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Hello from the House of Refuge

Boy it has been a long time since I wrote my last letter! I apologize for not sending one out sooner.

A lot of stuff has happened since my last letter. At the house of refuge, they are filling up the houses again almost as fast as we can get them ready. The community has really helped us out and many people and companies have adopted or funded houses. I believe that we have around 60 of the 81 houses “adopted” which is amazing! I has almost been a year (May 2016) since they lost their government funding. Although it is a slow process, they’re hoping to have all the houses filled up by the end of 2017 and maybe even sooner. Right now they’re replacing the sewer lines in the the houses because the existing sewers are made out of cast-iron piping and are starting to deteriorate and rust away. That is going to be a big project to finish. They are hiring out the plumbing to be done, but we are having to re-pour the concrete.

I am also doing more drywall work than ever at the house of refuge. My “boss” has taught me now to do bigger drywall patches (like whole sections of walls). How to make them look even with the existing wall etc. I also have learned to texture drywall and have been doing a lot of that too. I pretty much do all the drywall repairs throughout all the houses now. There was one house in particular though that when the people moved out they were mad at the house refuge for kicking them out because of nonpayment and they went through the house and put tons of holes in the walls. Each room had like 10 holes in it. And these are not small holes were talking about (you can see pictures below of this house). It took a lot of work and effort but after two weeks of working at the house refuge I finally finished the house. It feels very satisfying to accomplish a project like that. It’s a lot of work but I am OK with it.

My boss and the guys at the house of refuge told me the other day that I have grown so much over the past six months. They really trust me now and use me for a lot of repairs around the house of refuge. I get along really well with them. I’m so glad that I am at the house of refuge so that I could grow and learn a lot. The Lord has blessed me immensely!! I’m also learning how to do a lot of electrical repairs too. The electrician on the team calls me his apprentice and teaches me and mentors me in electrical work. He has me replace light fixtures with his supervision and is teaching me all sorts of things about electrical work. When I get off my mission I’m going to be so well-equipped for a college job doing work like this and that is such a blessing. And all the training is for free! It is such a blessing!

Lauren’s Institute is lots of fun. I fit into the classroom now and am trusted by the staff and the teacher. I’ve also learned each individual child’s personality and how to work with them. It was a lot of fun working there. I am starting to shadow the Occupational Therapist (OT) at Lauren’s Institute. I am doing this so that I can learn more about what OT’s do and so I can be better prepared to become an OT myself. I am planning to become an OT so this helps prepare me.

Going with my companion, Elder Hayward (Or Dayton from the Mormon message “Daytons Legs”), the temple twice a week is such a blessing. I love him as a brother and a friend so much! I kind of feel like he is a brother. He and his family are so awesome!!! A few months ago he came down very sick with strep throat, the flu, pneumonia, and a very severe skin infection on the back of his ear ALL AT THE SAME TIME!! It was no fun for him and very scary for me. He spent one night in the hospital and then came home for the rest of his treatment. It was such a blessing and a miracle that he got a lot better in just a week! He is back to normal now and as perky as ever. I really can understand him now and know how to communicate well with him. I can read his bodily language and know what it means. I really enjoy being his companion and friend.

The Lord has blessed me so much!! This mission is really helping me to grow. Thank you for all your support! Remember that the Lord loves you and is mindful of every one of you. The Lord cares for us and wants us to succeed! never forget that.

Until next time:

Elder Andrew Haws

P.S. Be sure to Look at my pictures!

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Check out this video that channel 3 did on the House of Refuge

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This little guy came and paid me a visit while I was working in a house. I all of a sudden heard tapping and turned around and their he was. :) (play with sound)

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This is the house with all the holes in the wall that I repaired. This is before I fixed it. Unfortunately the after shot video would not upload. 

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CLICK ON THE PICTURES FOR THE CAPTIONS

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CLICK ON PICTURES FOR CAPTIONS

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CHECK THE CAPTIONS OF THE PHOTOS FOR AN EXPLAINATION

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CLICK ON EACH OF THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM AND SEE THE CAPTIONS

Left to right, top to bottom

Picture1 - ASU Water tower right next door to the House of Refuge. The H of R is located right next to the ASU Polytech Campus

Picture 2 - House of Refuge Maintenance Office

Picture 3 - Me and my companion Elder Hayward

Picture 4 - I was at an investigators house with the sister missionaries when they brought out their pet snake after I showed interest in their reptiles. Can you tell I like snakes?

