Weekly Update~ "Blessings Come When We Seek For The Savior's Power as Bad as We Want to Breathe"

Dear family and friends,

RJ and His New Companion Elder Moyes

 One of the oft-referred to stories of this recent General Conference was the woman who suffered from the debilitating blood condition for 12 years. I loved this story in context to President Nelson's talk on Drawing the power of Jesus Christ into our lives. Like the woman who stretched physically and spiritually in order to grasp the Savior's power into her life. There are a few experiences where I witnessed others and myself stretch this week. 

We are teaching a man right now who has gone through a lot. I have seen him bring forth many fruits signifying his repentance and becoming a new man. However, he just seems to be one of those people who can't seem to catch a break. For about the past 3 years, he has been bounced around from home to home, trying to look for a job and making ends meet. He expressed to us that after he met the missionaries, he found a new found hope in life and things began to work out for him. He found a job about a month and a half ago at a casino running slot machines and began a training without pay soon thereafter. However because of the difficulty of circumstances before, along the way he got both his national I.D. and passport stolen, which has now arisen to become a big problem. Last week, his employers requested everyone to display some sort of identification before the training ends this week. In his desperation, he came to us, asking us to spot him 40k UGX for a new passport. I felt awful for him and was really stressed about what to do. After I got off the phone with him last Friday morning, Elder Moyes and I decided to pray about it. When we finished, a story I heard from MLC a few months back came to mind. In Mexico, there was a mission president faced with a dilemma of government marriage being an obstacle to many couples' being baptized. They simply couldn't afford to pay to get it done so they continued to co-habitate. However, the leaders of the church came up with a program to cut the price of marriage. When this plan was presented to this mission president, it didn't feel right for him to approve it. He thought about it all the way to an interview with a young couple preparing to be baptized. In this interview, he discovered that the couple went three days without eating in order to have enough money for their marriage, leading to their baptism into the church. With this experience, the mission president felt inspired to reject the plan and give these investigators the opportunity to exercise faith and let the Lord provide a way. We came to a similar conclusion with this man. When we went to his home to explain why we were not giving him the money by sharing with him the scripture in Luke 8 about the woman with the blood disease, he was completely understanding and the Spirit filled the room. We followed up with him this week and he told us as he prayed for direction on how to find the money to pay for a new passport, he felt inspired he needed to sell his phone and use the money that would be coming from his job to first pay rent so he could keep the spot in the home he is currently staying in, then buy a new phone in a few months. He felt confident it came from the Lord and we were grateful to witness this man stretch himself and seek God's will.

On Tuesday, I went on an exchange with Elder Seibert. The whole day was relatively good, but we hadn't had any really faith building experiences and hadn't seemed to learn much from each other. As we were discussing these feelings on our way to our last appointment which happened to be a member whom we would be teaching the restoration in 15 minutes too, we made a goal with each other that we'd make it the most powerful lesson of the day. But, to our dismay, he bounced us. It was 8:30 PM. Usually, it's time to prepare to go home if your lesson falls through at that time. However, I felt like there was more to be done in the day. We decided to pray and ask the Lord whom he would have us visit to share the message of the Restoration too to conclude the day. We sat and waited for revelation to come. Elder Seibert, having served in Nsambya before, suggested we visit a less-active member. We called him, and he told us he was home, so we put the truck in gear and sped off to his home 15 minutes away. We testified simply of the truths of the restoration, and finished. We were overcome at the Spirit that was present. We felt inspired to ask for a referral and he immediately listed off a name from the top of his head and told us to call him in the morning to find out when we could go together to meet with him. When we got to the car, we offered a simple prayer of gratitude thanking the Lord for using us as tools to share with someone who needed that message and for helping us stretch ourselves. Truly, I know blessings come when we seek for the Savior's power as bad as we want to breathe. 

