Weekly Update~ "End of An Era"

Dear Family and Friends,

First of all, thank you so much to all those who have reached out and expressed their condolences to my family in regard to Grandma Melendez. We miss her dearly and the love is appreciated. With all the perspective I've gained on my mission about this gospel, I am completely at peace with everything. Yes, I'm extremely sad I wasn't able to see her again, but I know where she is and I will see her again! I have complete trust and confidence in that gospel truth!

Today marks the end of an era. We received transfer news today and I am finally heading back to Uganda to finish the remainder of my mission. It has been the best 9 1/2 months of my life with greatest companions, districts, members, and memories. I could literally spend all night talking about how wonderful this stretch has been.

In the dedicatory prayer of Rwanda for missionary work, there is a particular part that sticks out to me. In the middle of the prayer, Elder Holland says, "We pray for the missionaries that will yet come, that they will be inspired in their rendezvous with destiny. Truly that destiny and the future is bright."  I know without a doubt that it was determined in the pre-earth life that I would be called to serve in the particular country of Rwanda at this particular time; a time filled with so much excitement, innovation, development, and hope of the future. I have seen so many wonderful miracles and individuals come exponentially closer to our Savior Jesus Christ as they've taken their first steps on their covenant path back to our Father in Heaven. I have done nothing to bring these things to pass, glory be to the Father that I have been able to participate in the conversion process as a tool in his hands. I know that Rwanda truly will be a beacon, an example to the rest of the continent of Africa as prophesied by Elder Holland. 

(Saying His Goodbyes to His Friends in Rwanda)

I am excited to serve in Kampala again, in a stake that will be organized this coming Sunday. I know the Lord has great things in store for me and I am looking to give him my all these remaining months. 

In the mean time before I update you all next week, enjoy these pictures taken at Akagera National Park at our zone last hurrah today. We finally found our elephant. 

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "I Haven't Kissed a Girl in a Year!"

Rwanda

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, this week was the fastest, slowest, busiest, fun, stressful weeks of my mission so far. Forgive me for the oxymoron but, if you've been on mission, you'd understand. I've come to the conclusion that by the end of this upcoming year, I'm going to have gray hairs driving in Kigali with all the hills, Moto-bikes, and people crossing and stopping in the middle of the road like deer in headlights. I'm also going to lose my mind listening to the same Mo-Tab CD's over and over...I think I've listened to "Called to Serve" at least a dozen and a half times in the last week. We have had so many errands to run in the last week between driving missionaries different places to get their visa stuff taken care of, moving things from building to building in preparation for Elder Bednar, and picking and dropping people off at the airport. But, though Elder Nambale are busy, like President Collings told me in my interviews on Friday, I know the Lord will consecrate our efforts for our welfare and the Lord is taking care of us and giving us strength so we will have the energy to work the area as well. Transfer weeks are always busy so I'll give a day to day summary, then share my thoughts about Elder Bednar visiting at the end.

Tuesday- Elder Mumba and I spent the day visiting recent converts and investigators and saying good-bye because he left to Entebbe in Uganda on Wednesday. We went and saw Mpenzi, Diamour, Ignatius, Issa, Bosco, Joanna, Nancy, etc. It was super bitter-sweet even though I'l be right up the road from them. Mumba and I spent the rest of the day packing. 

Wednesday-We woke up at 4 in the morning to get Mumba ready for the airport. Elder Nambale and Elder Brogan came and picked us up at around 4:45 and we drove and dropped Elder Brogan and Mumba off, then Elder Nambale and I drove back to K1, slept for about 30 minutes, then got up for the day. We studied, then drove to K3 for a meeting in preparation for Elder Bednar, got lunch, then I went into my old area with Elder Koopmans who is white-washing us with Elder Phiri. I drove him around, went and showed him where our recent converts and progressing investigators stay. We then got to go tracting for a bit, then ended the evening by teaching a new family the Restoration, and visiting Ignatius again. I'm really excited for Elder Koopmans to be in the area, I know he's going to do a great job and it was a privilege to be able to work with him for the day.