Picture 5 - Ran into this in this sight at a guy's office that we were picking up a piece of equipment at. This is part of one of the four walls that are all like this one - covered with animals that he had shot.

Pictures 6 and 7 - Freshly planted garden at the H of R. These are the garden beds the families planted.

Picture 8 - The Arizona LDS Young Church Service Mission

Picture 9 - Me and the zone I am over at our first mini gathering

Picture 10 - Part of the AZ YCSM mission after our service project planting flowers at the Mesa Temple

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Busy, busy, busy

I have now been serving for four months! A lot has happened the past months. Probably the most exciting is the Arizona young church service mission now set up companionship's for all missionaries! I have the best companion. His name is Elder Hayward. He has cerebral palsy. He's in a wheelchair and cannot speak and does not have much control over his body actions. He can communicate through blinking by intentionally blinking for "yes" to answer a question. His mission assignment is to attend an endowment session two times a week. I have had the privilege to help him through the temple. He's a very special person. He is  just like a normal person but stuck in a handicapped body. You can feel of his special spirit whenever you are with him. He has a testimony and it radiates from his spirit. I am so blessed to have him as my companion.

At the House of Refuge we have finally finish cleaning out all the houses! We now have more time for true maintenance tasks. Currently we are putting in a gravel border in on the edge of the lot with the smaller of the two playgrounds at the H of R. Things have been going great! We just planted the fall garden in the community garden on Saturday. We are ecstatic because we were able to finally get the residents involved! We sent around a sign up sheet for families to sign up if they wanted their own raised bed to plant in. Five families signed up! Two of them did not make it but another two people that did not sign up wanted a garden bed. It went extremely well! They all planted what they wanted and we were able to help them and educate them a little more about gardening. A horticulture therapist from a different organization is helping to educate the children and residents about gardening, the animals that visit the garden, how to cook the vegetables, and other useful knowledge. It is all part of an education program. WE ARE FINALLY HELPING THE RESIDENTS BECOME MORE SELF-SUFFICIENT THROUGH GARDENING!!! YAY!!! It is such a big deal to me.   

 I may not have mentioned this in my last letter but I started working at a new service location on Mondays. I am now also serving at a special needs school for children called Lauren's Institute For Education or LIFE on Mondays. I am very excited to be working there! My job just previous to my mission was working in a autistic classroom at a local elementary. I looooved that job and like serving here too. After a few weeks of serving there,  I am finally starting to get a feel of how the classroom works and I am fitting in more. I still serve at the House of Refuge Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

 I also have been working as an ordinance worker at the Mesa Temple on Fridays and I really enjoy it. It is so peaceful and I have made good friends there. I am the youngest person on our shift though!! Working in the Temple has brought so many seen and unseen blessings into my life. It has helped me to be more spiritual.

Another thing that is happened this past month is I was called as zone leader for a newly organized zone in our mission. It is a lot of work. I seem to be on the phone a lot more now then I was before my mission :). It is helping to strengthen my leadership skills.

I am so blessed to be serving a mission for The Lord and truly enjoy the work I am doing. The Lord has blessed me immensely. Thanks you for your love and support!

Elder Andrew Haws

P.S. My Dad is still getting stronger. He can walk OK now but his balance is still off. He still gets tired easily. It may take up to two years for him to fully recover but the Lord has blessed him with very fast healing so far. 

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September 20, 2016

Hello everyone!

So just an update on my Dad right off the bat, we found out that he DOES NOT have MS !!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! It is just something that is like MS but is TEMPORARY. It is called Transverse Mylenitis. Here is an excerpt from the email he sent out to family just after he received the diagnosis:

“I just got out of the doctor's visit. The doctor does not think I have MS. (The spinal tap fluid results supported MS but weren't conclusive.).  He thinks maybe it is transverse myelitis, a severe reaction to the virus I had in early July, which condition can act like MS.  One third of people with this condition experience complete recovery, one third partial recovery and one third no recovery. The fact that I am getting stronger on my own with no medicine makes the doctor think I am in the first one third and he thinks the prognosis for complete recovery within six months are very good. I'll go in for another MRI in 3 months.

I can walk without a cane now and am back at work at least part time. I can drive. I can play piano. I can't walk very far or do physical labor yet. I think someday soon I will be able to do those things again.”

And this was his letter he sent out this week:

“I finished my third week back at work. I made it!

