Monday, March 25, 2013

March 25th 2013

Hey!                                                                        March 25th 2013
  Well to say the least, this has been one of the most eventful weeks of my mission so far. We had interviews with the mission president on Wednesday which went really great, but right before we received a call that for the next week, we would be in a companionship of 3 till transfers with a sister that has been serving on temple square! That was fun to hear and she has been great for the time we have had her. She is from Canada and that has been cool!
     We have had some wonderful lessons with less-actives this week and truly felt the spirit of the Lord helping them overcome their weaknesses. On Thursday, we had a rather gross encounter. Before I say what happened, I will give some back ground.  My Companion and I haven't been feeling all that well the last couple of weeks. Our stomachs have been hurting and just not feeling well at all.   So on Thursday, My companion went to eat a cracker and looked down and there was a worm type thing on it and then she looked in the bag and they were everywhere! We went home and checked the cupboards and they had been in our food, like rice and pasta and things like that. So for not serving a foreign mission... I certainly experienced something foreign!  That is the only thing that made sense of why we haven't been feeling good. And we called our medical nurse and asked what to do. We cleaned everything and made sure that they won’t come back! But that was something that was exciting but super gross! On Saturday, we had the police flying over the apartment complex next to us for a while so we stepped outside to see what was going on and they came over the intercom and were calling for someone to come out of their apartment! Never ever been that close to a cop shoot out!!! It was really cool! AND THEN...transfer calls came that night. (killing you with the suspense right?!?) I am getting transferred out of my area and into a new area.  I don't find out till tomorrow where I am going but, It is good. I am excited and nervous which is normal. I will miss this area so much. I love the people and the ward so so much and yesterday was hard to say goodbye but I can feel that it is time to go. I love the Lord and how He comforts us and helps us to meet our full potential. So I will be leaving and have to pack all of my stuff this afternoon. It’s crazy to be on the other side of things this time and be leaving instead of staying but it will be great!!! I am truly excited and I know the Lord will send me to where I need to be.
 
    Something that I have been reading and studying is Prayer and it has hit me so hard how prayer is so important. It is how we communicate with our father in Heaven and the way we receive guidance. Everything we do starts with prayer and ends with prayer. I was reading in Helaman, and the Prophet is mourning because of the wickedness of the people and he is crying out to the Lord and the people see him and are amazed by what they see and I realized they didn't even recognize that he was praying. It was something that they didn't do anymore and so it was harder to see it when it happened and they "Marveled." It made me realize how important it is to keep up doing the things of the Lord so we can recognize the spirit and the Hand of the Lord in our lives. This Gospel truly is amazing and I am so grateful to be a part of it!
I love you all ! Sister Haws

Monday, March 18, 2013

March 18th 2013


HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!                                           MARCH 18th 2013

