Week 82

April 20, 2015

Wow we are getting really far into my time in the mission! Every week is just soaring by now.

So this week we had a lot of extra stuff to do. We lost lots of precious time to work because we had to deal with mini cambios, physical therapy, special conferences, and investigator interviews…. We were running all over the place this week!

So Elder Hepworth is doing well with his physical therapy. His leg is just getting slightly better, not completely, but yes he is making progress. The traveling we have to do to get to Concepcion takes a ton of time. It’s an hour there and an hour back. So on Physical therapy days we don’t have much time to be working and visiting which kind of stinks.

On Saturday we had an awesome special conference where Dallin H. Oaks came and talked to all the missions here in Chile through a conference. His talk was amazing. He taught us many incredible things. It was awesome having a somewhat personal talk from an apostle. He talked about being FULL time missionaries, the spirit, prayer, commitments, and opened our eyes on the atonement talking about Alma 7:11-12. I was so inspired. I received the answers that I needed. We also had a very inspiring zone conference this week and it was very spiritual. It was also very direct.

Right after the conference we travelled back from Chillán and went back to our sector to have lunch and work. Right before we were about to leave, it started to rain. It was the first rainstorm of the season. And it didn’t let up one bit. It poured for the rest of the night. Let’s just say that by the end both my companion and I were drenched. It was a fun but a bit uncomfortable day! Hooray for the winter season!!

Our week was good work wise. We are moving slowly with the same investigators as always and nothing too interesting happened with any of them.  But we did contact a new family and we will be visiting them this week. We are excited to invite them to baptism.

So not to much happened in the week besides extra events. We are having a great time and our companionship is doing great. I am having a blast with tons of things to do. I am truly content!

Thank your for all your support and love! I love all of you so much! You are the greatest! Until next week!

Elder Ethan Haws

Week 81

This week was a pedal to the metal kind of week. We didn’t have a ton of cool stuff happen, just had a lot of hard work to do.

Famous…. among children:

So Elder ‘’Heppy on the beats’’ as people call my companion here has made himself quite the star among the flaite kids here. Even though they sometime harass us and treat us terribly, those things are changing now due to my companions rapping skills. There are literally times where we will walk down a street and then out of no-where a herd of kids comes running up to us and starts shouting ‘’HEY MAN, RAP!!! COME ON JUST RAP!’’ I chuckle a bit and I start the whole beatbox thing and then he just whips out a Mormon rap. I’m talking about classics like ‘’Teach Me How to Jimmer’’, some songs from Sons of Provo, and some missionary rap songs that are pretty classic. The kids just laugh and think we’re awesome!

Elder Hepworth is a magician as well. I mean, he knows a ton of magic tricks and we get people and those kids pretty good sometimes. It’s pretty entertaining.

The District:

The district is doing well. Our main challenge is finding people to teach. We have been talking about it a lot as a district. For my Tuesday class I talked a lot about it and talked about what Mosiah 28: 3-4 means to us.

 3 Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.

 4 And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very vilest of sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his infinite mercy to spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul because of their iniquities, suffering much and fearing that they should be cast off forever.

Basically I talked about getting that desire at all times. It’s really important having that testimony going strong at all times. We talked about a lot of other things, and I felt like I gave a good class. I am feeling much more confident and comfortable in the classes I give. It’s a good feeling trying to serve and inspire not only missionaries but members and other people.

Our work week.

So we tried passing by Alexis multiple times and every time we had a fixed appointment he had an excuse as to why he couldn’t visit. We passed by his house on Sunday on our way to church and he said he would go and he didn’t show up. So we are moving on…

We are making slow but steady progress with the Parra Lopez family. They haven’t decided on a marriage date but I feel like they are getting close. The dad, Mario, has something buried deep because he still won’t go to church no matter what we do to commit him. We are going to have to pull him aside and really find out what is going on.

We had a great time teaching our investigators Yoanna and Griselda. They are liking the gospel. Especially about temples. We just explained all that to them and they loved it. Griselda has to get married and Yoanna has to drop smoking.

That’s where we stand with our investigators. We have some pretty good futures to visit in the week, so we hope we will find someone pretty cool.