I walk without a cane now but can't walk very far at one time (a block), but I do feel like I am a little stronger each day. I'm doing physical therapy twice a week and go to see a chiropractor regularly. I'm trying to eat really well, sleep well (with my new CPAP machine), control stress and live well. Since the damage to my body is primarily nerve damage, not muscle damaged (although the muscles have atrophied), I can't exercise to exhaustion.  I have to just do mild exercise that stimulates the nerves and then strengthen the muscles as the nerves recovery. I am a little more recovered and stronger everyday, so the prospects are very encouraging.”

He is getting stronger every day and is recovering very fast. We are grateful to Heavenly Father that he has blessed our dad with miraculous healing.

So on a different note, work at the H of R has been going ok. We have a lot of work to do with all the move outs. The sad thing is that some of the people are still living in the houses and are not moving so the H of R is been forced to evict them. It is sad that they just wouldn’t move out. Some of them may have nowhere to go though so it is very sad. The proselyting elders and sister continue to help us a ton. We count on them a lot. We are blessed to have their help.

The Community Garden at the H of R is finally dying. We will be planting the winter garden in the end of September. I am looking forward to the winter garden as it is the best growing season in Arizona.

Also I was taught how to drive the tractor at the H of R. It is fun to operate it! We use it to compact the trash in the giant dumpster that we use and to move heavy things. We fill up that giant dumpster on average 2-3 times a week with trash from all the houses. Each time the company takes it away it costs $400. That is around $800 a week! That is a lot of money for the H of R to fork out right now with their financial troubles.

I am going to be starting at a place called Lauren's Institute for Education in September. I will be there on Monday’s. It is a school for special needs children. I am very excited to work there. I love working with special needs kids. My job right before the mission was working in the autistic classroom at the local elementary school as an instructional assistant. It was my most favorite job that I have ever had! It will be nice to have a little change of scenery.

I have been working in the Mesa Temple for a few weeks now and love working in there! The spirit and peace is strong there. I love all the workers and have made new friends. The Lord has really blessed me with so many opportunities to serve him. I feel his love. I feel so blessed. The Lord loves each of us and has a plan for each of us. We may have hard times but he will never leave us completely without hope if we are truly trying to do what is right. The Lord truly loves all of you. I know it! Never ever do anything that would damage your soul and endanger your salvation. It is NEVER EVER worth it.

Until next time,

Elder Andrew Haws

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Amazing rendition of the song from Meet the Mormons. Beautiful song that brings the Spirit strong!

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1- My new plack!!! 2- My MUV with some donated girls bikes that I was transporting. There were even more of them that I rode down the street. It must have been a sight to see an elder riding tiny kids bikes down the street, one after another 😅 3- The Gilbert Temple right before a huge storm. 4- Me doing some drywall repairs. The portion that you see in the picture was unfinished.

