DECEMBER 4TH 2012

Hey Family and Friends!                                                                          DECEMBER 4^th 2012

     This last week has been very eventful! As some of you know, Transfers were last week and Monday was my last full day with my trainer! And Tuesday morning, we got in the car to go to the transfer meeting. It was really weird to know that after that day, I wouldn't see my trainer for a long time. But the transfer meeting was awesome! The spirit was so strong! There were 11 new missionaries from the MTC and right before they walked into the chapel, we sang "Called to Serve," As they started to walk in and it was amazing!! The spirit was like a wall that you could almost touch! And it was really cool to be on the other side of that instead of being the newby walking in! I can't believe it will be 4 months on the 15th of December! Time has just flown by! And I bet you are now wondering who my new companion is! Well...It's Sister Filimoehala. And I bet you are laughing as you try to pronounce that.:) We all just call her Sister FIli. Its ALOT easier! But she is from New Zealand which is super cool! AND cool thing, we were in the same district as the MTC together. So we have both been out the same amount of time which was surprising to not only us but all the other missionaries as well! That doesn't happen very often! I am the senior companion, ( no pressure) :) But we are still in Chatsworth. Senior companion isn't much different, just have to make sure we are doing what we need to be.

    Last week was quite interesting. It was cool to see that the training I had from my awesome trainer kicked in, in full and I was remembering all these things and understanding things better. And I was so grateful for that because being the only one who knows the area and the people was difficult. I just had to make a lot of decisions off what I already knew and that was cool to see the hand of the Lord in my life so much each day. I know that I only made it through with the Lord's help and the Savior's Atonement. It will still be a struggle this transfer because both of us just have to learn and grow together but our mission president said that we would move mountains and that is exactly what we plan to do! We had the neat chance to teach Relief Society on Sunday about being member missionaries and it was so good. We were pretty worried about how it would go over and it was so cool to see the Spirit take over and teach both them and us. The process was cool as well. We had a great lesson plan and then Saturday night, it just didn't feel right so we sat again and re-did it and that lesson was even better and then Sunday morning, it still didn't feel right! So we were stressing out a little bit but we didn't think about it and knew the end result that we wanted and just relied on the Spirit to tell us what to say! It went better than we could have ever hoped for! It was great and so fun to teach!

    And then Monday! Monday was an amazing day! We had Zone Conference for the San Fernando Valley with Elder Don R. Clark. He is part of the Missionary Department and is 1 out of 5 of them! And He came to our mission! It was so cool to see the Vision that the Lord and the mission President have for this mission! And I am so excited to be a part of it! It will take a lot of work and diligence but it is possible only through the Lord's help! We have some amazing missionaries and It is SOOOO cool to be a part of this army for the Lord. There were a lot of things that we learned that we will have to change if we expect to meet our goals next year but it was so uplifting and positive that it couldn't but help make you want to change! I learned especially that I am the only person that can choose to make those changes now and to truly rely on the Savior and the tools that the Lord has given us to help to find His Children that are ready to receive the Restored Gospel!

    We also learned about how we can make this Christmas a Christ-centered Christmas and how to handle being away from home and what an Honor it is to be serving the Savior on his Day! I have never thought of that before but it was so wonderful to hear that and how to focus on those things that will help and to truly be converted to the Lord. I never before have known as much as I do know that this Restored Gospel is True and it is Christ's Church. He is the head of this Church and everything we do. This Gospel is the most beautiful Gift that God has given us other than his son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. We have a knowledge of things that I believe only the World dreams about having and We have it! How blessed we are to belong to this Church and have the knowledge we have that helps us every day of our lives. I always took the Restored Gospel for granted because it was a part of me and I didn't know any different. Seeing people that don't have it in their lives, even if they have a religion of their own, there is such a huge difference. I never knew what a difference it makes. I am so extremely Grateful for the chance that I have to serve a mission for my Father in Heaven and that he trusts me enough to help him in this beautiful work! I am so grateful for the support of family and friends and the prayers! Miracles are happening every day of our lives. This Gospel is a Gospel of Miracles! Share it with the World! We have what the World needs and it's only through us, missionaries and member missionaries, that they can have the chance to accept it! Thanks for everything! I love you all so dearly! Sister Haws

Oh and, my back has been ok. Not the greatest but I will survive. :) We have gotten rain for 4 days in a row! That never happens!!! And I loved it! Nice for a change than just sunshine! I am not sure when I will call, either Christmas Eve or night. If I can find a member with skpye, we can skype home. But I will let you know. I am sure they will let us know within the next couple of weeks so we can let you know!