Weekly Update~ "Enduring to the End"

Dear Family and Friends, 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day and talking to their missionaries. After a few visits to Africell, a few calls to Customer Service, and much unnecessary stress, I was finally able to speak to my own mother and it was worth the wait. I love her and my family so much and it's ludicrous I'll be seeing them in the flesh in a few weeks. 

Talking to Each Other on Mother's Day!

This week I went on an exchange with Elder Grant. It was the first time proselyting together since Rwanda. Truly he's a friend for the eternities. The Spirit was present in all lessons, but it was expected working with a powerhouse like him. 

The work continues to progress and we are continuing to see the blessings working with members. The Alpha Stella and Sarah family as well as the Brother Jeff continue to progress nicely and we're looking forward to their baptisms next transfer. 

As my thoughts continue to wander to the Savior, one thing Elder Grant and I discussed was about how difficult it is to endure to the end, but one thing that helps greatly in that process is understanding one's purpose. The Savior was foreordained before the foundation of the world to be our Savior. He has been prepared for his role for eternities. He came to the world, and descended below all, and though blinded by a veil, understood his purpose from a very young age. The Savior knew the whole picture, and it influenced his every action because he knew the salvation of all of God's children depended on it. It gave him the perspective he needed, though bleeding from every pore and pleading that the cup would pass, to suffer an infinite Atonement. I testify with gratitude, that because of the Savior understanding his purpose, he endured to the end so we may have a chance to endure to our end of mortal life and one day be exalted in God's kingdom with our families. 

Love, 
Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ Missionary Work is Unsuccessful Unless You Do It The Lord's Way

Dear Family and Friends,

Missionary work is interesting, in the fact that no matter how much you may know about this gospel, how many times you've read preach my gospel, how many scripture masteries you passed off in seminary, or whether you're a junior companion or an assistant to President, missionary work is unsuccessful unless you do it the Lord's way. 

When the Savior walked the earth, he didn't spend his time convincing those who opposed him that he was the foretold Messiah. Rather, his message was one of invitation, to increase their faith, as he went about doing the Father's will. In a similar sense, we've found that when our intent is to increase people's faith in the Savior rather than convincing them this is the only true church, we've had more success. As Elder Chifamba and I have been making that our focus and humbling ourselves, our discussions have been less contentious and more spiritually uplifting.  This has given us the opportunity to testify of the Atonement with more power and authority. As I've shared many times before, I testify the Atonement can and will change even the most natural of men and will give strength to break yokes of bondage no matter what they may be. Testifying of the Atonement is the best part of being a missionary and this week I was able to often. We taught a man relapsing into old drinking habits, so grieved by it that is brought him and myself to tears. We taught one other man so fed up with financial problems that he began to pray to God not for strength, but that he would take his life so he didn't have to deal with the stress any longer. We taught another man who is a refugee who's family is being kicked out of their apartment because they can't pay rent. The thing that makes the gospel so beautiful is the fact that it can help in EVERY situation imaginable through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love the power I feel when I have the opportunity to promise people blessings as a servant of Jesus Christ.

I am also grateful for the power of the fast. This weekend, the mission and the Kampala North Stake united in a fast that the Lord will prepare people to accept the gospel. President had a conference call with the Zone Leaders and read Isaiah 58 with us and went verse by verse and shared thoughts he was having. It was extremely spiritual and I would encourage you all to study that chapter to better understand the doctrine behind fasting. As part of the fast, we had a stake missionary fireside and participated in a missionary choir as part of the program. We sang Joseph Smith's first prayer and the spirit was absolutely present. I think Pres and Sis. Collings posted it on their blog if you want to watch. 

Missionary Choir

Yesterday, my companion and I attended a meeting with my mission president, and the stake president of the newly formed stake. It was extremely powerful to see two sets of Priesthood keys working together, receiving revelation on how the kingdom of God can continue to progress in this country. We set a goal to invite each member to bring one referral to the missionaries each 6 months. If there is 40 members in a ward, that is 80 referrals a year. If 60 were baptized and 45 were retained, that is tremendous growth. We all came away edified and humbled to be used as tools by the Lord. We are looking forward to another great week!

