Remember Him! 12/26/16

This week was so so great! First off I don't have a ton of time to write because I am in another area, also don’t have my camera..., but next week I will write a super good letter! But just some things that were super great! To be able to remember the birth of the Savior. It is good to remember the Savior at Christmas but it is more important to remember him the rest of the year. I am so grateful for his birth because, well I am human and I make mistakes but thanks to him I have the chance to fix all my mistakes! I know that if we can put in the effort to remember him, he will do miracles in our life. Love you all!

Elder Hawley

Christmas Day & Goals for the New Year A Letter to Elder Hawley 12/25/16

It was so good to be able to see you, talk to you, and catch up yesterday. It was the best two hours of our Christmas Day!!!

Can't wait for your letter and pictures this week. Is it possible to include the family picture you took yesterday in your email so we can have it?

Keep doing what you are doing. You are doing GREAT!

We love you,

Your family

A Letter From Erik Harris to Elder Hawley

Mitch-

I have been fortunate enough to have your mom forward your weekly emails and have loved reading them.  I especially appreciate your honesty in that the weeks are sometimes hard and a challenge, but that you learn from them and find the good in each week.  I share your emails with Will each week and I know he reads them because they are from you.   You have always been an example to Will on how to work through swimming but now you are a great example of what it means to work through service.  Will is at that point in life where he is trying to figure out what will be next for him and your example is showing him what is possible.

I think about you often and hope for your safety while serving.  I know you are being blessed by reading your emails.  Keep serving with faith.  I am a convert and joined the church at the age of 24.  I will never forget the missionaries that taught me and know they were called to serve in Utah to teach me.  I know there are people in Mexico where you are serving that you are meant to teach.  Keep working, keep grinding, keep moving forward with faith.

I will continue to look forward to your email updates.  Take care of yourself!

Sincerely,

Erik Harris

Time Flies When You're Having Fun 12/19/16

Wow this week has been filled with ups and downs, but all the hard work pays off. I have seen the testimonies grow of these new members of the church. They are going to be the future leaders of the church. Thanks to their example the rest of their family is working towards baptism. I have loved this week. I hope you enjoy the photos. The pig included in this weeks email scared me so bad. It was behind a bush and charged me and I thought I was going to die haha. We made these super good desserts (in a container in the one picture) with a new convert this week for the Christmas party and she said I was the master at rolling them out, but we made so many my hands are still bruised. We used pvc pipes to roll them out. The food in my old area was a little better because my new area is really poor but the members are super great and I love them a lot. The members found our number somehow of my old area and invited me to go to their house to eat a super good dinner so I hope I can go. We got to go into the center of town (see picture) today to buy stuff for a Secret Santa and it was super fun!

I have learned so much, but something that I learned from a member of our ward this week is that we can share the good news of the gospel in any situation. She was brave enough to talk about the real meaning of Christmas centered in Jesus Christ to a friend of hers and now she is working towards baptism. If we can share the simple truths of the gospel with others, the Holy Ghost will take care of the rest.

Love you all so much and I wish you guys could be here for Christmas having fun. The time is flying by and I feel like the weeks are like days. See you soon more or less haha!

Love, Elder Hawley

Christmas Week A Letter To Elder Hawley 12/18/16

Hey Elder,

How are things going? How are things different there during the month of December and the Christmas season?  Is it really different down there or pretty much the same? How has the weather been? Our's has been super cold...in the 30's during the day and even colder at night. We had the biggest rain storm on Friday that turned to hail then snowed. It was so crazy, everywhere was frozen and slippery. 

We were super busy this week going to Malia's orchestra concert, Malia and Miles' gymnastics programs, Madrigals programs, and just crazy busy with shopping, wrapping, etc. preparing for Christmas. Malia has been super busy with being a manager for the girls basketball team...going to every practice and the games. Megan has been super busy with Madrigals.

Christmas can be hard being away on a mission but look for the blessings, they will be there, just sometimes hard to see. What better way to serve and remember Jesus then by serving on a mission? We hope you have some very spiritual experiences this week for Christmas. 

We hope all is going well for you and that you are getting to know and serve with all the new Americans that arrived there. We are really looking forward to talking to you via Hang Outs on Christmas day. We have it set up and waiting.

Ponder these things this week with us:

“When we keep the spirit of Christmas, we keep the Spirit of Christ, for the Christmas spirit is the Christ Spirit. It will block out all the distractions around us which can diminish Christmas and swallow up its true meaning."

“There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus Christ.

“Because He came to earth, we have a perfect example to follow. As we strive to become more like Him, we will have joy and happiness in our lives and peace each day of the year. It is His example which, if followed, stirs within us more kindness and love, more respect and concern for others.

