Weekly Update~ "The Lugazi Rat Trappers"

Elders Wearing Heart Sunglasses from RJ's Valentine's Day Package

RJ's New Friend to Play Ball With

Dear Family and Friends,

   This week was a busy week that was difficult at times, but very fulfilling. It's weeks like these that I appreciate the times of trial because I know it's in those times that I'm growing the most. The first part of the week was spent shaking some of the cobwebs off because it had been nearly a full week since we had gone proselyting and taught anyone. We spent a lot of our time making contact with our investigators and trying to stop by for small visits.  But, we found ourselves getting bounced more times than we were actually teaching. In those cases, we went and visited some recent converts in attempt to get some referrals, but we weren't having much luck with that either. By the time the evening rolled around Tuesday, Elder Tesch and I were feeling discouraged, defeated, and exhausted.  So, we began making our way home. During interviews the previous week, in the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast, Elder Clayton talked about how important it is to seek referrals, but also spend as much time finding on our own efforts. As we were walking home, that thought popped into my head so I suggested that we go and do some "finding". We began by just walking around aimlessly and talking to every single person we saw.  And as we did so, I felt better and better. Near the end of our hour of "finding", Elder Tesch and I both stopped at a house and both agreed we needed to knock on it. When we did so, an older sister answered and we made a return appointment. We followed this pattern of setting aside time to find on our own efforts for the rest of the week and we had our fair share of success. I'm not saying that all experiences where we feel the Spirit leading us to someone turn out to be successful, but I know we are supposed to talk to certain people for a reason.  Whether it be to plant a seed, or teach them a few lessons.
Our struggles reminded me that there is good to every day no matter how bad it may seem. I was also reminded that as President Uchtdorf says, "our attitude determines our altitude".  This week at church, even though we were successful in finding and teaching, our church attendance for our investigators was less than we would've liked it to be. But, as I looked on the bright side, I felt a lot better as we had one father of a family come to all 3 hours of church. In order to be a successful missionary, even when people don't accept our message or keep commitments, It says in Preach My Gospel, "You should not, however, become discouraged; discouragement will weaken your faith and hurt the work".

Enjoying the food at a Wedding and RJ's New Haircut!

  This week, on Elder Ward and Ray's side of Lugazi, one of their investigators got married to a member of our branch so all of us were invited to the introduction ceremony. Haha- I can honestly say I haven't eaten that much on my mission and it destroyed us. Elder Ray had so much food, he had to break the streak and use his first longdrop of his mission. All the kids in the village had a good time as they saw a Mzungu (White Person) emerge, relieved, from their local public restroom. 

The Longdrop Public Restroom

   So lately, we have been having a rat problem in the Lugazi house. We used to see one in our kitchen every once in awhile, but it has progressively gotten worse. On Wednesday night, I woke up with about 2 of them running around in our room and we as a district got a bit fed up with it. So, Elder Robinson, our Zone Leader, gave us some advice on how to trap and kill them. He told us to fill our wash basins with water and put food inside with a broom on the side leading up to the top. Since Saturday, we have killed a grand total of 3 with many more to come. Last night our kill was a team effort, as we saw one run under our fridge. We then brought everyone into our kitchen, closed all the doors, and armed ourselves with brooms, mops, and shoes. Elder Tesch coaxed it from out of our fridge, then I threw my shoe at it which momentarily stunned it, then Elder Ward pinned it under a mop and Elder Ray finished it off with a heavy blow to the head from his shoe. It was definitely a highlight of the week. Enjoy this photo of our victory with our deceased friend. 

The Rat Trappers

   Tomorrow, the mission is starting a 90 day BOM reading challenge. If any of you want to read the BOM before your missions and want to do it with me, you are welcome to it!

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "I am One With the World and The World is One With Me"

Dear Family and Friends,

   If you're wondering what my email subject is about, here is a disclaimer. It has nothing to do with what I'm about to write, it's just a direct quote from dear Elder Alexander Ray that I thought I'd like to share. When you get locked down in your apartment for 4 days straight, you get a bit stir-crazy and it messes with your head…but before I get to that, I'll tell you about what happened in the week before the presidential election festivities.

   On Tuesday, we had surprise Zone Leader exchanges. Elder Tesch and I were able to work with Elder Robinson and we had a great day. We went out and taught a few lessons and had dinner with our friends here in Lugazi who are here helping out with Musana Jewlery International and are here on humanitarian trips! At the end of the day, when we closed, he gave us a few things we could improve on. My biggest takeaway was that I can always improve on patience throughout the day when people give us a hard time, and he urged us to continue improving each and every day on our missions so our growth is upward for the rest of the time we are here. 

