Weekly Update~ "Delighting in Plainness"

Mother's Day Skype

RJ and His Companion Elder Nambale

Wishing They Could Tract This Way!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a great last week with Elder Nambale. We put in some
good hard work as we were counting down the days to call home our
wonderful Mothers. Today we had transfers and we found out that Elder
Brogan and I are swapping companions- Elder Nambale is moving to be
with him to be the second Zone Leader, and that I would be the new
District Leader to replace him, and Elder Mumba would be moving to be
with me.

This week, after feeling like my teaching skills were getting a little
rusty. I really put focus on studying the lessons in Preach My Gospel
throughout the week during my study time. Along with this, during Zone 
District Meeting this week, Elder Brogan told us that we need to place a 
greater focus in preparing lessons for our appointments throughout the day
during our companionship study, so we would be able to come into the lesson
prepared and ready to teach with the Spirit. He talked about how you
grow older on mission and become more familiar with how the lessons
are arranged, sometimes we move away from this step of making our
lesson plans apply to the investigator we are teaching. After this
refresher, Elder Nambale and I made a goal to apply our lesson plans
to each investigator. We would teach throughout the day and write down
the commitments we were going to extend. As we did this, we were able
to teach with greater power and authority and fulfill all our plans we
had made during our weekly planning the week previous. It was a little
change in our routine, and though it took a few extra minutes of our
study time, it made all the difference. Throughout the week, we taught
a few of our investigators who we were on the fence about dropping
them and because we took the time to plan these lessons, they proved
to be very successful lessons and we were able to answer many of the
questions these people were having. I testify that as you take the few
extra minutes to plan and teach with simplicity, it makes a big
difference and I'm grateful we were able to see that this week.

I also wanted to give an update on a young couple we are teaching
right now. Their names are Bosco and Joanne and they have been dating
for about a year. About 3 weeks ago, they came to church together on
their own after our Branch Clerk invited them. Elder Nambale and I
have been teaching them ever since. They are planning on getting
married in December. We were able to teach them twice this week and
it's made me so happy seeing how well they've grasped onto the Gospel.
They both feel like their prayers have been answered concerning the
truthfulness of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ and they are both
progressing so well. Seeing them making the Gospel a priority in their
life reminds me of how when I get home, I want to set my priorities in
the same order with my eternal companion and my future family. I know
the blessings this Gospel brings and I want nothing short of them.

This transfer, I've learned so much about how obedience brings
blessings and allows you to have the Spirit as your constant
companion. There is nothing more important than having the Spirit with
you, especially as you teach. Obedience and having the Spirit are
directly related. When I got here, I realized I needed to fine tune a
few small things and it has helped so much. I'm grateful for my
district I've been able to learn so much from and am looking forward
to the lessons to be learned in the future.

In conclusion, I'd just like to express my gratitude to my wonderful
family and more especially my mother. I love my family so much and am
grateful I was able to FaceTime them yesterday. I know that there is
no greater calling than Motherhood and am eternally grateful for the
example my mother is to me and I love her so so much.

Elder Hazen