Weekly Update~ "Happy Fourth!"

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy Fourth of July! Even though I'm way out in Rwanda, I still have to acknowledge the Independence of the the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave! A little jealous my family is at the 100th Annual National Hot Dog Eating Contest in NYC right now, but it's fine.  This morning the Elders in the Rwanda zone went over to the Gillett's for a hearty breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs and it was unreal. Tonight, after we finish emailing, we'll go over to Juan and Jen's for a potluck so we're going to have a Fourth of July for the books.

I have a few small stories this week and a small spiritual thought. Sorry, I was in the middle of this email then the power went out for 20 minutes…Bless Rwanda.

I just wanted to give a public shout out to our landlady who spoils us and hooks us up with a fat bunch of bananas and tangerines weekly. She's a sweetheart and is so nice to us and I hope she accepts missionaries to teach her someday.

I also wanted to give a fat shout out to Bikorimana Simon, the guard at the church in K1. He's a recent convert and he's one of my favorite people I've met since I've been in Rwanda. He told us that 3 months ago, he couldn't speak a lick of English but since he's begun reading the Book of Mormon, he's picked up on it so much. He now translates for us in lessons and can bear testimony in English. Whenever I talk to him he makes me so happy. Just a good guy:)

This Sunday, I was reading in the teachings of President George Albert Smith manual and I read his experience of his dream when he saw his grandfather.   He asked Smith what he has done with his name. This story has always stuck out to me because I'm lucky enough to share a name with my father and grandfather. I love them so much and I'm doing my very best to honor their name through my actions and service while I'm on mission. 

This week we have Ignatius' baptism which we have all been looking forward to for a long time.   Jean DaMo and Egide's baptism got moved back to the end of July because they're waiting until after they finished exams. We had a nice open house at the church on Saturday and got some referrals from members and investigators. We then taught a family of 6 and it was a powerful lesson. 

Sorry for the short email this week!

I love you guys so much!

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Rwanda Bound!"

Dear Family and Friends,

    It's crazy how within one week, how many things can change when you're on a mission. I went to bed last Monday night thinking I'd probably spend another transfer here in Lugazi and finish Tesch's training. However, when I woke up Tuesday morning with 5 missed calls from the AP's, I figured something was up. Elder Ruell notified me I needed to be in Kampala the next morning before 10 so I could go get a police report done. When that happens, it means two things-either you're going to Ethiopia, or you're going to Rwanda. I spent the rest of the day with the thought I was leaving the country, in the back of my mind and I felt mixed emotions all day.

Taking in every last bit of Uganda

    On Wednesday, when I went in for the report, and I found out I'd be spending the next few months of my mission in Rwanda. I am so excited for this next chapter of my mission.  I am excited for the experiences I will have that will contribute to my growth even more. I feel sad to be leaving Lugazi which has become another home to me and the people who have added to my Ugandan family. I'm also going to miss the people in my district during the time I've served in Lugazi- Elder Ray, Elder Ward, Elder Tesch, and Elder Dowdle included. They've become some of my very best friends but, I know as we continue to do what we're supposed too in our new areas, we'll receive many blessings. I will miss Uganda but I know I'll be back soon and I'll build many more relationships with the people in Kigali, Rwanda.  Kigali is the capital and largest city in Rwanda.  Rwanda is very close to becoming a first world country.  It is by far the nicest area in the Mission.  It will be a 45 minute plane ride to Rwanda.  I heard nothing but good thing about it, I will be one of 8 Missionaries in Rwanda!  

Elder Ray, Ward and Tesch

    This week, aside from that curveball (yes, I still love baseball) we had some really neat experiences with a few investigators. We have been teaching a guy named Edward for about 3 weeks now and he has come to church twice in a row. Last week, he was complaining of some stomach issues he's been having and we decided to give him a Priesthood blessing. We followed up with him a few days later and he was feeling tons better. Elder Tesch will begin working on the full family when I leave but, the foundation being built with Edward is becoming very strong. We also had a good experience with Priesthood blessings with Rema. She was supposed to be baptized yesterday but, was unable to come to church because of an emergency with her sister in the hospital. We visited her Wednesday evening and we found her in bad shape with sickness. She was worried she wouldn't be okay for her interview so she asked for a blessing as well. She ended up being okay for the interview. Miracles don't build faith but, it's always neat to see when faith produces blessings in people's lives.