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Following the Spirit"

Dear Family and Friends,

I'm sure I've mentioned that last transfer, President Collings gave us a challenge to go into as many members' homes as possible and share the message of the Restoration in 15 minutes. The purpose of this exercise is to be simple and invite the Spirit and after we testify simply, ask for a referral. If done right with the Spirit present, President promised many referrals would come from it. He was right. We applied this in four different different homes and many referrals came from it that we were able to follow up with on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Thankfully, our teaching pool is now full of many people with tons of potential to progress.

Yesterday evening, we had a neat experience with prayer. Elder Moyes is a master at following the Spirit and I've learned so much from him already. At around 6:30, we were waiting for our investigator, Rajab, but when we called him, he told us he was just leaving his house, a 20 minute walk away. I thought it would be a good idea to go visit Andrew, who lived 5 minutes from the church, because he left church early and I wanted to find out why. But Elder Moyes stopped me and asked me if we could pray about it. To be honest, I was a little confused, because I thought it would be an effective way to use our time and it was close, so we could leave right when Rajab got there. But Elder Moyes brought up the idea that if we waited for Rajab, we wouldn't be able to meet with Alpha at 7:30. Alpha was a younger man that we met last Monday evening while visiting a less-active. When we were there, we shared the Living Christ with all who were present and set a return appointment with Alpha in the weekend. And so, we prayed about it. After waiting, we felt that we needed to cancel with Rajab, go see Andrew and maybe another individual, then go see Alpha. We found out why when we got there. At that particular time, Alpha was home with his mother, Sarah, who spoke great English, and had not been to church in some time because of a leg condition she had developed. We invited her to participate in the lesson, as we shared with Alpha the message of the Restoration. From the moment we said "amen" to the opening prayer, both were so engaged, asking questions, repeating what we were saying for clarification, and sharing insights. The Spirit was so strong in the house throughout the entire lesson and both accepted baptism dates in May. When we got back to the truck, Elder Moyes and I knew that we had to be in that home at that time for a reason and just poured out our hearts in prayer in gratitude to Heavenly Father for the blessings we saw throughout that day and that week. There is nothing better as a missionary than feeling a feeling of peace and approval that comes from the Spirit when following a prompting. 

There are many amazing things that are on the brink of happening in this zone and stake as we continue to work with the members. 

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

His Companion is Headed Home

Saying Goodbye to Elder Ward

Rainy Season

Flooding

Locked Keys in the Truck

Weekly Update~ "Aligning My Will With God's"

Interviews with President Collings 

Lunch with the Rwanda Zone

Dear Family and Friends,

I'm going to keep it short this week, we had another week full of
miracles in the zone. Believe it or not, our numbers of investigators
at church and progressing investigators increased once again. We had
44 at church and are currently progressing 35. We have 39 remaining
baptisms left for the year to reach our zone goal, so we are right on
track. 

We have been so blessed with tender mercies...to name a few:
-The sisters found a family of 16...Obviously there's a lot of extended
family living in the compound, but they got all 16 to sit down for a
lesson with them and the father and a few of the children came to
church yesterday.

-New investigators continue to appear out of nowhere: Yesterday, a guy
showed up to our branch who saw the church's name online and saw the
sign when walking by on his way to work one day. 

-Another guy had a dream about the church and was guided by the Spirit to where the K1
branch met even though he had no prior knowledge about it.

We are so blessed to be missionaries in Rwanda at this time. President
Collings tells us that we are just about there to qualify for a
district which is another step closer to there being a stake in
Rwanda.