   Hope you wore green and didn't get pinched! We had a plan that instead of shaking everyone’s hands at the door to the Chapel, if they weren't wearing green we would pinch them!! But we decided that probably wasn't the best! Ha-ha but it was an entertaining thought!    
Well this transfer has gone fast! Can't believe it is already week 5 and transfers are next week! And we find out this Saturday who is getting transferred. I have mixed feelings about it. I love this area so so much and the amazing people here but at the same time, a different view would be nice. But I would love to stay. But the Lord knows best and He will send me to where I need to be. I just keep reminding myself of that.   
This last week was really great. But it definitely had a lot of ups and downs. We had a lot of tiny miracles each day that got us through and we really worked to find those that are being prepared. It seemed that something great would happen and then the adversary came and joined in! :) got to love opposition. But that made it all the worthwhile.    We had a really neat experience that we went to try a referral and they were really busy so we said we would come back and there was a few people walking their dogs around so we went to talk to them. We ended up talking to a couple who were collecting plastic bottles and left a Spanish book of Mormon but they invited us to come back to their house and talk to the owner of the house that night with them. She is an older lady who is Jewish and has an amazing amount of knowledge about other religions. We were able to talk to her for a bit and we offered her our services and she got a little teary-eyed and said yes I need the help. So we have a chance to go back and help her this week and she said that if she can get this stuff out of the way...she will read the Book of Mormon!!! So of course, we will be there!! She is so open and such a sweet lady! We also had a great lesson with one of our new investigators who’s dad is active in another ward and his Dad referred him to the missionaries and he is open. He has been through so many difficult things in his life and we talked about the Atonement and how it can help him and he came to church yesterday and seemed to really feel the spirit. He is truly ready and prepared to hear the Gospel and my love for him is so deep! I want to do everything in my power to help him! He is amazing. We also taught our investigator and his 3 twin boys who are Jewish as well and that was a fun lesson on the Plan of Salvation. Overall it has been a great week. Something that I have been praying for is Charity for others and I realized that Charity is the ground work for all other Christ like attributes because as we love others, we have more patience and we truly want to serve and help those around us. It is amazing how faith, hope and charity are all connected and help us to help others. 
    My companion and I are doing great! She is an amazing missionary and truly serving with her heart. I have learned a lot from her and am grateful for the chance to serve with her.
   This past week, I have been studying the atonement a little more lately and every time, I am amazed at how much love Heavenly Father has for his Children this morning, I was reading about the Savior and I realized that the Savior was able to overcome temptations because He knew who he was. The literal son of God. He knew he had a divine destiny and birthright to live up to and I believe that that knowledge carried him through. I was thinking in terms of us and Heavenly Father's spirit children and how much more we are capable of if we just remember where we came from and who we came from. We are children of God, Sons and Daughters of our Father in Heaven. And if we know that and truly understand the magnitude, we wouldn't wonder and struggle with commandments or wanting to disobey and be able to overcome the things that are all around us. We would do it because we know how much we are loved and our divine potential. In the Book of Mormon, there is a passage of scripture that talks about how the people forgot who they were, Children of God and because of that, they fell into wicked ways. The same definitely applies to us as spirit children of our Father in Heaven. When we forget who we are, we forget what we have in store for us and what is required of us to reach our potential. But because of the Savior, we always have the chance to change and become better and truly strive to reach the goal of the Celestial Kingdom. The only reason we have a reason to hope is because of the Savior and what He overcame for us! I know that the Savior lives for each one of us and is mindful and truly wants to help us to gain all that He has and to know that we are loved and are true children of Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the Gospel and the Knowledge that we have and how it is there to help us reach our divine potential. Through the Savior, we truly can become perfect in him. I love the Gospel and I know it is true! Sister Haws

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

 
SISTER HAWS AND
SISTER COTTRELL


KAELEY'S FIRST ATTEMPT AT FONDANT ROSES
Hey!!                                                                                   March 11th 2013
    It sounds like a lot of tiny miracles are happening back at home and that is great! Miracles are the best because they testify that Heavenly Father is watching out for us. We have had a lot of tiny Miracles this week. We haven't found a lot of people to teach in our area but we are finding other people that are prepared that live in a different area other than others. We have great lessons with them and they are really ready to receive the Restored Gospel. We did find one new investigator this week. He has been through so so much in his life and he seems like he is searching for something more. His dad is a member and actually was the one to refer him to us. I really hope we can help him and that he will keep being open to listening to us. He definitely needs the Gospel.

    We were also able to give some service to members in a ward that are older and can't do a whole lot around their house anymore. That was a lot of fun to do that. Service just always makes you feel good. We also finished teaching one of our less-actives who has come back to Church and we just invited her to work towards going through the Temple! She is so excited to start Temple Prep class and really has a desire to go. It was kind of sad to leave that night after the lesson just because she was one of the very first people that we started teaching when I was here. But she is doing so great and truly loving the Gospel!  Another miracle was on Sunday. We didn't have any investigators at church but we did have 4 of the less-actives we had been working with at church and that was a great things to see! They are all doing so well. They are struggling with trials in their life but are truly learning how to rely on the Lord even more so to help them through it.

  We also received a referral for a man who loves God so much and is so open to the Gospel, along with his wife and children. They aren't in our area but we are teaching them tonight with the Elders and I am so excited for that family. They truly have been prepared to hear and accept the Gospel. We have had a lot of dinners with members this week and that is always great to get to know them and just love them and be around them. The members in the ward and so wonderful and truly care about those around them.  I am still reading in the war chapters in Alma but now it introduces the 2,000 stripling warriors! I love how they describe them as "Men of truth."  They truly walked with God and knew that he would take care of them if they stayed true to the Covenants. I was thinking about this this morning and I realized the same principle applies to us. As we keep our covenants, we truly have the Lord's protection from the Adversary's power. It was a very comforting thought.  And also that as we keep our covenants, we are set free from sin and the weight and guilt that comes from sin. We are truly free. I just love the Gospel and how intertwined everything is. The plan is perfect because of the Savior and the plan was made by a Perfect Father in Heaven.  It is just simple and amazing. It is simply amazing!    Thanks for all the love and support!     Sister Haws

Monday, March 4, 2013

New San Fernando and Bakersfield Mission boundaries.  Kaeley's Mission President sent this out to her.