    This week we began teaching a man named Khasada that we found while tracting. When we went and greeted him while he was sitting in a lawn chair outside his home, he just looked at us and looked puzzled. A few seconds after us talking to him and him not really responding, his brother came outside and he told us about how he was in an accident when he was working with the police force up north in Gulu. Apparently, a mortar shell exploded near him and messed up his ear drum so, he is unable to hear very well but, can read lips and can speak clearly. So after we found that out, he pulled out a notebook and he made us write to him and he would answer the questions we were asking. After we got to know him, we gave him a short version of the Restoration and gave him a pamphlet and bore testimony on it. We went back 2 days later and he gave us a list of about 20 questions about the church, it's origins, us, etc. We took a picture of them and answered them that night and gave him the Plan of Salvation pamphlet and bore testimony on it as well in writing. When we came back the next morning, he told us about all the people he had been talking about the pamphlets with and how he was answering their questions. He also asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon and we gave it to him. These lessons were some of the coolest lessons I've been able to teach. I am thankful that the Spirit doesn't necessarily have to be heard but, it can be felt by everyone no matter what difficulty you have in life. I took a few pictures of the notebook from our lessons and here they are if you want to see them. We meet with him again tomorrow.

    This week was a difficult week for food and water. Hahaha, we didn't have water in the apartment for days so, we utilized our outdoor shower and used buckets filled by our backup water supply, pooped in holes, and all kinds of fun stuff (sorry tmi).  Also, with it being the end of the month, we were a bit low on our budget for food so here's Elder Ray and I enjoying a humble meal of posho and beans.

    Last night I began saying good-bye to some people in the branch. Here's me with Sharifah, the family of Dennis, Bruno, Gertrude, Everline, and Sharon, and the family of Winnie, Sheila, and Margaret. 

    My P-Day today we went to Jinja and went sight seeing at the Nile River!

I'm grateful for my mission thus far and for all the things I've learned. I love this gospel and I love being one of the Lord's missionaries. 

I love you all!

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~"Happy Easter!"

Dear Family and Friends,

    First of all, I'd like to say Happy Easter. This Easter season is one of my favorite times of the whole year because we get the opportunity to reflect on the greatest acts of love in the history of all the Earth. I express my gratitude each week for the Savior's atoning sacrifice but I'm especially grateful this week. I was reading conference talks from April 2015 and I came across these words from President Uchtdorf that I really enjoyed about the suffering in Gethsemane and the resurrection and I shared them with Winnie, our recent convert last night. I thought I'd include it at the end of this email as well. I bear my brief testimony that I know the Atonement was suffered for each and every one of us personally and that as we use the enabling power of it in our lives on a daily basis we all can live with our Heavenly Father again. I'm also grateful for the doctrine that families can be together forever. I am always quick to bare testimony of that to my investigators and let them know how much I love my own family back at home and that through covenants made with God, they don't ever have to separated from them.

    This week, our friends from Help International went home and we had one last dinner appointment and one last friendship photo shoot so enjoy these in all their high quality glory.

    Thursday, we had a zone-wide...yes, zone-wide exchange. Elder Tesch and Ray traveled to Mukono early in the morning where everyone met up and then went their separate ways. Ray proceeded onto Seeta with Elder Bemis, Tesch stayed in Mukono with Elder Dlamini, and I spent the day with Elder Robinson in Lugazi. I always enjoy working with Elder Robinson because I learn so much from him. We made sure to spend an hour of the day finding new investigators which proved to be successful because we set return appointments with 2 new families. Later in the day, we visited a guy named Edward, Elder Tesch and I found while contacting a few days previous and taught him the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a neat experience being able to teach with Elder Robinson because I haven't taught with someone older than me on mission since my second transfer. The spirit was definitely present in the lesson and when Elder Tesch and I followed up with him on Saturday, we got to give him a priesthood blessing because he was feeling sick and he was at church the next day! I'm thankful for the opportunities I have to learn from my leaders!

    We also contacted a guy named James this week. He was sitting outside his home and is the next door neighbor to a former investigator.  As we were walking by I told Elder Tesch, "We'll contact him someday". As we passed, the Spirit basically kicked me in the butt and we turned back and taught him the first lesson. He really enjoyed it and we followed up with him last night and taught him about the Book of Mormon and we set a baptism date in April. 