As for me personally, I learned a lot about aligning my will with
God's this week. One of the biggest reasons why I came out on a
mission is because I believed that blessings come from putting God's
will before my own. I had the option of going and playing college
baseball right away but I decided to forego my plans and serve,
believing the Lord would take care of me. As time begins to draw
closer and closer for me to go home, I am becoming more nervous about
what lies in store for me. I wonder sometimes if I will be able to get
back into shape quick enough for me to play. President Collings
said something that soothed my troubled mind this week. We had a
discussion about Grace in my interview with him and he asked me what
the definition is. I told him it's strength to accomplish things I
would otherwise not be able to do when left to my own strength. He
asked me, with thought in mind, if it was possible for the Lord to
provide a way for my body to get into shape quicker with his help. I
felt the Spirit strongly when he said that. I know the Lord helps
those who help themselves and though it will take hard work, things
will work out for me. I love my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus
Christ and I know I can't pay him back for his infinite Atonement, but
I can do my best to bring his children back to him by diligently
working to bring them to the knowledge of the restored gospel. I have
enclosed the lyrics to the last verses to Savior, Redeemer of My Soul,
a song that has become one of my favorites. I know blessings come from
aligning my will with his.

2. Never can I repay thee, Lord,
But I can love thee. Thy pure word,
Hath it not been my one delight,
My joy by day, my dream by night?
Then let my lips proclaim it still,
And all my life reflect thy will.

3. O'errule mine acts to serve thine ends.
Change frowning foes to smiling friends.
Chasten my soul till I shall be
In perfect harmony with thee.
Make me more worthy of thy love,
And fit me for the life above.

Love,
Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Missionary Joy"

Dear Family and Friends,

I can't really describe the amount of joy I feel being a missionary. To be brief, there are no words to describe the way I feel going into people's home and to be able to testify of the reality of a loving Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ. Even though there are people who reject us often and things don't work out and we are sometimes made a hiss and a byword, there is nothing better than this. I am beginning to realize now more than ever that when we go through trials or our "furnaces of affliction", 100% of the time after, our Father in Heaven, one who is mindful of each of us personally, is there ready to pour out more blessings and make our lives that much better which make the tribulations all worth it. It seemed like there was tender mercy after tender mercy with all the experiences Elder Grant and I had. If I shared about all of them, I would run out of time with my emailing so I'll share the ones that made the biggest impact on the week. Each of these experiences are being carefully recorded in my journal so they will be remembered. 

At the beginning of last week, President Collings challenged each missionary in the mission to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover and gave us a list of promised blessings if we do so for us and our investigators:

1. There will come into your hearts an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord. 
2. There will come a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to his commandments. 
3. There will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.
4. You will have greater discernment, insight, conviction, and spirit than those who do not.
5. It will bring you 'nearer to God'.
6. A power will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. 
7. Greater power to resist temptation. 
8. Power to avoid deception. 
9. Power to stay on the strait and narrow path. 
10. You will find life in greater and greater abundance.
11. The spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. 
12. The spirit of reverence will increase. 
13. Mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. 
14. The spirit of contention will depart. 
15. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. 
16. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. 
17. Righteousness will increase. 
18. Faith, hope, and charity--the pure love of Christ--will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness.

 As Elder Grant and I have taken this challenge, we have been able to understand that the Lord works in mysterious ways to bless those who keep his commandments and make things that need to happen happen. Whether it be us being prompted to give a pamphlet to someone and then them calling us later, or random people calling us out of the blue who are absolutely prepared to be baptized, or unexpected people being interested in fellowshipping our recent converts and investigators. All of which I know were blessings that came from our Father in Heaven and they are only helping us move closer to our goals. I was thinking a lot about Elder Andersen's talk from this most recent General Conference and I was thinking about his puzzle piece analogy. I truly know that it's not my responsibility to baptize all of Rwanda (though we certainly could if God was willing) but, to inspire others to put their pieces of the puzzle in that will ultimately build the kingdom of God. 

Rwanda is currently thriving. Our zone was able to have 39 investigators at church and 27 progressing investigators. Elder Grant and I committed Ndarra's entire family of 5 (wife included) to baptism on the 20th and they all came to church yesterday. Words couldn't describe the joy I felt when I saw them seated as a family waiting for the meeting to start 30 mins before church. 