   On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to go to Mukono for interviews with President Chatfield. I love the time I'm able to talk to him about my questions and concerns and am grateful for the insight he shares with me. We also were able to finally view the worldwide missionary broadcast which was unreal. The biggest things I took away from that is that Jesus Christ's should always be on our lips. We always need to be ready to powerfully testify of him. I also wanted to share something that President Chatfield shared in his closing remarks. It is called the Fellowship of the Unashamed and it really impacted me. It is hanging in my study room above my study desk (at the end of my letter). 

So…now the fun stuff during our lock down, the Lugazi district participated in a variety of activities including-

• Playing catch in the front yard with Elder Ward
• Playing rounds and rounds and rounds of cards, 
• Sleeping
• Studying
• Jumping off our balcony onto mattresses (which my mother doesn't approve of)
  
• Having a bonfire in our front yard
  
• Taco Night
  
• Learned Guitar
  
• Elder Tesch lit his hands on fire with hand sanitizer

And many more things. Needless to say, we probably had the most fun out of anyone in the mission. 

   I wanted to share one last thought. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about taking counsel from the Lord. I have been looking for ways to improve myself week by week and I constantly reflect and ask those around me for ways that I can better myself. Obviously, there is no better person to ask, than our Heavenly Father. As Elder Lawrence taught in his talk last October, "What Lack I Yet"? He talks about how the Holy Ghost can inspire us in ways to improve. The principle is the same in 2 Nephi 9: 28-29 and Jacob 4:10. Lately, I've been working on building the faith to act on the things that the Spirit inspires me to change so I can continue the process of steady progression on my mission. As Elder Lawrence counsels, the best time we can do that is on Sunday when taking the sacrament. I would challenge all of you to review Elder Lawrence's talk, read the scriptures I suggested from the Book of Mormon, and get on your knees and sincerely ask something you can improve on so you can feel the influence of the Spirit more in your lives. I testify that as you do that and you act on the promptings you receive, you will receive many blessings.

I love you all very much. Thank you for your continuous support,

Elder Hazen

Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit
Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has
been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow
down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight
walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,
mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted,
or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of
mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed
up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop,
preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)

Weekly Update~ "Listening to the Spirit"

His New Ride

New Shirt for RJ

Keeping up his Baseball Skills

Dear Friends and Family,

This week we were able to baptize Winnie. She is the first in her
family that we've been teaching to be baptized. I'm so grateful I've
gotten to meet with them over this past month because visiting them
always proves to be a highlight of my day. The service was wonderful,
as nearly all of our members stayed behind to support her. The
reverence in the service was noticeable as all the children stopped
crying and fussing and there were no campaign trucks that drove by
blasting music. I was able to perform the ordinance, and after, she
bore a wonderful testimony. I know that without a doubt she was ready
to make this step in her life and she is going to make a strong
contribution to this branch and will continue to be a wonderful
example to the rest of her family.

RJ, Winnie and Elder Tesch

Elder Tesch continues to improve each and every day. I wanted to share
an experience we had this week. Last week, I was talking about how
spiritually sensitive Elder Tesch is and how he pushes me be better at
paying attention to the whisperings of the Spirit throughout the day.
On Wednesday, we got bounced from one of the appointments we made with
a family we have been teaching, so we sat down and began to make some
phone calls to see if we could visit someone else instead. Andrew was
working with us as well. As I began to punch in someone's phone number
into our phone, Elder Tesch and Andrew both pointed to a lady about 50
feet away standing outside her house cooking dinner and both suggested
we talk to her and try and teach her. I looked up, and immediately got
the same feeling they must have been feeling and decided that'd be a
good idea. Long story short, we taught with power and authority and
found out she had a few concerns with the churches she saw around and
we invited her to pray about our message and invited her to be
baptized March 6th which she accepted. Again, I'm thankful for how
much assistance we receive from the Lord and the Spirit as we go about
doing his work.

I was able to give a talk this week on Repentance and it was nice to
share the things I've been learning from the Book of Mormon with the
branch. Elder Tesch gave a wonderful talk on Heavenly Father. This
week, I continued my studies from 2 Nephi and I wanted to share what I
learned from chapter 2. In this chapter, Lehi talks about the fall,
the atonement, and gaining salvation and I realized how connected all
3 of these events are and how essential they are to the Plan of
Salvation. It also explains why agency was necessary to the plan as
well. I am grateful for Heavenly Father's plan of redemption and for
the ability we have to make our own choices in this life. I'm thankful
for Adam's choice to partake of the fruit because though it made it
possible for us to experience pain, suffering, and death, it's through
the experiences we are able to have on Earth that make us better. I'm
eternally grateful for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and his Atonement
for us. In Brad Wilcox's Continuous Atonement, he describes an
experience he had while having an interview with one of his
missionaries as a Mission President. The missionary was feeling
discouraged with some past mistakes he made before his mission and was
wondering why the thoughts of his mistakes had to remain in his
memory. Brother Wilcox took a marble egg off his shelf and showed the
missionary and told him that the dark lines, representing sin, in this
case, were the reason why the egg had beauty. It's the sins in our
lives and mistakes we make and the weaknesses, that when overcome
through the power of the Atonement, make us more beautiful to our
Heavenly Father. I have a lot of lines, but I'm thankful to keep
working to overcome them.