Love,

Elder Hazen

PS.  Patricia, a member of the ward planned a birthday surprise for me, she came with a cake after FHE and had a few people get up and say nice things about me. Then she talked about how I'm one of the best missionaries she's known because I'm the only one who got her sister who's less active to read the Book of Mormon. It was really sweet!

Weekly Update~ "His Grace is Sufficient'

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope your New Year's was everything you hoped it to be and your resolutions are ambitious. This week, our brother Cedric stepped into the waters of baptism to kick off the New Year right. He is another one of Frank's referrals and it was awesome to see him, Leon who was also baptized recently, and him sitting together during the baptism program.

Speaking of Leon, I had the unique opportunity to bless the Sacrament with him yesterday. It was his first time, and he was nervous, so throughout the opening part of sacrament meeting, I was practicing the pronunciations of "thee" and "thy" with him. When it came down to it, he had to repeat a few times, but when he got it, he was relieved and happy. In Rwanda, because the church is so new. along with the priesthood bretheren, there are many meetings with repeated sacrament prayers. However, I love when these occurances happen, because it reminds me of what the Atonement is all about. It is a commandment that we are to be perfect even as the Savior and our Father in Heaven are perfect. They expect nothing short of that. However, they have provided the means to keep this commandment, as they have with all other commandments. The Atonement offers us as many tries as we need when we slip up until one day we become worthy heirs of all the father hath. In seminary, I remember the first time I listened to "His Grace is Sufficent" By Brad Wilcox. To be honest, as an immature high school kid, I don't remember much about that first time listening to it other than I picked out the fact that the Savior's grace covers a lot more than we think. However, I've studied that talk at least half a dozen times on my mission and it adds a few notes to my "singing the song of redeeming love" each time I read it. 

I love the way Brother Wilcox shares his previous view of the final Judgement compared to what it actually is:

In the past I had a picture in my mind of what the final judgment would be like, and it went something like this: Jesus standing there with a clipboard and Brad standing on the other side of the room nervously looking at Jesus.

Jesus checks His clipboard and says, “Oh, shoot, Brad. You missed it by two points.”

Brad begs Jesus, “Please, check the essay question one more time! There have to be two points you can squeeze out of that essay.” That’s how I always saw it.

But the older I get, and the more I understand this wonderful plan of redemption, the more I realize that in the final judgment it will not be the unrepentant sinner begging Jesus, “Let me stay.” No, he will probably be saying, “Get me out of here!” Knowing Christ’s character, I believe that if anyone is going to be begging on that occasion, it would probably be Jesus begging the unrepentant sinner, “Please, choose to stay. Please, use my Atonement—not just to be cleansed but to be changed so that you want to stay.”

The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there. If Christ did not require faith and repentance, then there would be no desire to change. Think of your friends and family members who have chosen to live without faith and without repentance. They don’t want to change. They are not trying to abandon sin and become comfortable with God. Rather, they are trying to abandon God and become comfortable with sin. If Jesus did not require covenants and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, then there would be no way to change. We would be left forever with only willpower, with no access to His power. If Jesus did not require endurance to the end, then there would be no internalization of those changes over time. They would forever be surface and cosmetic rather than sinking inside us and becoming part of us—part of who we are. Put simply, if Jesus didn’t require practice, then we would never become pianists.

On my mission I have come to an understanding of what Grace is so much more fully. This last week, someone brought to Elder Grant and I's attention that we needed to repent and improve at taking reports from the zone because we had slacked off a bit on those responsibilites. We were able to repent and improve. Grace is what fills the gap when we fall short when we sin, but it is also what fills the gap when we've done all we can and that still isn't quite enough. For example, this week, on Sunday at sacrament meeting, we were remaining with two new investigators to find and were one investigator at church short for the standards of excellence. We were feeling a little disappointed, but then, when greeting people after the meeting had ended, we had discovered two young men, both by the name of Samuel, had come to church for the first time. One was invited by a member, the other attended the Christmas party last week.  We pulled both of them aside and taught them the Restoration in an empty classroom and it was a wonderful lesson. 