The church is true, 

Elder Hazen

Birthday Wishes for Maddie

Trick or Treating Missionary Style

The Elder's Enjoyed the Halloween Prizes I Sent Them

Weekly Update~ "Mom's Chapati"

Dear Family and Friends,

This week I went on vacation if there is even such a thing on mission. But, going to Kampala and being around missionaries that I haven't seen in months sure felt like it and it was a wonderful experience. I probably stayed up later than I should have both nights that I was in Ntinda. Mission Leader Conference was one of the most powerful meetings I've had on my mission. This month the meeting was focused on the Book of Mormon and the importance of working with members. We are excited to put into practice the things we learned.

I don't really have a lot to say this week, I was in Kampala from Tuesday-Thursday and when I got back into Kigali on Thursday, I went right into Elder Shumway's area for an exchange that was wonderful. We implemented some of the things we learned at MLC and worked on really listening to what investigators say so we can teach according to their needs. We also worked on our finding approaches and using "power statements" (one sentence testimonies used to invite the Spirit and grab the people's interest to learn more) I got back into our area on Friday and the rest of the weekend was spent catching up on lost time in visiting our investigators and preparing Edith for baptism. I don't know if I've talked a whole lot about Edith but she has been one of my favorite people I've taught so far because her change of heart was so apparent and noticeable. When we began teaching her, she was so stubborn and she refused to keep commitments in reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church. We even dropped her for a few weeks but, I decided to call her during weekly planning and set up an appointment to meet with her again. When we met again, we reviewed the Book of Mormon and set a bold commitment to her and told her that if she prioritized her time and gave 5 minutes to reading every day, she would be able to have the energy to work day in and day out to support her family and that she would be able to find the means to pay for her childrens' school fees. As we began teaching her again, her son came back from boarding school because he was suffering from ulcers and we began teaching him as well. Long story short, they began keeping commitments, coming to church together, and the change was so noticeable. Last week, when we were at her house, she shared with us that her husband had died just a few weeks previous to us coming and sharing with her the first time (she was found street contacting by Elder Brogan right before I got to K2) she said, that after her children left for boarding school, she felt so lonely and would just go to her room and cry when she got home from work every night. But, as soon as she began reading the Book of Mormon and the pamphlets, and we began visiting her more consistently, she felt happy again. It was a simple testimony but it reminded me that true happiness only comes from the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you don't believe me, put me to the test, put God to the test. Read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. I testify that there is no more correct book on Earth and it WILL bring you closer to Christ than ever before. If you are a member of the church, and you have not read the Book of Mormon cover to cover in awhile, I challenge you to do so. If you are not, I challenge you to do the same because if you are reading this right now, you care at least a little bit about my life which probably means I care about you too and I want the best for you. 

I left my notebook at the apartment with my conference notes...Stay tuned until next week. 

Love you all, 

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Gotta Have That Young Salvation!"

Dear Family and Friends,

First of all, to explain my email subject, it summarizes an event that happened to Elder Moyes and Elder Packer about a week ago while they were street contacting one night.They were stopped by a random guy and they were getting blasted for not being able to speak French or Ikinyarwanda but, they were living in Rwanda. He then stopped and asked how old they were and pointed to Elder Packer and asked if he was older than Elder Moyes. He said yes (which isn't true) and the guy started yelling at Packer saying he didn't like him and he liked Elder Moyes because he'd rather have that Young Salvation...Love the bizarre people we meet on a daily basis:)

But anyway, this week we had a great week filled with neat experiences. We were able to finish General Conference this week on Saturday and Sunday and it was extremely spiritually filling. I will give my General Conference summary next week because I'm working on a garbage computer and the Internet keeps going in and out.