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End of July

Hello all! So a lot has happened since my last post. At the House of Refuge, more and more people are moving out due to the loss of funding there. (Remember that the H of R lost all its HUD funding a few months ago and all but 21 of the 88 houses are being closed down until more funding can be secured). At the beginning of this last week, Bobby, the head of maintenance, said that we were due to have 29 more houses vacated by the end of the week or the 31st of July. We are going to be up to our eyeballs in work! Everyone that is not staying has to be out by the 31st (today). Luckily, quite a few of the proselyting elders and sisters from the Gilbert mission come every Wednesday for a few hours and help us out. Together, they are able to get the same amount of work done in 2 hours as what would have taken us days to do. They really help out a lot. Recently, the mission leaders also organized the Arizona Young Church Service Mission into more districts. They organized a district in my area called the House of Refuge District and called me to be the district leader. So I have been busy setting things up in the new district. This district covers the House of Refuge, Gilbert Facilities Management (maintenance for church buildings in the Gilbert area), Coolidge Church Farm, and Red Mt. Institute; all of where there is at least one elder or sister. It is great to now be a part of a district. We have weekly district meetings and weekly temple days. We also try to have devotionals at each of the service locations that we serve at as often as possible. There are several districts in the mission, which are all part of one zone. The Arizona YCSM Mission continues to grow and an astounding rate. More and more elders and sisters are in the process of becoming YCSM’s (Young Church Service Missionaries). I have a feeling that this program will not be in the pilot stage for much longer. It may be a year or two, but I think it is going to be a world wide program of the church. It is all very exciting! I was also recently called to be an ordinance worker in the Mesa Temple on Fridays! This calling will not be a part of my mission, but will be a separate calling. My first day will be on the 5th of August! I am looking forward to it greatly. Another thing that happened, only last week, which many of you have heard about is that my Dad was in the hospital Friday the 22nd through Monday the 25th of July. He has been sick since July 1st. At first it was the flu that gave him trouble for a long time, then it went into SEVERE muscle pain in the legs and arms. I had taken him to the ER a week or two before he was hospitalized, when he had these symptoms and they just thought it was because his electrolytes were depleted, so they gave him an IV with electrolytes and sent him home. He did not get much better though and became very weak and could barely walk. When he did walk, he stumbled around and almost fell. He also started to have numbness in his lips, mouth and fingers. This is when my Mom took him to the ER for the second time. They again thought at first it was because of electrolytes, but when they tested him for those, the test came back fine. They then did an MRI which revealed lesions in the brain. This is a sign of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This then caused them to admit him to the hospital for further testing. They did tons of tests for all the possible illnesses, but they all can back negative. So the only thing it looked like was MS. They did a spinal tap to test for MS. Those results will come back in about two weeks and will definitely tell us if it is MS. As of right now, they think it is MS. I was very worried at first but my Dad received blessings saying that he would be healed. He is already doing much better and although he is still weak, he is able to get around with a cane or walker. My family and I are all a peace and not worried. We trust in the Lord that he will heal our dad. Although he may have occasional bad days, we think that he is going to be right back to normal. Thank you for all your prayers for my dad and our family! It has helped us be comforted. The scripture that I would like to leave you with today comes from the Book of Mormon in the book of Alma chapter 36 verse three. It says, “I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.” I know this to be true. I bear witness that the Lord has truly helped my family through this hard time. He has supported us in our trials, troubles and afflictions. He can help you to if you put your trust in him and follow his commandments. The Lord loves us and wants us to succeed. I know this to be true. Until next time, Elder Haws

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Week 4

Tues June 28, 2016 reporting last week Hello everyone! Thank you for supporting me by reading my blog. I am getting better and better at my taping and mudding drywall. Bobby trust me to do it alone now. More and more drywall work keeps coming due to so many of the residents moving out.(remember that they just lost their HUD funding). The other maintenance guys have been struggling to fix a huge AC unit at the front building of the H of R (House of Refuge, I will abbreviate it from now on). They have been working on it for around two weeks now but still have not been able to get it to work. Hopefully they can get it running soon. This week,I found out that the other guy in charge of the community garden is leaving to go back to his native country of Taiwan for the summer. That means I will be the only person at the H of R to be in charge of the garden. I will have help from a local farmer though. He comes by once or twice a week to check on the garden. He will be my mentor. I am greatly looking forward to planting the fall garden in a few months. The fall is the best planting season in Arizona. You can grow broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, and other good veggies. Hopefully at that time, we will finish phase four of the garden which entails planting in the last vacant corner of the garden compound. On Thursday, I was able to go to the Haws family reunion. It was great to see a lot of my extended family who I do not see very often. On Friday, I was able to attend the temple marriage of my cousin. What a sweet thing it was. I spent the rest of the day helping her family with the preparations for the reception. I was also able to attend the reception. On Sunday, I gave my farewell talk (talk before you start your mission normally)  in church. Many of my extended family were able to attend due to the two big family events on both sides of the family. Many of my friends were also able to attend. I wanted to thank all those who attended and all those who wanted to attend but were not able to. It was great to have a lot of my family and friends there. A highlight of the week,... no, a highlight of my life happened last Saturday. I received my endowments in the Mesa temple. What an amazing experience! The blessings of the temple are amazing! I have a firm testimony of the importance of the temple. Some of you may live a far distance from a temple, but I encouraged you to try and go as often as you can, for it can help you with your trials and will bring much needed peace into your life. I bear testimony that temples will bless your lives. Until we meet again,                                  Elder Haws

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Week 3

Hello again everyone! I have enjoyed this week and have done many things.

This week a few of the kids in the neighborhood came to help me in the garden. I was excited about that. We picked a few things that are ready. Some ears of corn are starting to get ripe and the watermelons are getting really big. Jake (a volunteer that is also in charge of the garden) picked 2 watermelons this week. One of them was pretty big. I am very excited to plant the fall garden but that is not for a few months.