    Yesterday, Elder Tesch and I were contacting after church and we met another Father of a family named Julius. We taught him the Restoration as well and after we finished and extended commitments to read and pray.  He expressed to us how he and his family had been praying for a change that will bless them.  We basically let him know that if he put serious effort into praying and asking if the message we taught him is true, this Gospel could be the change he has been seeking.

    This week, I also had a first on my mission. When teaching one of our investigators, Charles, we were sharing about the Book of Mormon and he began to bash with us a little bit. The Spirit was leaving so I bore testimony and began to leave and he told us to take the Book of Mormon with us that we left with him two lessons ago. It reminded me that not everyone is going to accept our message and everyone has their own agency. I couldn't help but feel sad for him. However, because I now the blessings the Gospel could've brought to their young family and I wanted them to experience it more than anything.  These experiences I've had has shown me that the principle "Line Upon Line, Precept Upon Precept" is applicable to all things. As a new missionary, I never dreamed that I would be training another new missionary and extending baptism dates to people I found on my own efforts through the promptings of the Holy Ghost. As I've learned new skills and my testimony has grown, I know the Lord is giving me more responsibility as I continue to progress on my mission. 

I love you guys so much. 

Love, 
Elder Hazen

"The Gift Of Grace"

On Easter Sunday we celebrate the most long-awaited and glorious event in the history of the world.

It is the day that changed everything.

On that day, my life changed.

Your life changed.

The destiny of all God’s children changed.

On that blessed day, the Savior of mankind, who had taken upon Himself the chains of sin and death that held us captive, burst those chains and set us free.

Because of the sacrifice of our beloved Redeemer, death has no sting, the grave has no victory, Satan has no lasting power, and we are “begotten … again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Truly, the Apostle Paul was correct when he said we can “comfort one another with these words.”

Weekly Update~ "Prayer and Fasting…Tools of Power"

Elder RJ and Timothy an Investigator's Son

New Tradition- Tuesday Pie Night!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week Elder Tesch and I had another very effective week. Last Wednesday, we had one of the best Zone Development Meetings of my mission. The focus of the meeting was building companionship unity and utilizing prayer and fasting for our benefit. Elder Robinson gave us a great training on how to improve our prayers. He told us that missionary work is easy as we pray with faith and trust in Christ to help us in the work. He told us how we need to improve on meeting the standards of excellence each week by finding seven new investigators. As we pray every morning with that goal in mind, and pray specifically that we will find at least one new investigator, or better yet, a new family, we will have no problem in accomplishing that goal. He promised that praying with real intent really does work and shared a few experiences from his time serving in Ethiopia to back it up. Every day since then, Elder Tesch and I have applied this counsel and we have found so much success in doing so. My testimony has grown not only in praying with faith, but also in fasting. Yesterday, we had the opportunity to fast for the first Sunday of the month. Elder Tesch and I obviously had our goals in mind as we opened our fast and we decided to go on splits with Emmanuel and Steven, two of our RC's. Emma and I went up to teach one of the referrals we received from Francis and followed up with her. We extended a baptism date with her last time and she accepted and found that she prayed and feels everything we had taught her was true. She also introduced us to her husband, Tom who we taught as well and he accepted the message we shared with him. After, Emma and I went to Esther, who was a referral from Andrew. She went to church for the first time yesterday so I spent some time answering some questions she had from the classes in church and taught her the Plan of Salvation which turned out really well. Elder Tesch went and contacted 3 of our street contacts, taught all of them, and set return appointments. 2 of those individuals were a husband and wife. As of now, we are currently teaching 5 families consisting of husbands wives and kids and 3 of them are progressing. The fast we had definitely played a role in the success we had yesterday and I always talk about it, but it is so neat to be able to see the Lord's hand work right before my eyes.

We were able to have a few other cool and fun experiences this week as well

• On Friday, Elder Tesch, Andrew, and I took David to the Nile Hospital in Jinja. It was a long day full of travel and we didn't end up seeing the doctor because a bus full of 11 patients pulled into the hospital to see the eye doctor right before we got there. However, It was a wonderful experience for me because I was able to give back to a man who I love dearly and who has done so much for us and who deserves nothing but the best. Being able to walk with him holding my hand around town reminded me of when I was able to walk with my Grandpa Melendez the last few years of his life when it was more difficult for him to walk. He used to grab onto one of my shoulders and I would walk side-by-side with him at his pace until we got where we needed to go. It brought back tender memories and I was very grateful for it. President Chatfield gave us permission to take him again on Wednesday so stay tuned for that. 