So, the next time a nervous, newly ordained priest repeats the sacrament prayer, remember that like the Bishop gives him as many tries he needs to get it right, the Lord gives us as many times to repent and improve until we attain perfection. For that reason, I am forever grateful. This year, make a resolution to become better at repenting daily. It is certainly one of mine. 

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~ "Goats and Hoes"

Dear Friends and Family,

   This week was a very busy, productive week. We were able to welcome in the New Year (by being home by 6:30 and not sleeping), we were able to visit many members and new investigators, Elder Dowdle threw a few kids, we were able to give a few hours of service, and we were able to have a few baptisms. But I'll explain everything in detail in a second.

   I'd first like to start off by saying Happy Birthday to my beautiful mother and wanted to let her know I'm sending all my love from here in Uganda.

   This week was much-needed because Elder Dowdle and I were finally able to see some of the fruits of our labors these past few weeks. I was very thankful to see the Lord's help. On Wednesday, we got invited over for food by a RM who got back from the Johannesburg South Africa mission a few years ago. He is a cook at a local guest house in Lugazi.  We didn't know what to expect. We were absolutely blown away. He made us rice, beef, and potatoes covered with an amazing gravy. It was amazing! 

   On New Years Eve, there wasn't much clebrating on our part in public due to the fact that we had to be home at 6:30. However, we had a bonfire in our driveway and we burned our Christmas ties in.  I was getting a bit tired of mine...wearing the same tie for a month straight can get boring. At around 9:30, the power went out in the house, so we thought it'd be a good idea to go to bed... or so we thought. For all you wondering, yes, they definitely celebrate New Years here. They celebrate by blasting music in their houses until the early hours of the morning... there were at least 4 trucks driving around our neighborhood playing music so that definitely didn't help things. At around 3 in the morning, the noise began to die down…but then, our guard Steven took it upon himself to keep the party going. So, he took a pair of sticks from the remains of our bonfire and began smashing them together and screamed from time to time "HAPPY NEW YEAR". On Friday, we woke up with a grand total of 4 hours of sleep…so yeah basically I hate New Years now haha. 

   We were able to go to one of our recent converts, Sunday Toko's farm and dig in his yard for a few hours.  Digging in yards and gardens for people in the branch has become my favorite thing to do for service lately. 

A few other miscellaneous stories from this week:

• Elder Ray bought a chicken and slayed it in our back yard...it was a bit entertaining to watch him attempt to chase it down before beheading it.
• Elder Dowdle was swinging kids around while we were waiting for an appointment at someone's house and jokingly asked one if he wanted to be thrown…he said yes, and tossed him into a patch of grass a few feet away...hahaha he didn't like that very much and needless to say, I died laughing. 

   This week, we were able to baptize 3 of our investigators this Sunday. (Pictures will be sent next week…sorry I apologize).  Samuel and Clement moved to Lugazi recently and one of the branch members, Francis, built a great friendship with them, which made teaching them very easy. They have accepted everything we taught them from the very beginning. I'm excited for the contribution and strength they'll add to the branch. The third investigator we baptized is named Jackie. She, like Samuel and Clement, was very accepting of everything we taught her. Her sister, Susan, is already a member. We had a wonderful baptismal service, and I'm so thankful for the Spirit that has helped us teach them.  I'll talk more about the area and our investigators next week. 

   This week, I've been studying the Atonement more in depth and I've learned that my Mission is a lot like the probationary state of testing and progressing that our Earth Life provides as part of the Plan of Salvation. I've come to realize that submitting my will to the Savior is not only the intelligent thing to do, but it's the ONLY way that I can progress and become what he wants me to be in this life and the life to come. If I lose myself for these two years, I'll be able to develop into the type of man I want to become, one that can answer to each of the Lord's calls, one that can be a supportive husband and father, and priesthood holder. 

I love you all. Have an amazing week! Have fun working on your New Year's resolutions,

Elder Hazen

"Merry Christmas from Africa!"