On Tuesday, I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Moyes and we had an awesome day. I want to share a neat experience we had in the evening after having a few strong appointments in the morning and early afternoon. We didn't have any appointments confirmed for the night. We began our finding with a prayer and we went to an area I used to find in with Elder Nambale. After knocking some gates and talking to a few random people in the street, one man stopped us and asked what we were doing. We introduced ourselves as missionaries and asked if he wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ. He graciously accepted and invited us to meet with him and his wife later that week. We considered it a nice tender mercy but, then felt like we shouldn't have been in that particular area anymore so, we decided to re-locate. Long story short, the first gate we knocked on in the next neighborhood over was answered by a mother and her two children who looked like they had just gotten home for the day. The kids still had their school shirts on and introduced themselves in perfect English...one was a six year old girl named Celiah who reminded me exactly of my little sister Payton when she was younger, and the other was a ten year old boy named Serrio who loves the Golden State Warriors. Obviously I liked them a lot from the beginning. We were invited inside by the mother, and about 20 minutes into our conversation in introducing the Book of Mormon and the Restoration, her husband, who is a Mercedes Benz parts dealer, showed up. After talking to them for awhile longer, we set a return appointment for that Sunday and left in gratitude to the Lord for leading us to them. We realized that if we had not gone to the first place and met our other friends first, the timing would have been messed up and we may not have met that family because they may not have been at home. Tender mercies indeed.

On Friday, Elder Grant and I were able to have a fast for our area as a companionship. The following blessings occurred:

• We were able to set 7 baptism dates to some of our other investigators, including Ndarra, his wife, and his three children for the 20th of November.
• 7 of our investigators attended General Conference Saturday and Sunday..all of whom enjoyed seriously.
• 5 random people called us on the phone asking for more information about the church and we were able to refer them to the companionship who stay closest to each of them.
• 4 random people came to church and we had two members bring referrals.
• We were spiritually edified from conference.
• We are enjoying mission more and more each day.

I testify that the Lord hears our prayers and that faith is a principle of action. I know that Heavenly Father has his hands in things that need to happen including the growth of the church in Rwanda.
Tomorrow I get to go to Uganda for Mission Leader Conference. IT will be my first time going back in 7 months. It will be a sweet reunion with many. Stay tuned:)

Love,
 Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "What Manner of Men Ought Ye To Be?"

Dear Family and Friends,

This week I conducted a lot of self-introspection and was able to learn a great deal.  On Tuesday, Elder Grant and I went on exchanges with the K1 district. I worked in a Tri-panionship with Elder Phiri and Fiagbedzi in my old area and we had a blast. Being with them without the truck reminded me of how much I miss walking and talking to people as we move between appointment and appointment. As I worked with them, I was able to witness first hand how obedience brings blessings. They did not waste a single minute of the Lord's time, and assuming they do this everyday, it is why the Lord has blessed them with so much success. I respect both of these Elders so much and I'm grateful for their example of selfless service to one another and others around them and their diligence.

On Thursday, Elder Grant and I had a great companionship study and were able to have a discussion of why things earlier in the week weren't going as well as we wanted them too. We set a few goals and re-committed ourselves to exact obedience. Elder Grant spent his entire personal study on obedience and shared this helpful insight: Obedience is the first law of heaven. When we are called on our missions, all we are really asked to do is be obedient. Yes, there is a little more to missionary work than that, but when it comes down to it, the teaching, the finding, the service, all comes down to our obedience to our Heavenly Father's and how much we really love them. I think Elder Grant and I realized we were looking beyond the mark a little and were more concerned about why our investigators weren't progressing and were too focused on trying to be an example, but after we simplified everything, we have been having a better time. We know that all that matters is controlling the things that we can control and that exact obedience will bring the miracles that will move the work in our area forward.

Something that Elder Grant and I have begun to try is using the Book of Mormon in all of our finding situations. This means that whether we are street contacting, tracting, or whatever, when talking to people whether talking about the Plan of Salvation or the Restoration, we would always refer back to the Book of Mormon and show them a copy and invite them to learn more about it by inviting them to church or by allowing us to come visit them. You wouldn't believe how well this has worked. People are beginning to become genuinely interested in the message we have for them and there have been people who have literally begged us to leave them a copy. We know that the Book of Mormon has great power and it truly testifies of the Savior and that it brings people closer to him than any other book in the world.