  

  Taking David to the Hospital

• On Thursday evening, we had dinner with the volunteers from Help International staying in Lugazi. It was super fun to be able to talk to them and hang out with them for a bit! Tanner and Cayden, both from Lone Peak are coming on exchanges with us tomorrow as well!
• On Saturday, we had the branch Mormon Helping Hands project at the Kawolo Hospital. We had a great turnout and since I've been in Lugazi, it was the most well-organized activity I've seen so far. It was just evidence to me that this branch is growing even more and I was so proud of the leadership and everyone who participated and put forth an effort to make it possible. 

  

  Mormon Helping Hands

  

  Representing Lone Peak!

  
  

  

  Preperation Day Breakfast

  

  "I was sitting on the floor and saw this guy run under Elder Tesch's Desk,
  I ran away as fast as I could and let the other guys take care of it.
  I guess I am afraid of Rats!!!"

I love you all so much!
Love Elder Hazen

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~ "Beginning to Understand a Particle of What the Savior's Love is Like"

Dear Friends and Family, 

This week was a wonderful week. In my previous letters these last couple of weeks, I have been expressing some of my frustrations with the lack of people to teach. This week, we were able to receive 4 family referrals and contacted 2 on the street. We have begun teaching 3 of those families and I am just overwhelmed as I reflect on how much I saw the Lord's hand this week. I am beginning to get more confident in stopping and talking to people on the street and I know that increased confidence has come by help from the Lord and the Spirit. I know if I continue doing what's right and continue listening to the small promptings of the Spirit, the success will continue to come. I've also been praying that when we do find families, we'll be able to teach them with power and authority so the Spirit will be able to confirm in their hearts the things we teach them are true. 

We were able to have one Mama and her 4 kids as well as 2 daughters from another family at church this week so I hope more opportunities continue to open up. As I was sitting in church, I was thinking about how blessed Elder Dowdle and I were this week.  I was thinking about how much I wanted the people at church to enjoy the service so they could progress in the gospel.  I realized that I have really grown to love these people and I truly do desire their salvation and I'm beginning to see them how our Savior sees them and I am extremely grateful for that. 

In other news, we've continued to have good experiences with brother David's family. His son, Addison, will be baptized next Sunday and Reegan was confirmed yesterday. Yesterday I also had the opportunity to give David a Priesthood blessing because he's been a bit sick lately. Reegan has developed a habit of following us from appointment to appointment after we finish teaching the family for the day and I've really enjoyed having him around. He's become my little buddy:) Being able to be with David and his family have become one of my favorite parts about serving in Lugazi and I consider it a huge blessing I've been able to get to know them.

Some other side stories:

• It was Elder Ward's Birthday Tuesday and Elder Dowdle and I found a puzzle in our closet so we decided to finish it and put it on his bed as a nice Birthday bonus gift… I really think he enjoyed it.
  
  
  
• The baseball guys have been out of town for tournaments lately so, while Elder Ray went and taught piano this week, Elder Ward and I went and played pick up basketball for a half hour in between lessons at a court nearby…needless to say, the Mzungus (White People) dominated, and I may or may not have thrown down a dunk or two.
• Andrew has been teaching me how to cook local food dishes and I am able to cook a few without his help. My favorite is cabbage with tomatoes and sauce over rice and potatoes. I'm super excited to come home and cook anything I want with a grocery store a 5 minute drive away!
  
• Rain still sucks. Yesterday it was absolutely dumping and we were caught in the middle of a field and we had to sprint to a local motel on the side of Jinja Road to wait out the storm for about an hour. Brian, one of the members was walking with us and he found some temporary cover for Elder Dowdle and I.
  
• Today for P-day, we went to the Mabira Forest about 10 minutes away from Lugazi with some members. We walked through rain forest all morning and afternoon and saw monkeys… made the trip worth it:) It literally felt like walking through Disneyland or something but I kept having to remind myself that I was walking through the real deal. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
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I love you guys so much! This week I'm going to focus on making a point of how important family history is with my investigators. Keep making time for the temple and making it so your ancestors are able to receive the saving ordinances of the Gospel!

Elder Hazen