Dear Family,

Merry Christmas, first of all. Again, I have to continue on with the tradition of writing a small letter for the holidays with all of you gathered together. I just wanted to express my love for each and every one of you and I want to thank you all for making positive impacts on me throughout my life and playing a role in getting me to where I am today. As I reflect on where I've come from a year ago today, I realize I've grown up so much and have begun to realize what's truly important in life. It's not about the Instagram likes, or the High School drama, or how many runs I gave up in a game, or other things like that. It's about seeking to improve each and every day to become more like our Savior, strengthening our families to combat the evils we find in the world today, maintaining our temple worthiness and striving to keep the covenants we've made, and the list can go on and on. I'm so grateful for what I've learned on my mission so far. It's brought so many blessings to my life, more than I can describe. 

As we celebrate the birth of the Savior this Christmas season, I want to encourage you to turn outward. In the MTC, I was able to hear a talk by Elder Bednar on the Characters of Christ. In the talk, Elder Bednar described a few key events in the Savior's life where instead of falling victim to the natural man, and focusing on himself, he turned outward and was more concerned for the welfare of others. I'm not going to lie, I am nowhere near perfect in trying to follow the Savior's example in this aspect, but I know that as we rely on the Savior and the merit's of his sacrifice, we can become better.

I love you all so much and want nothing more than to be with you all today, but I know that I am where I'm supposed to be. Have a wonderful Christmas, enjoy the food and the gifts, but remember to say a prayer of gratitude thanking your Father in Heaven for the gift of His Only Begotten.

Love, 
Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Highlights of the Week!"

Decorated House

Baseball Injury

Newest Little Investigator

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas from Uganda and from the Lugazi district!

This week was frustrating, yet rewarding. I know that all the frustrations and trials experienced are made up through Jesus Christ and his atonement. That thought has brought me comfort, especially during this time of the year when we get the opportunity to celebrate His birth. Some of the highlights this week include:

• My district and I were able to provide service for numerous people in the branch boundaries. On Tuesday morning, we walked about an hour to a member's garden in the village and we were able to help her with her garden. It was tiring, but so worth it. Also, I was able to continue helping out with the local baseball team here in Lugazi. Again, there's nothing better than doing what I love for the benefit of others. It makes me happy being able to make these kids happy by sharing with them one of my passions other than the gospel (Haha). This week they made me hit, and the first pitch I saw, I fouled into my ankle and it started bleeding and swelling. Good times. 
• Elder Dowdle and I have been able to receive a good number of referrals this week. Our prayers have been answered as we've been finding more families to teach. It's funny how many sets of brothers we've been able to teach lately. It's definitely an answer to prayers in another way because the branch is in need of more priesthood holders.
• We had 4 baptisms that we had planned for this week, but all of them fell through. I was discouraged but, if I've learned anything on my mission, it's that this work I get to take part in is the Lord's work and he is in charge of it all. I know he has a plan for these people here and everything is going to work out. As I continue to do my job and allow myself to be molded into an instrument in the Lord's hands, I know everything will take care of itself.

   I wanted to share a few thoughts from my studies and things I've been pondering. 

First, I just wanted to further express my gratitude for the Book of Mormon. It truly does answer ALL questions, including questions of the soul. It outlines the Plan of Salvation and answers where we come from, why we're here on Earth, and where we're going. Elder Dowdle shared with me an experience he had in seminary this week. He told me a story about his seminary teacher and his experience with the Book of Mormon. Basically, what I got from it is that even though the Book of Mormon doesn't contain the answers to our questions directly in the words we read, it invites the Spirit which allows us to receive revelation and promptings that impact us. 

  Second, because I'm a missionary, this Christmas season I cant give gifts like I was normally able to back at home. Rather, I am able to give people an even better gift: my testimony and teachings about the restored gospel. Elder Dowdle and I have been focusing on bearing our testimonies as much as possible to our investigators, recent converts, and other members. My hope is that they are able to feel the love we have for them as well as the love our Savior has for them as children of God.

  This Christmas, I just wanted to briefly share my testimony that I know without a doubt that this Church is true. I'm thankful for the Savior and his Atonement. The Atonement isn't only for sinners, it's for everyone who are seeking to improve themselves on a daily basis. I know he truly is the Son of God and he came in this world to be an example to us on how to be perfect even as he was. I know that this Jesus Christ established his church and it was re-established through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that through him, the Book of Mormon was brought forth and that whoever pursues reading it, pondering it's message, and praying to know of it's truthfulness will receive an answer through the power of the Holy Ghost. I know that through this chruch, families can be together forever.

