’s melting. This last week we were up over 100 degrees with far too much humidity. That wouldn’t have been so bad if we didn’t do 4 hours of service at the Branch President’s house. Elder West was helping the President Edilar break up the rock bed underneath the house using a variety of hammers, chisels, and a jack hammer. I went solo with a pick axe, a shovel and a wheel barrow to level out the top of a hill to park his car. I wish I could send pictures but I can’t seem to find my card reader after the last transfer. Basically President Edilar’s house is built on a hill a little bit taller than ours, but instead of completely leveling out the ground, Brazilians build 12 foot concrete pillars/legs/poles to hold the house up. AS such we are clearing what appears to be dirt and chunks of tectonic plate away from the front of the hill to build a ramp and, subsequently, a driveway to where he can park his car under the house. If I could send pictures you’d probably understand a lot easier, but it looks like you’ll have to wait until May to see pictures. Then again, if you want I can get my pictures burned on to a CD and mail that to you, but it would probably only get home a month before me. What do you think?

Ben Fielding is going to Colorado Springs? If he gets to the mission field before the end of May he needs to go and give Elder Lewis a hug for me. He’s a buddy from BYU that I’ve lost contact with. Go figure. 2 years with everybody on different continents and we lose track of each other.

Spencer won’t be home in May? He always has been a slacker. He excited about the new year with the Bills? We got potential to take the Eastern Conference this year? How is Collie expected to do in the draft? Is Max still the go-to guy at BYU, or have his “big game heroics” caused the coaching staff to rethink an option offense with Covey or Nielson at the helm? What are the chances that Jordan Richardson comes back from the mission and starts making an instant impact on the team at DE?

Sorry Mom, no postcards yet. We can’t seem to find any in this city if all else fails I’ll have to get one this weekend when we get to do a little bit of traveling. I hope no one will get too offended with a card that’s no from my current area. I’ll keep you guys posted.

This last week we had Cake night in the branch. Sacrament attendance has been around 60-70 people, so we were hoping to boost things. We had a competition between the members for the “Most Delicious” “Most Creative” and “Most Beautiful” cakes, with the prizes being homemade chocolate chip cookies. To mix things up we each made our own cakes to compete. Unfortunately by the time we finished the cookies I didn’t have a whole lot of time to make my cake. I had planned on making a “Better than Basketball” cake, but it didn’t work out so hot. I’m not sure if it was because we’d already had the oven baking cookies and cakes for 5 hours, but the cake turned out to brownies. The caramel topping I bought ended up tasting like molasses (so I didn’t us it) and the cream I bought to make homemade whipped cream died. I watched as Elder West made perfect cream for his cake and then when I opened the first pack of cream I’d bought the same day it had already spoiled. The “back-up” pack I bought had already turned to nasty, clumpy butter. As such, w ran to the store to buy one more pack. I opened it, tossed it into the bowl, added the sugar and after about 90 seconds of hitting with the whisk it turned into butter. It was one of the most frustrating days of my life but we still had 12 cakes to be judged and 61 people to finish up the masterpieces.

2 more transfers, 2 more zone conferences, 3 more interviews, plenty of time to make a difference.

The sun is out, the heat is here to stay, and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Enjoying Leftovers,
Elder Haws(mo)

Portuguese 101‏

Hey Family,

Portugal? Portugal? PORTUGAL!!!!!!!

Congrats little guy. You’ll love it. I think. The Portuguese that you’ll be speaking on the “continent” is pretty different from the language the people here know as “Brazilian”. Fortunately, the further south you go in Brazil, the more Portugal-ish the Portuguese gets. It will be REALLY weird to switch from Spanish to Portuguese but as soon as you get the first “eye-opener” you’ll be fluent and training.

Spanish --->Portuguese
Yo Eu (think the letter “a” and the letter “o”… aye-oh)
Soy Sou (think “sew” pants or seeds)
Tu Tu
El Ele (the letter “l” and “e”)
Ella Ela (the letter “l” and the sound “uh”)
Nos Nós
Vos Vós
Hablar Falar
Ser Ser
Estar Estar

Go get ‘em tiger. We’re all proud of you.

May 17th we speak? June 3rd he leaves? Sounds like we’ll be playing ball together for 4 weeks. Right as soon as I make my first RM jump shot we’ll be shipping you off to Provo.

Jenny, the boys want to know if I will play with them after the mission? Tell them I’m looking forward to it. If I have any free time at school I’ll be there distracting them away from their homework. I will quickly become the favorite uncle once again.

This morning we went to the neighbor city to play basketball and soccer with about 8 primary kids. The baskets were about 12-13 feet tall, so there were very few baskets made… by the kids. After basketball we switched over to soccer. Man, 8 year old Brazilian kids are pretty good with a ball at their feet. Two kids (eight and ten years old) beat Elder West and me by one goal. They won with a header by the 8 year old. It was the best goal that I’ve witnessed so far on my mission.

It’s amazing how the Lord is willing to bless us. Each of the last three days we’ve managed to teach one AWESOME lesson each day (along with other good ones). It’s remarkable to notice how whenever we put in the extra effort, the Lord pours the spirit out in the lesson. All we have to do is keep going when it’s hot, knock a certain door one more time, or have a little extra patience with a family that’s returning to the church and the Lord will prepare the miracle. If we desire to have fun, spiritual experiences, the Lord will give them to us.

The sun is out, the branch wants an activity, and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Pondering Portugal,
Elder Haws(mo)