That is about it for this week. I felt the spirit a lot and I know that I was strengthened spiritually! I love being in the Lords service. There is no other calling I would ever want over this one.

I love you guys so much! Thank you for all that you do! I hope you have an incredible week! Until the next one!

Elder Ethan Haws

Week 80

Week 80

Wow, what a week. We had an incredible work filled week.

Here are some highlights.

Wait, where are you from?

Perhaps the thing that I’m enjoying most now is walking down the street and talking with everyone. Why? Well, when I start to talk to them they just look at me weird for a second and then ask… ‘’wait, where are you from?’’ They then go on to say that they are surprised because I can speak Spanish clearly, and better than most of the gringos they had ever seen. I feel pretty awesome about that after all the hard times I went through to get to this point. Most actually think I’m Chilean sometimes and that is awesome to me.

Lightning, tremors, fog and predictions:

We’ve seen some interesting natural events and weather here lately. Up north in Copiapo, they were affected with those huge landslides and rain because it hasn’t rained in 20 years up there. Down here we are unnaturally dry. It’s supposed to be rainy and basically winter weather but we are just seeing sunshine most of the time. Yeah, it’s getting colder but it is really different than what it should be. We have also had some serious fog on the hill for the last few days… Its super thick fog, sometimes it’s almost as thick as I’ve ever seen fog get….

We are seeing a lot of tremors lately. I personally haven’t felt a single one because we are walking around all day but there is one nearly every other day now. Scientists are coming out with reports that the continental plates are following the same exact pattern that it did in 2010 when Concé got rocked with that huge earthquake. Most people are antsy now because it was exactly how it happened 5 years ago…. So we’ll have to see if an earthquake rolls by sometime.

Also, I forgot to mention this but on my first day in the sector we had a lightning storm come over the sector all day. It was SO awesome hearing the boom of thunder again. Oh man it made me pretty trunky for Utah weather, I’m not gonna lie.

Alexis:

So we got an awesome reference from some hermanas from another sector. They said that this was the brother of an awesome member in their ward. They said he was golden, so this week we immediately passed by. We got into his house and then started to talk. He’s this really chill 23 year old guy who was really friendly. In our lesson we found that he has been meeting with missionaries for years now and has read the book of Mormon all the way through, and has been waiting to get baptized. Our jaws dropped right open…. We were shocked.  We put him with a baptismal date and then committed him to church (or general conference and he said he had time for any session). We walked out of that lesson so grateful for that blessing and we were just on top of the world.

Turns out he had stuff come up in the weekend and procrastinated getting to the chapel so he didn’t make it. Also we found out he has a complicated work schedule so we are just going to see how this whole thing works out. I hope we can coordinate so that we can have a good baptism soon.

Parra Lopez:

This is an incredible family that we have been working with. They are making good progress. The parents are Margarita, and Mario. Their daughters are Noemi, Laura, and Escarlet. Margarita and Mario aren’t married and Laura is 13 and hasn’t been baptized. Margarita isn’t a member either. So we are working with them so that they can get married, get baptized and get sealed together. We had one of the best lessons ever this week and invited them all to conference. They even accepted to start to prep for marriage and eventually get sealed. Elder Hepworth made up a really cool card magic trick that taught that lesson well. It was great.

Turns out that Mario, even after being strongly committed to go to church, hasn’t gone to church once during the time Elder Hepworth has taught him. There is definitely something deeper. We will have to see what we can do to get the whole family going. Margarita and the daughters are eating the gospel up. They love it.

General conference:

I loved conference and definitely learned a lot.  I think that my 3 favorite talks were from Wilford W. Anderson, Elder Eyring in the priesthood session, and Elder Hollands (that’s always a classic). I loved the spirit that came with those talks. It was a powerful 5 sessions. I love general conference. It was a good time to rest a bit, but still mentally exhausting from all the doctrine I learned. It was just what I needed and answered all of my personal questions at the moment. I am looking forward to studying the talks.