Going back to the thoughts about obedience, I was pondering if I really truly do love the Savior Jesus Christ. I was thinking about it during my personal study and spent a lot of time pondering. I was thinking about his works, his example, his teachings, and towards the end of my study I came to this overwhelming conclusion: Yes I do. I know this because I aspire to be like him and follow his example of selfless love towards others. I work to improve my teaching skills to become a better teacher like he was. I try to be as bold as him in the face of adversity. I love Jesus Christ with all my heart and because of this I will never stop trying to become better through his Atonement.

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "AMEN, HALLELUJAH!"

Dear Family and Friends, 

Nearly every Monday since the day I began living here in Africa, someone has asked me if I've seen lions, elephants, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, hippos, etc. I'm sorry to inform you but, I don't live in the bush where people walk around with nothing but loincloths, slay their own food with spears, and wrestle lions with their bare hands. Because of this, the most exotic wildlife I've seen so far on my mission are the pregnant goats that people throw rocks at when they get too close to their homes. However, today, after long anticipation and constant prodding from my mother, I was finally able to enjoy God's creations while on a zone activity to Akagerra National Park in Eastern Rwanda. We were able to see every animal imaginable in your wildest dreams except, lions and elephants. Still, unreal nonetheless.  I was able to drive 5 others with me in our Zone truck for the Safari. I was depended on for everyones safety hahaha. It was just a blast being around my zone for a last hurrah before transfers. 

Drivingh the Safari Truck

This week, Elder Nambale and I were super busy getting ready for transfers and making preparations for some of the changes that are happening in the zone. We received news that both Elder Nambale and Elder Koopmans are heading back to Uganda, and 6 new missionaries- 4 elders and 2 sisters will be coming, pushing our zone total up to 12 missionaries. My new companion is Elder Grant who went to Woods Cross High School. I am so excited to serve with him. I have met him a few times in passing and from what I have observed, he is a humble missionary who loves the work. I am excited to learn from him and continue building the foundation of the church here in Rwanda! These changes have made the zone even more powerful. and I'm looking forward to discussing how to set new goals to help us take the work here to the next level. Elder Nambale and I were up and down and all over town getting Elder Nambale's exit papers filled out, getting our truck serviced, purchasing new apartment accomodations for the new missionaries, and finishing our zone exchanges. I was able to bring Elder Shumway into my area and a few parts of the day were the hi-lights of my week. 

Every Tuesday I teach an English class to the family of two of our recent converts and a few of their neighbors. This week, Elder Shumway and I brought hymn books and we taught everyone how to sing "I am a Child of God". We had one of the neighbors, Joseph, who usually helps me translate during lessons, explain each word in Kinyarwanda. Elder Shumway, Elite, Philomene, and myself would then sing a line so everyone could hear the tune. Then we would all sing together. It took us about an hour to learn the first verse, but when we sang it all the way through, the Spirit was so strong in the room. Everyone then applauded when we finished. I'm extremely grateful for the hymns in the church and the way they invite the Spirit, no matter what activity is taking place. It makes such a difference in the day, even listening to a Mo-Tab CD driving to an appointment. 

That afternoon, we got bounced from an appointment, so we decided to do some finding near that individual's home. About 10 minutes into knocking doors and walking around, we walked by an open gate and open door and heard a lady call out, "hello!" Thinking she spoke English, we turned around and talked to her. Her English was somehow broken, but she could understand us and we had a member with us, so we decided to go inside and share a short message before she left for work. We intended to share a short Restoration lesson with her, but when we told her the message we share blesses families, she lit up and pointed to a picture of her husband on the wall who passed away some time back. She told us through our member that she misses him terribly. Shumway and I called an audible and we shared the Plan of Salvation briefly in 20 minutes. When we bore testimony that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, her and her husband will be resurrected and they will see each other again, she raised her hands above her head and exclaimed, "AMEN HALLELUJAH!" Haha it was a quick lesson and who knows if she will come to church, but it was a testimony to me that everyone is searching for the comfort our message brings and that Heavenly Father is preparing his children for us. We just need to give sufficient time to finding them. We had a great ZDM this week and set a bold goal as a zone that each companionship would baptize a family per transfer. Like Ether 12:12 says,  12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