Thursday- Elder Bednar. We got to K1 at 9 and spent all morning preparing by running things up to Lemigo Hotel, driving people places they need to be, etc. Elder Bednar arrived at 12 and upon his arrival, he went up to each missionary, shook his hand, and asked where he is from. Seriously one of the coolest experiences ever. We had a Priesthood Meeting at K1 at 1 while the Sisters had a meeting at Lemigo Hotel up the street. We then all came together at 3:30 and had a general meeting that was open to everyone. Now this provided some challenges because there were many investigators who had no contact with the church previously attend and I'll talk about this more later. At the end of the meeting, we helped clean up and went home.

RJ with Elder Bednar

Meeting with Elder Bednar

Friday- We had interviews with President Collings. Even though it's my second time meeting President, I already feel like I've known him forever. My interview with him was just as spiritually powerful as Zone Conference last month. I love how he follows the Spirit and uses it to conduct his meetings. He has a way of making people think and help them use the Spirit in their lives as well. I was able to go into the area for the first time today and I love it already. Oh and I hit a year on mission. That was cool.

Rwanda Zone with Pres. and Sis Collings

Saturday- Went into the area with Elder Nambale again and visited a potential family and taught about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. Wonderful lesson. The mother was still confused about the Book of Mormon but, her 15 year old son, Joshua, explained it perfectly just as any missionary would've explained it. The Spirit was so strong.

Sunday- Was able to go to church and I love the branch already. Joshua and his Father, Ndarra came to church and there were at least 4 members who introduced themselves and talked to them to help them feel comfortable. We got to help with the Young Men's class as well. We have a great group of youth. I already got assigned to give a talk...great:)

Elder Bednar

Oh my goodness, hearing Elder Bednar speak was one of the most powerful experiences on my mission. It was a really interesting environment in the Priesthood meeting. Elder Hamilton, the Africa SouthEast Area President first got up and made everyone stand one by one and introduce themseves and state their calling. Elder Bednar then got up, took off his suit coat, and began conducting a Question-Answer session. He began by explaining what the role of an apostle is, and told us that if he could teach us one thing in our short time together, it would be about Priesthood power and Priesthood keys. I'll share some of the thoughts I wrote in bullet points

• I love the way Elder Bednar views the Atonement because it's similar to the way I view it. He really emphasized the enabling power and using it to become better men today than we were yesterday and better tomorrow than we were today.
• One brother asked how we know if the priesthood is working through us. Elder Bednar told us that if we continue to ask ourselves that question, we are in good shape. If we are constantly looking for ways to see the Priesthood work through us, that is a sign of humility and understanding our power comes from on high.
• Elder Bednar began explaining the different Priesthood Keys and as he did, he pointed out that through the Branch presidents, President Okott and President Collings, and himself, all the Priesthood keys were in the same room together.
• In between asking questions, he told us that just as in the time of Joseph Smith telling the brethren that they didn't know anymore about the growth of the church than a babe on his mother's lap, that the same thing applied to the members in Africa: They have no idea about the extent and rate at which the church will grow in this continent any more than a babe on his mother's lap. And he added that everyone in the room will live to see it. Unbelievable.
• In the main meeting, he began and told us that he knew that there were many people in the room who had not heard about the church before. He then proceeded and basically shared the entire Restoration as we would in an investigators home. That was really profound for me because it helped me realize that if an Apostle of the Lord was teaching with simplicity, that we as missionaries don't need to be any more extravagant or flashy than he was. He simply stated how things are and told the audience that if they didn't believe, pray and ask God. There were many people who asked Elder Bednar about his authority and what made him special and he merely bore testimony.

I know that Apostles are special witnesses of Jesus Christ and it was beautiful to hear him testify of the Savior in simplicity. He didn't draw any attention to himself or his calling, he gave all the recognition to the Savior and bore witness that this is his church. I add my witness to Elder Bednar's that I know that with out a doubt this church is true. I'm extremely grateful for this experience I had to rub shoulders with an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

RJ's New Apartment

Weekly Update~ "Another Transfer Down!"

