April 14, 2010

Family,

Well it’s been another GREAT week!!! We were able to have some really good success and had some good experiences happen. We were pleased to see that one of our main investigators as of right now came to church!!! For her first time other than conference. She used to live in Harselle which is a little town about 20 minutes away and she never would come to church but she just barely moved to Decatur about 2 tenths of a mile away from the church so she didn’t have any excuses this week and we didn’t even ask her to come she just said I’ll be at church tomorrow! We were so excited! This is Brandy Chambers by the way. She also informed us when we went over to her house to eat Saturday night that she had stayed up until 2:30 in the morning the night before so Friday night reading the whole book of 1st Nephi. She was so excited when we started talking about it. It’s so cool because her whole countenance has changed and she seems like a whole new person! The other cool part to this story is that her boy friend has been against the church his whole life because that was how he was raised and he has changed a lot towards us as well!! She asked him if he wanted to go to church with her and he thought for a while and said no not yet. So he’s thinking about it! So cool

Then while She was at church the members did an amazing job at fellowshipping with her. I never realized how important just a, hi welcome to church is form the members until I realized how much it means to the person visiting the church. So remember when you see a new face at church go and introduce yourself. I promise it isn’t as weird as you think it will be. So Brandy absolutely loved church and is planning on coming back!!

We are also working with Ashley Scruggs. Her mom is a member but she isn’t. She is 24 and has been meeting with us for about 3 months now and last week she committed to get baptized on the 8th of May. Now we are helping realize the importance of baptism and getting her ready for the date. She is showing a lot of faith by accepting the baptismal commitment. She was really nervous at first but she realized that it was a goal and if she wasn’t ready by then she didn’t have to be baptized but if she was ready by then then it was the right thing to do. It is a win win situation. She is such a good girl. I’m way excited for her!

We had a team up with the ZLs this week also. I love team ups because it always seems to boost your area and you have an opportunity to learn from other missionaries as well to get some other teaching ideas and things like that. So it was fun. I also enjoyed it because my Zl in Tuskegee was Elder Howard and now it is Elder Howard again and I really liked him so we got to see each other again and be companions for a little bit. He actually served her before he went to Montegomery so when he came back he was so excited to see the apartment and we were able to set up and appointment with an investigator that he was working with when he was here so he really liked that.

I had a really cool experience this week to that I want to share with you guys. For the past few years I’ve been thinking about why really hard trials haven’t happened to me. For instance, Elder Brown and his dad passing away while he was on a mission, and there is a lady in our ward here that has a cancerous brain tumor that is untreatable really. She is in her late 30s early 40s so not that old she has 5 kids I think and it’s so sad. The thing is that they are both so positive about the whole thing. So I’ve been thinking what makes them so strong and able to have these things and I’m not. Then one day we were talking to this member and I realized I’m not supposed to go through their trials. They are not trials that I need to go through but that I can learn from so that when the trials that I am going to need help with I can look back on these experiences and know that it is possible to get through them with a positive attitude and not a poor me attitude. The lord never ever ever will tempt us past what we are able. Everything we go through is only to make us stronger. So whatever the challenge is that our Heavenly Father has set forth for you to go through know that you can make it through it and with a positive attitude you will only make it easier.

That’s been my week though. I’ve had a good time and I’m loving it. Thanks for your guys prayers. Love ya’ll

Love Elder Haws.