Elder Hepworth and I are doing good work. We are having lots and lots of success. I’ve never been so blessed in my mission. We are having a blast out here. I am definitely more content than ever. Sure, I am exhausted from all these new responsibilities but I feel God’s hand more than I ever have in my life guiding me on and helping me up. I love the lord’s work. And I love being in his service.

Thanks for everything guys. I love you so much, and I am so grateful for your messages and inspiration. Thank you for all that you do for me. I love you all and I miss you.

Until next week.

Elder Ethan Haws

Week 79

Phew, that was possibly the longest week of my life!

District leader!  The stresses and the blessings:

What can I say; being district leader has been, I believe, the craziest thing that has happened to me in my mission to this point. I never believed I would be this busy with responsibilities and be so blessed with the energy to continue onward in the mission. It is the most amazing time of my mission!

My district is awesome. It’s me, Elder Hepworth, Elder Watts and Bennion (the two biggest missionaries in the mission, having played football and all) and two Hermanas: Johnson and Fernandez.

I had a good district class on Wednesday. I prepared a ton being stressed and all and ended up using like 10 minutes of it all for the entire hour and a half……  The responsibilities are many, but after doing so many things I don’t know what happens but I still feel like going out and giving all I can to the work.

I feel like my mission has been like this….  I got to the mission and metaphorically it was like showing up at a huge long road for driving the best cars in the world. All of a sudden someone pulled up and gave me the opportunity to ride in a Lamborghini to advance down this road. Others also had the same opportunity. I got in and started off well, and as I went down I had technical issues and the car didn’t seem to be shifting right. Others sped past me and I struggled to get really going; not really knowing how to drive the thing. But as time went I got control, I launched the thing down the road racing down as far as I can to make up for the lost time.

I feel like I am finally making some really good progress here in the mission. I think things are starting to all make sense and become more than natural. I feel a power with giving my all to the savior. I no longer have anytime to do anything for myself. It is ALL to him. There is a power that I have felt from that this week. I feel incredibly happy, and incredibly satisfied.

 The sector!

First off the scenery in the sector is fantastic. I felt so good from going to just seeing run down and ugly buildings and apartments to being on massive hills, next to forests and getting raw views of the sea. I'll be taking lots of pictures. It is a BEAUTIFUL place.

Despite the beauty, it is a bit dangerous. Not nearly what I thought it was going to be but still we have had scary looking guys come up to us at night and you just feel like they are going to rob you. But we just talk them out of it by contacting them and the spirit helps them away. I’m not even joking, it’s awesome seeing Gods protection!

So Centinela was once two wards and a branch, and now it’s just a branch. It reminds me of the feelings that were in Retiro. It’s just like going back there and dealing with the same dramatic things, so just look forward to hearing about that stuff again.

I’m so happy to be in Centinela we have many possible baptisms coming up and the sector had really been doing well for some time now.

 My companion!

My companion Elder Hepworth is awesome. I don’t think I’ve gotten along with a companion so quickly and so well than anyone else. We are already great friends. We are working hard and I think that is the best part of it all: we do good work. We had a great work week and we saw great things happen. I’m just content with it all. He is a professional at Family History work as you can see here…

 https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-01-04-sam-hepworth-mission-prep-video?lang=eng

He has already taught me a bunch of things. It’s going to be a great transfer with this guy. I am so blessed with what I have at the moment.

Also in our little house we are 4 elders that live together. There’s me and my companion, and Elder Copling from Herriman and Elder Smoot from Pleasant grove. We’re all from Utah and live really close!! It’s a pretty hilarious group we have here.

The initiative:

So the best highlight of it all is possibly the whole initiative that we have going on… I’m sure you guys have heard and seen the ‘’Because He Lives’’ video, and if you haven’t…

http://www.mormon.org/easter?cid=HP_FR_3-27-2015_dMIS_fMRMN_xLIDyL1-A_

We are going ham with this whole thing and sharing it with everyone. So I invite all of you to do the same whether it is on social media or in person, you need to share this. It is incredible to know that our savior lives and guides his church. It is so comforting to know that we are a part of his church and he cares for every one of us. He suffered more than we can comprehend and invites us to come unto him and accept his help. We need to share the good news as much as possible.