“Because He came, there is meaning to our mortal existence.
“Because He came, we know how to reach out to those in trouble or distress, wherever they may be.
“Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again because He came.
“Because He came and paid for our sins, we have the opportunity to gain eternal life.” (President Thomas S. Monson, 2011 First Presidency Christmas Devotional)

"The Christmas season is a time to reflect and act upon the blessings and opportunities we have because of the birth, life, Atonement, and Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As our Heavenly Father “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16), we express our love toward one another and toward God and his precious Son by giving of ourselves."

We pray for you, miss you, and think of you always. We know you are doing the Lord's work. Keep working hard, staying positive, smiling, and keeping the spirit of Christ within you.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Love, 

Your Family

Puro fotos.Just photos. 12/12/16

This week has been great! I am loving the new area and the members there! They are so great and such a great support! We are teaching a ton of people and they are all super great! I love it here. Here are some photos from this week and also of Thanksgiving sorry its late! I have learned a lot of things in the mission but the one thing that I think I have learned the most is that our Heavenly Father truly does love us. It is such a comforting thing to know that we have an all knowing loving Heavenly Father that wants nothing more than to help us. I know that he will help us with whatever we need. All we need to do is just ask.

The majority of these photos are actually from my last area except the one with the horse. There are animals everywhere in my new area, and a lot of mud and dirt. 

Also this week has been so cold. Like I want to say colder than in Utah but I don’t think that’s true. I’m just so used to the hotness. It was super nice to feel cold for once. 

Stay warm and prepare for the best holiday ever. Christmas...so excited.

Love,

Elder Hawley

Christmas Pictures 12/12/16

)

Updates A Letter to Elder Hawley 12/11/16

Hi Elder Hawley! 

Dad says he hopes you got his response to your question last week. How are things going?
How is Christmas different down there? We would love to see pictures of your house and other places you go just to give us an idea of where you are and what it looks like.

We have been really busy here at home. Megan has been doing a lot of concerts with the Madrigals.  She had four today. She sang in three sacrament meetings, including ours, and then a concert this evening. They sounded really good. It was Taylor Willis' homecoming today too. Malia is now a manager of the girls basketball team and has a crazy busy schedule with that. Miles lost another tooth then dropped it down the drain. He was cleaning his tooth so it would be "clean for the tooth fairy" and didn't plug the drain. (Such is his luck losing his teeth. He has swallowed two of them and only one so far has actually gone to the tooth fairy.) He was devastated but wrote a note to the tooth fairy explaining what happened and received $2 so he was happy. Mom got braces on December 7th (for Christmas). She looks like a goofy teenager. Dad is busy trying to get tithing settlements done...crazy time of year!

Hang in there. The blessings follow the trials. Find joy in the work. The time will go by so quickly and you don't want any regrets.

Ephesians 4:2  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

We love and pray for you always.

Love, Your Family

Perfect 12/5/16

This week has been so great. We had baptisms and the family was so great! It was a great experience. We are working with other members of the family so they can be baptised too! I love the mission and it has brought me more joy to see these people smile walking out of the baptismal font than almost anything else. I love you all so much! I hope you guys are doing super great! We had a conference with a 70 this week and he talked about how the most important thing is to obey the commandments. They are simple and will bring us the most joy. I love this gospel and if we put in the work for it we will receive the benefits! 

 We are living in the city still. Right now we have a tiny house for the 6 of us. One American leaves in a week but like 13 new Americans got here this week and its super cool to help them.

I’m loving the missionary part of the mission. The native elders are sometimes kind of hard to deal with but other than that everything is great. It’s okay I’m learning patience.

Love you all. Enjoy this Christmas holiday!

Elder Hawley!

Determination A Letter to Elder Hawley 12/4/16

 Hey Elder!

How is the new area and your new companion? What is the area like? Ward or branch? Have you found a place to live? Lots of questions, as you can tell we are excited for your new area. 

Miles and dad went on a camp out this weekend. Miles spent most of the time trying to chop wood. He is just a little small for a big ax and logs. But he sure has a lot of determination. He just wouldn't give up. He reminded dad a lot of you. He is super strong too! 

We had the Ward Christmas party Saturday. We are glad that it is over. It was a lot of work. Funny how you never appreciate how much work something is until you actually have to do it. 

Dad had a lesson today in priesthood. They talked about the correlation between dedication and sacrifice. The more effort and sacrifice you put in to something, the more dedicated you become. Its simple math if you think about it.

 

Well again we are praying for you and for your success. We love you and are so proud of you. You are having wonderful experiences and will continue to see and be apart of miracles if you have the spirit with you and work work work. Something you are very good at with the determination you have in you. That's what dad saw in Miles this weekend. You are a great example to him and he looks up to you a lot! We all do!!!

We Love you tons! 

Love, Your Family