I love you all and wish you a very merry Chirstmas,

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Interviews, Baptisms and Bananas"

District

Newest Member of the Ward~ Eunice

Elder Hazen's New Companion 

Hello from the UKM!
   This week was one of my favorite weeks on my mission so far! I'm seeing so many blessings from the Lord and it's been great. Elder Mair and I have really been focusing on seeing the small miracles throughout the day and it's crazy how blessed I am to be one of the Lord's servants. 
   First of all, I'd like to thank the YW from the Cedar Hills 14th ward because the package you guys sent with the notes and candy got here this week and Elder Mair and I greatly appreciated it:)
   This week on Tuesday, we were able to have interviews at the mission home with President Chatfield and it was great! He asked me about how my progress is and if I worry about teaching lessons anymore. I told him that I really don't because I feel like the spirit takes over in lessons and I'm just his mouthpiece. Also, we discussed about Ammon and how he was saved from an angry lamanite who tried to kill him while lamoni, him, etc, were over come with the spirit. he asked why that was, and I told him it was because of mosiah's prayers for his sons and the promise the Lord gave him. That his sons wouldn't be harmed on their missions. He told me that it's applicable to my mission because of your guys' prayers every day and I really appreciated that. Then he told me how pleased he is with me and how fast I'm growing and to continue learning all I can so I can lead one day. 
    We were also able to have trainings on Christlike Attributes from the AP's. The atonement really does play a role in everything we do, including developing Christlike Attributes. We are nothing without the Lord's help I can't stress that enough. It's part of the reason I chose Alma 26:12 as my missionary plaque scripture. 
   We baptized another investigator named Eunice, and it was a really nice baptism. We got a lot of support from the ward which was super nice because I think that's important for an investigator to remember their baptism!
   So this week, we were talking to Mama Mafabi, who's basically my mom away from my real mom. She's such an amazing lady. She feeds us like every day and is great with giving us referrals. We also have family home evening at her home every Sunday night which I'll talk more about later. Anyway, she was telling us about our RC, Charles, and how happy he is now that he's found the church and how much his life has changed since the first day we met him. I was able to give him a blessing and it was my first time giving a blessing on my mission so it meant a lot to me hearing about how much it impacted him. He's been working with us to help his son progress towards baptism too. His son's name is Rogers and has come so far and has been through a lot. When we met with him this Saturday, and saw how far he's progressed, we moved his baptism date to Saturday. I'm so happy for him because he's one of the coolest, most knowledgeable people I've met and it strengthened my testimony more on the power of the atonement. 
   Last night, we had a lesson on the atonement from Alma 34 and it connected to my personal study from 3 Nephi 18 on how Jesus commands us to be perfect even as he was perfect. I then wrote a James E Faust quote in my scriptures that says, "“I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” Perfection is an eternal goal. While we cannot be perfect in mortality, striving for it is a commandment, which ultimately, through the Atonement, we can keep." Basically, I'm just super grateful for the atonement and for what I've been able to learn on my mission so far! The Book of Mormon has become my best friend and I can't imagine my life without it.
   This week, Elder Mair and I made a slingshot and launched bananas off our balcony...that's for all you who think missionary life is boring;)

Love you all,

Elder Hazen

"Weekly Update~ 2 Months Down!"

Hey Everyone!

  This week wasn't too eventful with transfers but, it flew by! I have a new companion, Elder Mair, from Henderson, Las Vegas. He's a stud. We get along super well and are working hard. He's got a solid testimony and I've already learned so much from him. Missionary work is serious, we shouldn't waste time, but it's good to have fun and laugh a little.  I know the Lord doesn't want us to be unhappy or sad for two years when we as missionaries carry the greatest message in the world! 

  We have two more baptisms coming up next week. Their names are Lily and Jocelyn. Lily works with a local radio station and is super powerful.  She is already talking about her desire to serve a mission! Jocelyn is just as strong and has a niece we are trying to teach as well.