This week, Bobby (head of maintenance at the House of Refuge) put me in charge of the job to patch a small area of drywall in a house from start to finish and he says that there are two more houses that will need patch work. Last week I learned how to tape and mud an area with a crack or small hole. This week I did most of this first step in that house. I will finish next week with that house and then will move on to the other two houses to tape and mud the 2 holes in them. Then, Bobby is going to teach me how to texture drywall.

Also, this week on Wednesday, the proselyting elders and sisters came again to help out. This time, two whole zones of elders and sisters from the Gilbert mission. They help out a ton and get work done in a few hours of that would have taken the maintenance guys and me days to do. The sisters do the painting and the elders help trim bushes and clean out houses and other manual labor. I met the sister missionaries that are assigned to the House of Refuge. They are very nice. They will most likely have me come with them to some of the residents to teach them in the next few weeks.

Also on Wednesday, I helped sweep and mop two houses that had been recently cleared out. It seems like they have not mopped their floors in years and I am not kidding. (I have before and after pictures of the kitchen floor in one of the houses)! I will not give details, just let me tell you some of it was plain nasty!

    Ok, so a funny story: I was helping to clean out a house on Thursday. When I lifted up some stuff in a closet two mice bolted out and ran into the empty rooms of the house. The maintenance guys just stood there and laughed at me trying to catch them. I finally caught both of them with my gloved hands. Anyway, it was pretty funny. They said that they never had seen any mice in the houses.

    For those of you who do not know, the House of Refuge lost all of their HUD funding at the beginning of May. Everyone was devastated. That is why so many residents are moving out right now. They are have to close all but 21 of the 88 houses! It is very sad because some of these people have nowhere to go. Luckily some of them have found places and have already moved out. The House of Refuge was forced to lay off a lot of their team – all but about 15 total and a few more are leaving it sounds like. Everyone is trying their best to find other ways to gain money for the House of Refuge. These are great people. I was told that as they gain more private funding, they will be able to open some of the houses again.

    This week my message is from Jacob chapter 2, verse 19. It states, “And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.” What a great message! After we obtain a hope in Christ, He will bless us temporally. Thus, we should use our means to help the poor and the needy. Mosiah chapter 4, verse 26 says that “every man” should give “ according to that which he hath.” My challenge to you this week is to think of what you can do to help those in need, wherever they be throughout the world. I know the Lord will bless you and will be pleased with your efforts.

Until next week,

        Elder Haws

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1- Before picture of a floor I mopped 2- After shot of floor. See the difference! Other posts of the house were worse. 3- Me on the top the hill across the street from my house.

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Week 2

Hello all!

It has been a great week at the House of Refuge. I have learned to do some drywall repairs. It has been fun. Every morning I do my “rounds” which is going around the whole property and picking up trash. That takes me about an hour to two hours to do. Then I help the other maintenance guys with what ever needs done. I am learning good skills here. 

I have introduced myself to more residents now. I like to wave and honk my horn at the kids whenever I drive by them in my MUV (maintenance utility vehicle or glorified golf cart ;). I like to wave to everyone though. 

It is sad, but the other workers do not have a very good attitude towards some of the kids/young teenagers of this place. They think that they are the ones that break the fences and mess up other things. That could well be true but we still should love them and treat them nice right? They just have not been taught and do not think or care about their actions or how they will affects others.

The garden is growing great even in these hot temperatures. The watermelons are getting big and some of the corn is ready to harvest. I will keep you posted on further developments in the garden. I am looking forward to planting a winter garden in the fall. 

One thing that I did not mention in my last weeks post is that some people and the House of Refuge swear pretty regularly. This bothers me. I hope that by my example they will stop cussing. It is not a good thing to do. The Strength of Youth says “ Do not use profane, vulgar, or crude language or gestures, and do not tell jokes or stories about immoral actions. These are offensive to God and to others. ” President Spencer W. Kimball stated that “ Many people would excuse themselves for cursing by saying that the Ten Commandments were given millennia ago to a faraway people, but it must be remembered that he not only gave them with power to the Israelites but he also reiterated them with emphasis to the Jews in the meridian of time and even in our own dispensation has repeated them for our own benefit and guidance.... If mankind could but come to see indecency as an indication of weakness, not strength and not manhood, as stupidity and not sophistication, then he would come to see more clearly the strength of Jesus Christ, the most honest and decent individual that ever lived on the face of the earth. ” My message to all of you is if you struggle sometimes with bad language, pray that you can be strengthened to break that nasty habit. I know the Lord will bless you for it.

Thank you for being such wonderful people!!

Until next week,

Elder Haws