No Daughters?‏

Hey Family,

BYU lost in the first round again? I hadn’t even heard they were in the tournament. Oh well. This streak of first round losses will have to come to an end as soon as the student section receives a boost from this giant. After hearing so much about the young players on the team this year I’m getting excited to come back and see a new, powerful team running the floor. Our boys just need to keep improving so that by the time I’m a senior we’re competing for both the BCS Championship and the NCAA Championship. We’ll have to be solid enough to take on anyone who comes our way, but still be able to hold our heads high knowing we play clean, hard, and well. GO COUGARS!

Mission life seems to be following the same old route. I think I need to repent for how annoyed I get at the people sometimes. Members, investigators, companions, contacts in the street, etc. It seems as if I’ve been getting the same reactions, the same complaints, and the same excuses all day everyday for the last two years. I love everyone I serve but sometimes I just want to hit somebody. I’m sure you guys know how I feel.

This week we started teaching a fun little family. They’ve been living in Joaçaba for around a year now, but have lived almost everywhere in this western part of the state. He is a manager for the federal Brazilian bank, Caixa. As such they move around ever couple years. Luckily, before all the moves started they lived in Concordia. In our first visit we just talked about the different parts of town, the characteristics, the geography, the culture, etc. of my first area in the mission. Yesterday we stopped by their house again and I heard the funniest comment I’d ever heard about the bible. At first he said he only believed certain parts of the Bible because the book was written back when everyone thought the world was flat and if you sailed too far from the coast you’d fall off into the abyss. Solely because of that fact he doesn’t think he can trust too much of the bible. Then came the fun part. He mentioned that he’s read the bible from cover to cover and hadn’t found the answer to one of his questions. He said that as he read Genesis he read about Adam and Eve being created by God, and how the rest of mankind came to be because of he. He then mentioned that he only remembered reading that Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel. He remembered no other children, specifically no daughters, and came to his own personal conclusion that either the bible lacked some information, or the entire thing was a lie because there was no possible way that Cain and Abel could have brought more of God’s children to this earth. I just laughed. He’s right. That is an absurd thought. Plus, there is a lot of information missing from the Bible. I had to bite my tongue and wait for the right opportunity to give him the rest of the truth.

Yesterday was Elder Cook’s birthday so we’ll probably bake a cake or something to celebrate today. Then tonight we’re going to go and visit and English School, to wants to talk to some gringos. Wish us luck!

The church is true, summer is lingering, and I’m fine so stop worrying about me.

Taking life on step at a time,
Elder Haws(mo)

PS Transfers are next week. Sunday I will know my fate.