Week 25

Hey guys!

Oh man, this was a long week of work. Elder Price pushed the work so so hard. We are both really tired. We had a lot of things happen to us. We worked tirelessly and we saw the change in our numbers. This week to be more direct in the letter I’m going to just describe the major events that happened in the day. Just assume that everything else just passed regularly.

Monday

After the long week where nothing worked out for us we felt a little better for the day. We  were able to find 3 new investigators. We found a lady named Norma and her Husband Juan. They met with quite a few missionaries in the past and we just discussed how they had liked the missionaries. We set a date to come back on Wednesday. We also found another lady while contacting in Santa Amelia. She let us in and we had a short first lesson. We went over some of the Restoration and that was it. We set up a further lesson on Saturday.

Tuesday:

We had an average day. We didn’t have much happen. Because of cambios we had district class postponed till Wednesday. Nothing really changed in the zone except that one of our Zone leaders, Elder Catrón left and now Elder Froerer is now our new zone leader. We worked hard throughout the day and it went by quick. For our final hour we met up with our ward mission leader and we went to visit a member family. It was a cool visit.

Wednesday

We had a crazy day. We started off with having an incredible district class. Elder Hancock, our district leader taught us about giving our all into the work. It was very spiritual. We then had a mini cambio. Elder Hancock went to Retiro to work, and I switched him spots to work in Parral with Elder Allred. I had a crazy day in Parral. Since the sector is so big, we had to ride our bikes all day. I was shocked how out of shape I am. I once rode 144 miles from the Grand Tetons to Bear Lake on a bike. Wednesday seemed worse. I am out of shape. Elder Allred is pretty experienced. He only has one last month of his mission. We had crazy lessons and I’ve never had to teach and talk so fast in my life. It was awesome. We ended having a really cool noche de hogar (family home evening) with a family, and we made some good cookies from a recipe from Elder Allred. On our way back home we had to ride back in the dark down some dark streets. We turned down one, and out of no- where a pack of vicious dogs came out and attacked us. These were no small dogs. The pack leader was this big black one. You could see the evil in its eyes. It wasn’t out to play, it was out to kill. It tried to knock Elder Allred off his bike multiple times but he was able to pedal away. It then switched to me and I had to kick for my life. It was so intense. Eventually it gave up and we got home as quick as we could.

Thursday.

We finished up the mini cambio and I got the good news that Elder Hancock and Price were able to find a ton of cool people the day before. We went out and worked hard. We contacted tons and built on the new energy we got from the mini cambios. Towards the end of the night, our plans started to fall. We switched to just contacting and I felt like we should go down a specific street that was within our sight. We went door to door, and eventually we came to a house with a nice little gate and shouted our usual ''Halo.'' Within a few seconds a lady walked out and we were able to talk for just a bit. To me, at first, I thought we had found a members house and she was just excited to talk to us missionaries. Then Elder Price asked, ''What’s your name?'' I looked over in surprise realizing that she was a contact. We asked if we could share a message, and she let us right in. Their family is way cool. They have four kids, and they, the parents, Nancy and Galvarino, have plans to get married. We were stoked to find them. They are really cool people. We just started with how to begin teaching and we set another visit for Saturday.

Friday.

Originally we had an incredible day planned to visit all the people we had found through the week. To our disappointment, almost all our plans failed. It wasn’t the best day. It was really hard.

Saturday.

We were determined to finish up the week strong. We went around on bikes that day. Just after starting the day, we found a couple that lives close to us. They let us right in, and we had a good first lesson. We got to know them and we set another visit for next Tuesday. We rode all around Retiro. We explored a lot of the more campo parts of the sector. We talked with a ton of people. To end the night it was our turn to clean up the chapel. We cleaned it up and prepared it for church in the morning.

Sunday.

We had a good but disappointing church meeting. Out of the people we had invited and committed to church, no one showed up. It was a disappointing blow to all the tireless work we had done through the week. We had our planning sessions and went out to work for the day. We did mostly contacts through the day to get our goal of 140. We had a branch meeting and we made some good plans to get this rama (branch) going.  Our numbers at church are dwindling. We have to reach out to the less actives, converts, and the new converts. It’s going to be a lot of work to get the branch going again.

We finished out the week finding 11 new people to teach. It was a huge difference for us. We are so excited to have these new options and these new opportunities to share the gospel. It’s going to be a very very busy week. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.

The weather is starting to turn. It’s strange to feel cold now. I haven’t had a winter season in a year now. It’s definitely turning fall. I better enjoy these blue skies in Retiro. In the winter it will become constantly cloudy and it will never stop raining, (so I’ve heard).

I’m ready for another go at getting a good week. It’s going to be a tough one. Our leaders are putting a lot of trust into us. A lot is weighing on us to get people to church. It is a big challenge we are facing! It’s exciting to see the work that needs to be done, and then to realize that through our Heavenly Fathers help, I can truly receive the divine assistance I need to get it done. I am so grateful for our Heavenly Father and the care he gives us. I am so grateful for the Savior and the support and the strength he gives. I rely completely on the strength he gives me.

 I am so grateful for all of you. I love you guys so much. You are everything to me. I appreciate all of your prayers. I feel them as I work.

I look forward to hearing all that happens this week. I hope all is going well at home. I love you and miss you. Until next week.

Elder Ethan Haws