New pics

Unfortunately, Richard didn't explain any of these so I really don't know what is going on in them, but he looks like he's lost some weight!

Interesting Week

Ola, Sou Elder Haun
I've been having an intresting week first sorry to not write you on monday things have been crazy now for the explanation. On monday we had some members from Braga come down to make a cd with one of the elders here because he is really good on guitar. But the members where all female so at least 3 elders had to be with him and that pretty much how we spent our whole p-day. I was also sick at that time so on tuesday we had planed to just chill at home but we needed some food and water so we went to buy that stuff. And found out we forgot our keys that was around 10 in the mourning so we walked to the other elders house talked to them eat lunch went and taught a lesson to Nanda one of our really good investigators and went back to our home talked to out neighbor and she let us hop over her from her house to our house. And we got back into our house around 6 at night. And right now I'm in Porto getting ready to renew my visa thing here. But yea it was so much fun, things I'll never forget. So when are you going to turn in your papers. By the way its funny because your doing what I was doing this time last year working on the paper work.

Well have a great week

Its been a while

So here's the latest news with Richard,
!!Real quick langauge lesson!! here in portugal they don´t have the i before e rule at all so its not Lieria its Leiria just wanted to let you know.(Thats not meant to be rude so if you kinda toke it as rude i´m sorry)But yea things are going great here we have three investigators that I could see being baptized either this month or next. And we are really building up the lines with are members, I feel like Leiria is going to explode soon and soon be split into two wards maybe in a year or less. And i´m having a great time here with my companion and my district they are all such cool guys and I can see myself hanging out with them after the mission. And one of the other Elders has kinda talked me into going to BYU Hawaii for at least a little while I think it would be cool. I´ll be getting my first hair cut today from a portugese person I´ll be sure to send some pics next week. And for thanksgiving we were asked to make fruit salad and a pie so I´m getting really excited because I really want to make a really cool pie and my companion told me that im not allowed to make cookies or brownies anymore (they were just too good and he eats a ton of them and he is trying to lose weight).
Just remember that God is always ready to help you and I can not tell you how many time he has helped me on my mission thus far.
Love,
Elder Haun

October 5th

This week has been great we had some good lessons and met some weird people lol.
For general con. we had to go to Coimbra to watch it but it was a fun trip. We started by just going to another town that has a train that goes to Coimbra and we knew the elders their so we spent the night their. And in the morning we all headed out to Coimbra and when we got their we didn't have much time so we had to just go to the chapel with all of our stuff. I had to watch the Saturday first session in Portugese so I didn't really understand much and after that session it was time to head out so we went got some food and went to our zone leaders house and we slept their. Sunday morning we got up and headed back to the chapel to watch priest hood then two other sessions after that we got on a bus back to Leira. I was so tried.
But I really liked the talks they were all so good and I was able to feel the spirit really strong.
By the way it was transfer week and I'll be staying here in Leira for at least one more transfer. But my companion is out and I heard a little about my new companion and he sounds way cool and he's Mexican too. I'm kinda happy to be getting a new companion its nice to have a change every now and then and I'm excited to have my second companion in the mission field.
Well I got to write some other people so I'll talk to you next week and I'll tell you about my new companion.

Update Mon Sept 21

My week has been good we have been trying to contact a couple of people for the past couple of days but they're never home. We actually had a great re-contact the other day (I say re-contact because we hadn't seen these people in about a month) they invited us in, the wife heard our message, the husband made us some dinner, and we all had dinner together.
But that one other guy still says he doesn't want to be baptized but I think he does but just doesn't want to admit it. But our lesson with him went well and we had one of our members with us.
Our other investigator is doing well and feeling better and hopefully should be getting operated on next week. We actually just left a house where we watched Hercules and before that we watched Wall-e I enjoyed both movies. ( His mission president lets the missionaries watch Disney movies on P-day)
My language skills are still far from being good; I still have a problem understanding some people and I still can't speak that well but for the most part I understand most people and can speak well enough that I can have a one on one conversation. I'll send some pictures next week, hopefully. Talk to you then.

Love,
Elder Haun

Tuesday Sept 15

My week has been good we actually just got done watching "Bolt" it such a great movie and it makes me want to cry every time I watch it.(He must be getting more sensitive over in Portugal!) Besides that we were very surprised when one of our investigators texted us yesterday and told us he had a wonderful experience reading the Book of Mormon and wants us over so we can talk to him about it and he asked if there's a chance he can be a missionary for the church it was incredible because in our appointments with him before he always said he didn't want to be baptized but now he wants to be a missionary.
Did I tell you that one of our investigators got her foot ran over by a fork lift, well she needs a surgery because it broke something in her leg and she can't move her big toe and she was suppose to go in for that surgery yesterday but I guess her foot was infected so the doctor fixed that up and said to come back in two weeks to be safe. So she is kinda sad about that and she has this big worry about if she does join the church that she will fall away because Emma Smith fell away and she says that if some one so close to the prophet could fall away then what kind of a chance does she stand. But we our working with her on this problem.
well I kinda have to write a letter to my folks so bye till next week

Isabel's Baptism

I was happy to find an email in my inbox from Richard's recent convert Isabel. She sent pictures!