Hey,                                                                                                                        MARCH 4th 2013

Well there is ALOT of things that have happened this week. So, where to start. 1: It's March, which is just strange. 2: It is almost halfway through this transfer. 3: it's been a tiring but a week full of Miracles. For some reason my body decided that it wanted to get sick this week with a cold. It was alright, just wipes you out so fast. I would wake up and not even be through the morning and already be exhausted but somehow we both managed. My companion hasn't been sleeping well and me sick. We were quite the pair this last week. A lady in our ward made the comment, "there isn't as much excitement coming this week from you two, which isn't normal." We thought that was a fairly nice complement. We also were able to set a baptismal date with one of our investigators which was super duper exciting!! She is doing great and always says she feels that she has read the Book of Mormon before which is really neat to hear. We also were FINALLY able to get in with another one of our investigators and teach the first lesson! That was really cool. He is having a hard time in life and the Gospel will truly help him! We have seen a lot of tiny miracles in our area and in the mission work. I know that the Lord is watching over us and this is truly His work and things happen on his time. We just have to keep working hard and trusting that the Lord will help us to find those that are ready to hear and accept the Gospel. On Sunday, we had the chance to go on splits with a couple of sisters in the ward, and my companion and the sister she was with had a very crazy experience. In my area, there is a place that is still "Country" and has horses and my companion and the sister she was with were walking back to their car when they heard something behind them. They turned around to see a Horse saddled with no rider, headed straight for them. To say the least, they were a little shaken up because they barely got out of the way before the horse came running by right next to them. My companion was glad I wasn't there, because she said I would have been in tears...which is probably true. But we are just glad that everyone was okay! Never thought that would happen in good old California! And for the most crazy news... our mission boundaries are changing in July. Our mission is getting split. They are creating a new mission...the Bakersfield mission and part of our mission is going into the new one. So any missionaries who are in those areas will be going to the new mission! Completely Crazy right. That is news that will throw you for a loop, but really cool to see how the Lord is moving His work forward. So the totally missions around the world by July will be 405. Its at 347 right now. This truly is Christ's church and the last days are here. I was reading in Alma 46-49 (part of the war chapters) and they are amazing and I was thinking about them this morning and just realizing the pattern that is happening even now. The evil that is in the World is only increases and not getting any better, only worse. But Captain Moroni is amazing. He is strengthening his people in the Lord and helping them to prepare for war by strengthening their walls. Not only the city walls, but their inner walls. Their testimonies and their faith in Christ and I realized this morning the need for us to always be strengthening our testimonies and truly striving to be converted unto the Lord. Satan is always there and the minute we let our walls down just a little, he will be right over it. But if we are constantly fortifying our walls and building them even higher, we can make them impenetrable. (Alma 48:7-18) My favorite versus is 17. "Yea, Verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever: yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." Moroni was a man in the Lord and knew who would protect his people if they keep the commandments and it just hit me how much we need to be like that, strong in the Lord and to know where to turn to for guidance and direction. In the world with such constantly shifting values, we have to keep strengthening our "walls" and always calling upon the Lord. If we do that, I know that no matter what happens, we can and will stay strong through trials and difficulties. I Love the Book of Mormon and how it applies so much to us today and the strength and knowledge we can receive from studying the words of the Lord. I am so grateful to have the Book of Mormon in my life and the power that it gives me to keep going. May we all keep strengthening our walls and not let them down for anything! The Lord is with us. I love you all so much and am so grateful for the support and prayers and love! Thank you! All my love, Sister Haws

Hey P.S. ! So transfers are every 6 weeks but, this transfer is 5 because of the mtc shortening their time there. so the end of March will be transfers. I don't really know what will happen. I honestly feel that I could stay maybe one more and then be transferred out but, who knows it is all up to the lord. Keep reading and praying and going to Church. Those 3 things will give you the power and faith you need to keep going even when things are hard. I want you, dad and everybody in my family to be happy and the way to be happy...truly truly happy is through the savior. The Savior means so much to me and I know that his Atonement is real. I have felt it's power out here and that is the reason I make it every day! Keep looking for those spiritual miracles and temporal. I know they are there. Sometimes we have to search but looking for them and asking the Lord to take notice of those will help. I promise you the Lord is blessing our family beyond measure and he is in the details. He knows what is going on, outside and inside and he is willing to help in anyway he can. Our Father in Heaven in amazing! Truly Truly amazing.