Today I spent my preparation day in downtown Kampala looking for a new long-sleeved white shirt and popping tags in the market looking for sweet second hand clothes. As we were walking down the street on the lookout, a gentleman stopped us outside his store and showed us his wide selection of dress shirts. He asked us what color of dress shirt we were looking for and I told him the same color of the shirt that I was wearing. He looked at me, puzzled, and asked ''You're looking for a cream shirt?'' Confused, I then looked down at my shirt, then the white shirt he was holding in his hand and noticed the stark difference between the colors. I guess I've been working too hard. Haha just kidding.
This week was another good one in Nsambya. We continue to receive a steady flow of referrals from the members and we are seeing the blessings of becoming more unified with them in our work. Nearly every day this week we have had a brother and sister from the ward moving to our appointments with us in the afternoons which has been wonderful for both the fellowshipper and fellowshipee. Sarah and her children, Alpha and Stella are continuing to progress. Stella and Alpha went to Gulu this week for a 4-day data entry course so, Sarah was at home all week alone. Elder Moyes and I took the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon with her a few times throughout the week and she ended up coming to church alone which was neat to see. It's funny because her and one of the members we brought with us to teach, Simon Peter, made a bet to see who could get to church first. Sarah won but, we were happy to see both present for the passing of the sacrament.
The other family we are teaching, Jeff and his daughters, are all progressing as well. Jeff introduced us to his two first born daughters this week and we got to teach them all the restoration together. I think Jeff was relieved that his family is willing to learn the gospel with him because he was worried that if he continued in the discussions alone, he would cause disunity. As we testified how much this gospel blesses families, the spirit was there. Jeff, two of his daughters, and his young son all attended church yesterday and we were pleased to see them.
I can't really express my gratitude for how much the Lord has blessed us with our current teaching pool. These people are the coolest people ever to make things even more fun. For example, Jeff is a free-lance artist who has been in the craft business for over 25 years. He has been running a craft-shop himself for the past 10 years in Kampala but recently turned over the business to his oldest daughter, Joanne. He also owns real-estate and travels out of the country to sell his art. It's neat to see how business-oriented he is and it's a pleasure to have gotten to know him.
Things just continue to happen for us and as we continue to do our best to help those whom we have been given stewardship over, both investigators and missionaries. We had exchanges with Elder Pearson, Dowdle, Ray, and Ellsworth from Kabowa and also attended their Star Wars themed DDM for May the 4th. It was a blast getting to work with both Elder Dowdle and Pearson reminiscing on old times from Lugazi and Rwanda.
Happy Mother's Day to every motherly figure in my life, but most of all to my own mother. To quote Elder Holland, ''To all of our mothers everywhere, past, present, or future, I say, “Thank you." Thank you for giving birth, for shaping souls, for forming character, and for demonstrating the pure love of Christ.” To Mother Eve, to Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, to Mary of Nazareth, and to a Mother in Heaven, I say, “Thank you for your crucial role in fulfilling the purposes of eternity.” To all mothers in every circumstance, including those who struggle—and all will—I say, “Be peaceful. Believe in God and yourself. You are doing better than you think you are.''
I am eternally grateful to my Father in Heaven that it was part of his divine plan to for my mother to raise me. I love her and my earthly family more than anything.
I love you all,
Elder Hazen
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