Here's what she said, "Hello, I'm sister Isabel, from Leiria, Portugal, where Elder Haun is a missionary.
Elder Haun with Zabriskie has been very important to me as they have directed the study on the Book of Mormon, which has not been very easy to accept, but they have been patient with me.
yesterday was my baptism, I am very happy, wanted to share this happiness with you.
I will send some photos of Elder Haun on his mission to teach me the Book of Mormon and my baptism with my family and other elders.
Agrdeço to you for them being in my way.
kiss love you.
Isabel "


Todos Missionários (all the missionaries)


Eu meu marido, filha e amiga (Me, My husband, my daughter, and my friend)


Eu e Haun (Me and Haun)


Haun a ensinar-me o livro de Mórmon com Zabriskei (Haun teaching me about the Book of Mormon with Zabriskie)

Baptism Week

This week Richard was really busy preparing for his investigators baptism.

"So yea the baptism went well and it was a lot of fun and stressful because we had to basically do everything for it. We had to clean the font and fill it make the programs and get some people there like our bishopric. But in the end it went over really well and she seemed so happy after and I know she will be blessed. It really just made me remember my baptism and that whole day it was a cool day."

There is a cool guy in his ward:

"How about I tell you about one of the greatest members in our ward. His name is Levi and he is a return missionary from this mission, and he is married with 2 kids. He feeds us almost every Sunday and is always trying to help with anything he can. He is an amazing guy who really lives the gospel to its fullest."

I'm sure Richard will be like that when he's older :)

This week wasn't too great for Richard and his companion I guess..

"We basically had a crap week this last week we had a lot of lessons fall through and my companion hurt himself playing futball so we were in the house for about 2 days letting his leg get better. So I've basically been studying and making cookies. (which i've actually gotten to be pretty good at =9) So yea Ive had a pretty slow week."

And here's a bit of his testimony
"Yeah the more I read about this religion the more it builds my testimony that thes things are true. There are just so many good things that have come from this chrurch. And I'm glad that I have my testimony in these things."

Thanks for reading. Until next week!

August 24th

I got an email from Richard today. Here's what it said:

I had to get up and talk on my first sunday here and bear my testamony that was cool. Besides that no I haven't really had to do anything else for chruch. And my Portuguese is coming along alright I can understand a lot and Im still working on talking but Im getting better.
Thats weird that your already going back to rexburb but Im sure when you get there time will fly by a lot faster for you. Time already flys by pretty fast for me I can't belive I've been in portugal for over a month now.
O yea Im staying here they called and said Im going to be here for awhile longer so at least another 6 weeks so you can send that package here anytime you want. O and for that they told me if or when they ask you whats inside just say missionarie supplies.
Well this week not to much has been going on here we are just getting ready for are one investagators baptizem on saturday.
And I've been having a pretty good week with a lot of fun things and yea... I love this place its really nice but I sweat a ton.
And Im learning a lot of cool things all the time.
But thanks for everything :)

Elder Richard Haun

First Post

So Richard has been in Portugal for a month already in a town called Leiria. It is right by the coast and in between Lisbon and Porto. Go here to see a map

His trainer's name is Elder Zabriskie and he is from Idaho. He likes the same things that Richard does, like anime and video games and stuff like that. The members there are really cool and a lot of them speak english too. He said that he eats alot of fish there and is learning to like it :)

Here is a spiritual experience that he told me the other day: "I was listening to the music my comp. has on almost all the time and it was on shuffle and played a part from JS histroy or something like that and it was talking about the night that people came into his house and tried to kill him but ended up only seriously wounding him with tar and JS still went and preached the next day all bloody and scared. And because of that he actually ended up converting some of the men who attacked him. It just really showed me what kind of man he was and even thou all that happened to him he still went on and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. So i know I had to work harder and better. Because these people here have the right to hear about how the true Gospel was brought back to the earth."

Here is his day by day schedule: "My normal day is like this I wake up, eat breakfast, study for 3 hours, eat lunch, then at that time its usally 12:30 and we leave the house go contacting or to an appointment or to the bus station (we are there a lot because we have to bus to three other towns that are in are area) and we come home at about 8:30pm and eat dinner and prepare for bed at around 10:30pm and go to sleep at 11. Thats pretty much what I do everyday."

For his P-day he went to a castle! Here are some pics.