Weekly Update~ "Hello From Lugazi!"

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello from Lugazi, the land of endless fields of sugar cane! I'm so excited to be here and I had such a great week! I'll first talk about the first part of my week in Kololo. 

Elder Mair and I spent all of Tuesday saying good-bye to the people of the area. We got to pray with Mama Mafabi one last time and talked about how much we're looking forward to the day us 3 can sit down at a table over lunch and talk about missionary work again. After saying good-bye to a few more Recent Converts, we went to a member's home in Nsambya for dinner which was one of the best meals I've had on mission!

 On Wednesday, Elder Mair and I got picked up by the Zone Leaders and sat at the AP's flat in Ntinda to wait for transfers. I got to catch up with Elders Langford, Farnsworth, and Elder Hatch. We haven't been together since the first day in Uganda so that was super neat to be able to be with them! I then loaded up all my stuff in the AP van, and we drove an hour and a half out of the city into the bush.

First of all, Let me tell you all that Lugazi is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been too in my life. There aren't words that I can type that can adequately explain it.  The pictures I've taken don't do it justice.  Mom and Dad, I seriously want you to come here… you'd love it so much.  My apartment isnt even an apartment… its a straight house! It's a little run down but, its nice to have some room. 

My new district is the youngest in the mission. I'm with Elder Ward, Elder Ray, and Elder Dowdle is my new companion. Elder Ward is from Lone Peak so, it's a pretty small world. Elder Ray is from Oregon and has been at BYU for the past year. He's an amazing cook so we are going to all make a Thanksgiving feast in 2 weeks with a turkey and everything...so don't worry, I'll be celebrating out here too:) Elder Dowdle is from Pocatello Idaho and is a stud. He already has a great handle on missionary work. I sometimes forget he's a transfer younger than me!

Other than transfers, nothing too interesting happened except for the fact that we were able to do a mission fast this week, and we got to help the branch do a deep clean of the building. Some of the members were able to help us. One of the individuals who helped us was Andrew, the Elder's Quorum president. He's one of the biggest studs I've ever met. I don't think there's anyone I've met that works harder than him. He works as one of our compound guards, and is extremely active in his church calling, which leaves little time for sleep. He constantly works with us missionaries. I'm looking forward to working with him more in the future!

 Like in Kololo, we have young ward missionaries who work with us on a regular basis. The one who works with us most is named Emmanuel and was baptized like two months ago, but is already preparing for a mission. He's a stud! Next Saturday and Sunday, I get the opportunity to watch conference again because they haven't seen it out here yet.   And in 2 weeks, the branch is going to Jinja to see the Jinja stake organized. We're all super excited for that. It'll make 2 stakes in Uganda with a 3rd following soon. This next week, we are planning for 2 baptisms. I'll talk more about it next week. I love you all!

Love, 
Elder Hazen