Enjoy this photo of me sporting Noah, the drunk man's
jacket he so kindly gifted to us.

I love you all
Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Training"

Dear Friends and Family, 

   We just concluded Elder Tesch's  (my new Companion from St. George) first week of his first transfer and he has been an absolute champ. We had a lot of firsts with him this week including his first Rolex, first lessons, first meal of mukenne (tiny fish that isn't a mission favorite), first baptism date extended, and so much more. He has been such a quick learner and has adapted so well and I'm so excited to watch him continue to progress. 

   Transfers week is a busy week but we were able to get a lot done. Tuesday was my last full day with Elder Dowdle and we spent our time seeing recent converts and investigators that he wanted to say good bye to before heading out to Busia on Wednesday. On Wednesday, we had a tender moment as a district saying good bye to Dowdle. Pictures speak a thousand words and this one completely explains our friendship. 

   I went on an exchange with Elder Dabb on Wednesday and came back at around 5:30 to meet up with Elder Tesch and so Elder Dabb could go back to Mukono. Elder Ray and I decided to have a bit of fun with Elder Tesch and switched name tags and I told him to act like a complete spaz. We weren't successful, however, because Dowdle told him in Ntinda that I was tall and super relaxed.   So, when he saw Elder Ray and he didn't fit the description, our fun was spoiled.

   Yesterday at church, everything was going normal until in walked Tanner Call, a kid I graduated with at Lone Peak. There's a humanitarian group working in lugazi right now and he is with them! He is going to be here for 6 weeks.  Haha I was stunned to say the least but, it was super cool to see a familiar face. Testimony meeting was absolutely wonderful. A bunch of the members got up on their own and bore simple, sweet, testimonies full of truth.  The spirit in the room was so strong. We were able to have 90 people at sacrament, the most we have ever gotten. It has been amazing to see the progression of this branch in just the 4 months that I have been serving here and I am looking forward to continue seeing the growth as we invite more families to come unto Christ. 

   We are currently teaching two families. Margaret, Winnie, and the rest of the family was at church this week and I was super excited for that. Margaret really enjoyed the meeting and Winnie is going to be baptized next week so we are hoping that she will continue to be a good example to her family and will continue to motivate Margaret to come to church in the future. We also began teaching Japhet and Sarah, a young couple who was referred to us by Francis. It was Elder Tesch's first time teaching the Restoration and he did wonderful and concluded by extending them both baptism dates for the end of this month which they both accepted. 

   This week I wanted to focus on faith. Since I've been on my mission, Alma chapter 32-34 has been one of my favorite chapters to study. It's one of those sections that you can spend a lifetime studying but you can never quite get everything inside because there is so much good stuff! In that passage, Alma gives his brilliant discourse of the seed and how faith is developed. I would encourage you all to go through this passage sometime this week and write down a few thoughts. President Chatfield always tells us to increase our faith and as we do, then the miracles will come. Miracles don't build faith, they come as an outcome of our faith. We always tell our investigators that faith is an action word, but as I was thinking this week, am I taking the necessary actions to show Heavenly Father my faith and doing all that I can to find families? As I thought about that, I began to have a change in mindset and my eyes have been more open to families as we have been from moving from appointment to appointment. Even though Elder Tesch is still young on mission, he is already applying what our leaders have encouraged us to do and whenever he sees a family walking, he suggests that we go and talk to them. I'm very grateful for this work and am excited to begin sharing some of the experiences that will happen in the upcoming weeks.

I love you all,
 Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Time Flies When You're Having Fun!"

  

Fenne Fruit- Grown only in Africa, most similar to an apple in taste

On a Mission, that statement couldn't be more true… In these first 6 months in Uganda, I have had some of the most amazing experiences in my life and I couldn't be loving it more. Thank you all for supporting me so far as I've been out, and I look forward to continuing to share my experiences each week!

  Another transfer has come and gone. I'm so thankful for my companion, Elder Dowdle. These last 3 months have been unreal and it has been so cool to see him mature as a missionary. Of course, I've been able to learn a ton from him as well. His love for missionary work is contagious and I'm extremely thankful for him always pushing me to not only be a better missionary, but a better person. We found out that he is being transferred to Busia, in Eastern Uganda today, but I know he is someone that I will remain friends with for the rest of my life. 