The week was very long but very rewarding. I am looking forward to the week especially general conference where we will get to hear from our prophet. It’s like Christmas to me I swear. I love it so much.

I love all you guys! Thank you so much for your support. Until next week! Have a great week!

Elder Ethan Haws!

Week 78

Saying goodbye 

Elder Haws with the Castillo Family

 Cleaning day

Week 78!

Wow! It was a good closer for the transfer and good end to my time here in Concé. Yep, today there were big changes and the future is looking bright.

This week was challenging and somewhat uneventful because our sector is going through a refining process right now. It’s like the ground is covered in mounds of dead leaves that aren’t doing anything good and we are just raking out the all the debris and waste. Its time for a cleaning of the sector. So this week the sector will be focused on finding!

We passed by many people and nearly all were gone. It seemed like we couldn’t progress with anyone. We tried to coordinate but things fell through, so hence we had a week of cleaning out people from our focus group and we are starting over again.

We had funny experiences though. On Thursday, I believe, we were walking down the street and we get to a certain negotio and a drunk man came out loudly and abruptly to greet us. I decided that I would have a little fun. He first asked me nearly shouting, ‘’Hey! Are you a gringo?!’’ I said, ‘’Yeah obviously....’’ and then he went on to telling me every single false detail about World War 2 and about Germany. It was the weirdest thing watching him scream ‘’AND THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS DIED.’’ So in the midst of this serious little conversation, I decided to ask him a serous question. I interrupted in mid sentence and asked with the best poker face I could muster, ‘’hey! Do you like elephants?’’ He paused and said calmly, ‘’Yes, yes I do... Yeah they are beautiful creatures…’’ And then he went on to babbling about the war and Germany and stuff. Not 10 seconds later I interrupt, ‘’Hey! Do you like giraffes?!’’ He paused and thought for a bit and looking confused he said, ‘’ No, no giraffes are weird…… I don’t like 'em’’ He then looked at me and then declared ‘’Well, all this happened but the thing I like the most is the Pacific!’’ and I said ‘’Oh yeah! There are penguins there too, right?!’’ He looked at me for a second and then went on. I gave up and we just thanked him and said ‘’we’ll see you later.’’ We couldn’t stop laughing. In such a weird moment trying to be serious we had the strangest conversation ever.

This week we had another cleaning day and we got the house super clean. We even spent time finishing up the painting of the house. It looks really nice now. I’m sad I’m going to have to leave the place.

So yeah Cambios….

I am going to Talcahuano Norte.....

Centinela!

The most flaite - ghetto sector in the mission.  (So I’ve heard)

I am now District Leader

It is the same sector Elder Froerer went to right after I was with him. He rescued that branch.

I will be with elder Hepworth; He is a really cool guy, one of the coolest missionaries in the mission. He is sick. He is young with only 4 cambios in the mission and is fearless. He is the son of an assistant. Its real close to conce! I am going there with missionaries that I have known for a long time. We will see how this all goes! Ive never set foot in Talcahuano and I'm clueless to what its like, but Centinela is a sector

that is one GIANT hill. So looks like every day is going to be a leg work out. its right out on  the sea, like a peninsula. Its going to be an interesting sector for sure.

I am stoked for the new opportunities that are up ahead. I am going to work my guts out like never before. It will be a good time!

Thank you all so much for all your love and for your support. I love you all and miss you all. I love you guys! I hope your week is awesome. I’m sure mine will be loaded with experiences.

Elder Ethan Haws

Week 77

Planet Sandwich on P-day

Well this week was pretty calm. We are just trying to make little steps. We are seeing progress but it is really hard to describe how we see it!

We did a lot of work this week with members and we are creeping along trying to find more people through them. It is really hard to find people lately. We want to find people who are going to progress but the search keeps getting foggier. I think Heavenly Father is seeing how badly we want it.

It’s hard to write for this week. We did a lot of general work, actualizing lists, knocking doors and talking with people on the street. It was really plain. Everything is kind of becoming a routine here. Elder Flores and I have made a goal that we will break those routines and have a good week a different way.