  This week during fast and testimony meeting, Charles, one of the members we baptized last week, got up and bore a powerful testimony about missionary work and how his life has changed. Elder Mair was asking me this week what my favorite part about being on my mission has been and I think the answer is seeing how far the people I've taught have progressed and seeing how the gospel has blessed their lives. I've literally seen people's countenances change over time and seen how the gospel has lifted their burdens. It makes me so happy and it just motivates me to do more. If any of you ever need help or are going through a trial, the answer to everything is our Savior and his atonement. That's one of the biggest things Elder Mair has taught me so far and I'm glad I've learned it early on mission. I love you all!

Love, 

Elder Hazen

"Weekly Update~ Elder Hazen's First Baptism"

RJ's First Baptism~ Raymond and Dennis

Filling Up the Baptismal Font

Hey everyone!
It's crazy that I'm already a good part of the way done with this transfer and I've already been out a month! Time flies when you're having fun! Honestly haven't been home sick since the first day. It's been awesome. I haven't gone through any culture shock or anything either, I just see stuff and roll with it. Weather is unbelievable. I love it, It's just like San Diego. The humidity doesn't bother me at all. It's so green here. Mom and dad, I think you'd like the streets, it's like a farmers market everywhere you go with fresh food. Elder Oliphant my companion, is a really good guy. He's been a member since he was 13. First missionary from his family. He goes home this month, President hooked me up by putting me with him! My apartment is really nice, especially compared to the area it's in. We live right by the slums, It's kind of sad.
This Saturday I have my first two baptisms. Raymond and Dennis were two referrals from sister move Mufabi. They all live in Kisugu which is about an hour walk from my apartment, but it's so worth going there because the members are absolutely amazing. Sister Mufabi he keeps flooding us with referrals so we are constantly teaching new investigators. Her and her family are such amazing Missionaries, it makes our job so much easier! When we go to Kisugu, we usually take a missionary or two with us. They are all about 20 to 22 years old and are such powerful Missionaries. They are all preparing to put in their papers within this year or next year. I feel so blessed to have them because they know the area so well and have kind of taken me under their wing. I get along with all of them really well. The ones who work with the most are Henry, Zeffa, Julius and Bob. Raymond is going to start coming with us too because they're all pretty close friends! For the most part, I speaking English to everyone. Everyone can speak multiple languages which is nice! It all depends on where they are from in Uganda because they speak the language of their tribe and also English. Sometimes we have one of the ward missionaries translate for me.
The baptism which one of the most coolest things I've ever been a part of. I was the one who performed the baptism ordinance It was neat to see the atonement working right before my eyes because as they both came up out of the water, you could see their countenances change and see the burden of sin being literally lifted from them. I am so blessed to be in this wonderful area with such amazing people.
This week I got my first real taste of African food! I had five meals at members' houses. I mostly had posho with beans which is a super good. Posho is basically a mashed up ball of rice and when you put beans on them it gives them a really good flavor. I also had steamed sweet potatoes with this purple paste stuff that I don't remember the name of. It kind of had a peanutty flavor. It was pretty good! Don't worry about me when it comes to food because I am well fed! Usually Elder Hart and I (the Elder staying in my apartment) cook together. We've made hashbrowns and eggs (the potatoes are super cheap and nice) fried noodles, pasta, etc. The pineapple and bananas are amazing. The fruits are super cheap at the market, it's really nice. And the street food… Not the healthiest, but is too good not to eat :-) They have this thing called Rolex, which is basically a Beto's breakfast burrito on steroids...Unbelievable! I had like 4 this week.
Right now we are teaching a family between to Kisugu and the church. They're so amazing. The mom and dad are called Mary and Dan and Dan has a brother staying with them named Charles. They're all taking the discussions and are progressing well. We will probably baptize them at the end of the month.
Funny story… This morning, I was supposed to wash all my clothes. But, the member we pay to do it couldn't come until this evening. But, she asked us to soak all our white shirts. I literally put all my shirts in the wash basin forgetting that we had to be in church attire when we left the apartment for P-Day. All of our power went out this afternoon so obviously I had no way to dry any of my shirts… So currently, I am writing this email in a damp white shirt… Ha ha!

I love and miss you all, The church is true here as well as anywhere else in the world!

Love,
Elder Hazen