  I found out today that I am going to be training a new missionary for the next few weeks. His name is Elder Tesch from St. George, Utah. I am a little nervous, because I feel like I was where he is just a few weeks ago, but I know with the help of the Lord, the teachings of my mission leaders and president, and Preach My Gospel, I'll be able to help him develop the skills necessary to become a good missionary. I'm excited for the new opportunity I have to learn from him as well.

   With this being transfers week, these last few days, the members of the branch have been having us over for lunch and dinner and it has been amazing. Haha it's never a bad thing being fed as a missionary. I'm thankful for the friendships I've been able to develop with the people here…I know I say things like that a lot, but the people in the wards and branches I've been able to serve in have become my families away from my family and I love them. 

   Today for Pday, we went to Protea Hotel for their buffet breakfast. I know this just looks like a mediocre plate of food, but this is honestly the best thing I've had in 6 months and I honestly shed a tear when I saw the buffet line haha.

Elder Dowdle have continued to focus on families, and I wanted to share a few cool experiences from this week.

• I don't remember if I mentioned them last week, but we were referred to a family by one of our recent converts, Everline, and we have been teaching them about twice a week now. One of the daughters, Winnie, has really grasped onto the Gospel and is absorbing everything we have been teaching her. She has kept all of her commitments, and has been to church twice now. She has even been bringing one of her younger sisters, Sheila, who isn't as interested, but she is still listening. We have been working on her parents, but her father travels to Mukono every day to teach, and her mother still has a lot of questions, but has listened to the first 3 lessons. In an effort to begin to help her increase her testimony, we committed her to pray about everything we have taught her and ask specific questions in her prayer like if Joseph Smith is a true prophet and if he truly did restore Christ's church to the earth. She accepted, and we invited Winnie to close the lesson with a prayer afterwards. She offered a beautiful, humble prayer full of faith asking Heavenly Father to help her mother understand. I have been praying for her as well and hope she has a positive experience because I know how much the Gospel is going to bless that family if they decide to accept it. 
• Hadson, one of David's sons was baptized this Sunday and the service was great. I was able to give a talk on baptism and bare testimony on the importance of baptism and making covenants with God. He was baptized by Elder Dowdle and he bore a great testimony after! I think that hearing our investigators bear their testimonies is my favorite part about baptisms. Also, Reegan has only been a member for 1 complete week, and he is already paying tithing. He came up to Elder Dowdle and I and asked for help filling out the slip. That kid is unreal and I love him to death. 
  
• We have begun making an emphasis on Family History with our Recent Converts to help with their retention. So far, we have gotten a great response. 3 people came to church with their "My Family" books partially filled out and we are going to begin filling out their information and putting it on FamilySearch.org next week. I'm excited to see the excitement for Family History continue to build up!

This week I finished up 1 Nephi. Haha it has taken me a long time because I'm only studying a chapter a day in the Book of Mormon, but because I have been taking my time and reading every little detail, I have been getting so much out of it! This week, I studied 1 Nephi 20 and 21 where Nephi quotes the words of the prophet Isaiah for one of the first times. I have never been good at understanding Isaiah, but as I begin my studies with a prayer, it's been a lot easier! I'd like to focus on 1 Nephi 20:10 and tell you what I learned from it this week. It was my "Ponderizing" scripture for the week. It says: "For behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction". I love the comparison of us going through trials in this life to a furnace refining the impurities of metal. Our life on Earth is a process during which we learn and gain experience as we prepare to return to live back with God. Trials are a CRUCIAL part of our time on Earth. Personally, I learn the most from the trials I experience, especially on my mission. I know that as I look at these times of trial with an eternal perspective, or from the "big picture", then we can see that our trials come from a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to grow and become better. I read a quote this week that goes like "It is following the lines of least resistance that makes rivers and men crooked". If any of you are going through struggles or hard times, I promise that if you get on your knees and pray for strength, it will be given to you. God is eager and ready to bless those who ask for it, and he will never give you anything more than you can handle. I wanted to share one more quote from "The Continuous Atonement" By Brad Wilcox. He says, "I remember as a young schoolteacher (with a large and active class" asking my wife, Debi, "When does life even out? Why does it always feel like a roller coaster with so many highs and lows all in the same day? I wish life would just level out." Being a nurse, Debi replied, "Brad, when you get hooked up to the heart monitor, you don't want to see a straight line. That's bad news. It's the up and down lines that let you know you're alive." 

I can't express it enough how grateful I am to have this time to be put in the Refiner's Fire for these two years and to work out some of my impurities. 

I love you guys all! I hope all you going through afflictions or hard times get through it!

Love,

 Elder Hazen