We weren’t able to find anyone or get a point in the week. We are lacking a bit of correlation with the members but we are working on that at the moment.

This week despite the lack of the appearance of the fruits of our labors we felt good. I felt the spirit strongly in my studies and I learned a lot about myself and the gospel. Every day I come to reflect on the atonement and what it means to me in my life. Something that I have come to know and feel is the overwhelming embrace of the love of our savior and our Heavenly Father. There are some moments when I walk down the street and I can just feel their love. It takes me by surprise in the most random moments but I know they are real. I know their love and I feel their sustaining arms.  I am grateful for the gospel in my life.

Church was good and we had a high attendance of 96. We are seeing good progress there. Yolanda came again. She is more active than she has been for the last 8 years or so. We are grateful to see such progress in someone who wouldn’t even budge at one point some time ago.

The search will continue this week for more of the humble souls who are yearning for the gospel. I am learning more than ever how to depend on my Heavenly Father for success. I intend to imply that a lot in this week.

Until next week everyone! Thank you for all of your love! I love you all so much! I miss you guys! Make this week incredible!!!

Elder Ethan Haws

El Centro Dream Team
Elders Castellon, Castro, Haws, and Flores

Week 76

Wow! This week went fast. It’s kind of a blur in my head at this point. I’ll try and get as much out about the week as possible

Getting a point:

So as you probably know, our focus as a mission is all about getting points, contacts, and working with members. We haven’t been able to get many points as of late due to lack of coordination with the members and lack of investigators. On Friday Elder Flores and I said: ENOUGH.

We put our shoulders to the wheel and we went to work. We got our visit with a member and we were on our last category, lesson to less active or convert. We were with the Hermana Rosita and our plans fell. We were worried and desperate at that point. We asked Rosa if she knew anyone and then she just started taking us to tons of houses where she knew there were less active members. Eventually we got in a house. Guillermo a guy who had been sharing with the missionaries and was nearly baptized and his wife Loreta, an inactive member, let us in. They only had like 5 minutes so we went in got to know them a bit, shared a quick message, and set up another visit. It was awesome seeing a blessing in a moment of need.

Mini cambios:

Elder Colque wanted to do another mini cambio this week, so we did. I went to Pedro de Valdivia to work this time. I was with Elder Vasquez. A Colombian-gringo from Utah and we had a good day. We spent the entire day trying to get the point and eventually we got it. We taught good lessons and had a good time getting to know each other a little better.

Popcorn popping and apostasy:

From the title of this you’re probably wondering how on earth these two things are related.

Well… Elder Castro and I stumbled along some good beats during the week. And we made a little rock version of Popcorn popping and are kind of writing a song about apostasy. Just little things we do when we are relaxing a bit in the night.

Good times:

Despite not having the huge amount of baptisms and the large amount of success that usually appear in the mission, I am having a good time here. Quite frankly, I’ve never been happier in my entire life. There is nothing more glorious than being in the Lord’s service 24/7. There is nothing greater than to feel Him at your side and having angels to bear you up. With us four missionaries in the house we are constantly enjoying our time. We laugh constantly. We are all growing spiritually. It is a good time here.  I’m going to miss this awesome group of ours. I expect that I will be headed out of here in 2 weeks since cambios are coming up.

This week we were visiting the Castillo’s and Hermano Roberto showed me a cool video that the church did about duty to god and scouting. It had some really cool quotes in it. I really like one of them.

‘’Duty to god means a lot more than saying a prayer every time you need a favor. A lot more. Duty to god is simply the voluntary gesture you must make and remake a million times in your lifetime as a statement of your recognition that there’s someone above this universe that watches over this universe. By and to each one of us is a favorite [child].’’ – Jimmy Stewart

I think that as members of the church we each have a duty to god. We all have to do our part. This is the true church of Jesus Christ. Our loving Heaving Father and Savior are beckoning us to joyfully serve in their footsteps. The service they call us to is the most rewarding experience that we can have in this life. We must all do our best and remember the immense love they have for us and the sustaining hand they offer us.

Thanks for everything guys. I love you all so much. Thank you all for the support you always give me. I hope this week goes great for you all!

Elder Ethan Haws