I know that faith is the absence of fear and as we continue to set goals to make us stretch and diligently work, through grace and the Atonement, we can accomplish things we wouldn't be able to do alone. 

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Miracles with Fasting"

Dear Family and Friends,

Transfers, months, weeks, and days continue to run at an exponentially increasing pace. I am now 13 months out, wondering where the time has gone, but continuing to make the most of what I have left.

Today, as I write this, my heart is full of gratitude to our Father in Heaven for how much he loves us, his children, so much so that he sends the Spirit to whisper revelation in his still small voice to guide our lives. I'm especially thankful that as a missionary, I've been able to be more sensitive to spiritual promptings due to the lack of noise from the world fighting for my attention. I can't count how many times these clear, impressive thoughts have helped me and changed the course of an entire day. Such an experience occurred a week and a half ago during our weekly planning session. As I blankly stared at the half sheet of paper full of our plans for the upcoming week, my thoughts were wandering to our dwindling teaching pool. I knew that in order to build it up again, it was going to come from help from on high, so I thought "Why not petition for the Lord's help, and call down the powers of heaven through fasting?" Elder Nambale and I decided to consecrate our entire day Tuesday in the upcoming week to finding and opening with a fast before beginning. We prayerfully planned our day the night previous, set a goal to find two new families, and with the knowledge that we had the Spirit with us, we went to work. We talked to many promising individuals and set many return appointments, but at around 5:30 that evening, we still had not taught a lesson. We then knocked on a gate in Kiyovu, a neighborhood near President Kagame's home. We saw two people seated on the porch, with a clear view of the gate, but no one made an effort to move to come talk to us which we found to be strange. When someone finally answered, we went to the porch and introduced ourselves as servants of Jesus Christ, and before we could say more, one man got up and gave Elder Nambale his chair, and gestured me to sit at another chair at the table they were seated at. The owner of the home introduced himself as Jules, and called each of his children to come greet us, all of whom spoke perfect English. He then began explaining his story. He is married with four children, is a retired engineer and is currently building his dream home that he plans to rent out certain floors to tenants. He has also battled Parkinson's disease for 7 years. We sat and listened as he told us about his difficulties and struggles, but then said something profound: "Even though I have this disease, I don't curse God. I know he is there and that he loves me. I am truly happy. I have my family and we are fine. I praise God every day I continue my life." I immediately said a prayer of gratitude in my heart that we were led to Jules and his family. This is a man that has true faith and accepts the will of God for him. I know that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is exactly what he needs to give him strength to press forward. He invited us to his home again on Friday to share food with him and his family and we introduced the Book of Mormon to him. He graciously accepted it, he wrote in the back, "a gift from Nambale and Hazen", and told us he would read it deeply. 

On Wednesday at MLC, President Collings' closing remarks were focused on the principle that miracles do exist, especially in missionary work when we set the bar of expectations high for ourselves, do what we're supposed too, and follow revelation received. On Sunday at church, one of the guys we invited to church while street contacting on Tuesday came to church with his 3 kids. I know that Jules and his family, and Innocent and his family were miracles and the Lord's hand was in helping us accomplish the goal we set in faith to find two families. I testify that this is the Lord's work and this is his church and I'm reminded of this daily. He lives and loves all his children. I testify that faith is a principle of power that causes things to happen that need to happen like the spreading of the Gospel to all of Rwanda and the entire continent of Africa. 

P-Day Basketball Game

Baller

Chameleon 

I love you all,

Elder Hazen