Family and Friends,

Happy Transfer News Day and the beginning of another Week 1! Elder Mumba and I will be staying together for another transfer in K1 and I'm very pleased about that. We have a lot of unfinished business to take care of with the families we are teaching. And there isn't anyone I would rather be with right now to work with as we bring the blessings of this Gospel to everyone!

This week, Elder Mumba and I placed a greater focus on making our finding more meaningful so in order to do so, we have been focusing on tracting in areas where there will more likely be families living there. So far it has paid off and we were able to teach lessons to three new families. 

On Thursday morning when we were making our plans for the day, we had planned to visit Ignatius in the evening and wanted to go see him with a member to see if that could help him as we continue to try and progress him towards baptism. Right now he's just been kind of stagnant because he tells us he hasn't received and answer yet even though he tells us he knows everything we teach him is true. We decided to take a shot in the dark and see if Branch President Ronald would be able to come help is even though he is extremely busy with his job a lot of the time. To our surprise and great excitement, he texted us back in the afternoon and told us he'd be able to come with us and help. We met with him that evening and drove over to Ignatius' home together. That lesson was one of the most spiritual lessons I've been in on my mission. President Ronald has only been a member for a few years but he bore powerful testimony about his conversion story and about how this Gospel has blessed him and his family.   I think it was exactly what Ignatius needed to hear. He finally voiced some of his concerns to us about how he doesn't want to become a member of the church without his wife, who has refused to listen to us several times. After talking to him, we told him we'd continue to come sharing the Gospel and hopefully she'd feel the Spirit in the home and that the best way to help her was to be an example to her by putting into practice the things we've been teaching and see what blessings the Gospel brings to his family. The lesson strengthened my testimony on the importance of member-missionary relationships and how crucial they are to moving the work forward.

On Friday, the Rwanda Zone had their last interviews with President Chatfield. I would be the very last missionary President Chatfield would ever interview.  In my interview he gave some very wise counsel regarding leadership, and I was able to ask him a few questions. I am so thankful for the example and teacher he has been to me since I have been out. I know that many people-including myself- have been changed as a result of his and Sister Chatfield's tireless service. I will miss them both dearly. The biggest thing I got from his remarks at interviews is that we need to preach the Gospel with a will to win. Haha with my baseball background and my competitive nature, this really rang true to me. We need to open our mouths at all times and forget to be afraid and lose ourselves in the work.

Elder Hazen, President and Sis. Chatfield

Rwanda Zone with Pres. Chatfield

This morning for Pday, the Elders of the Rwanda Zone and the Gillets woke up at 4:30 in the morning, drove two hours out of Kigali and hiked Mt. Kabuye.  Enjoy the pictures!

In conclusion, I've learned a lot this transfer. I've learned that missionary work is done in companionships for a reason, and that I have a lot of flaws that I need to improve. I know that as I continue to evaluate my progress and ask myself, "Lord Is It I?" Slowly through the Atonement I can improve and my weaknesses will become strengths.

Also, Happy Father's Day to my Father and Grandfathers.   I want you to know how much I love you and let you know I was thinking about you.  Dad, I can’t thank you enough for the sacrifice you’ve made to assist me with my mission not only financially, but by preparing me throughout the years by being a good example.

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "The Promised Land"

Dear Family and Friends,

   Greetings from Rwanda! Let me first testify that this place truly is the Promised Land spoken of by missionaries around the Uganda Kampala Mission. It is a whole different world than Uganda. It is a lot cleaner, it has a more mild climate, it is easier to get around town because they have a cheap, quick, bus system that runs through our area, the food is amazing, the people are as kind and humble as they are in Uganda, and the list goes on and on. I got into town Friday but, there is a lot happened before I landed here as well. Let me summarize for you the rest of my week.

Flying to Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda

Monday- I forgot to mention it last week, but on Monday morning, we took a taxi to Jinja and met Elders Robinson, Dlamini, Langford, and Dabb from Mukono at The Keep for lunch. From there, we drove down to the Nile River to take some cute pics and because it'll be Elder Robinson's and my last time seeing it for awhile. We had a great time. 

Nile River

Tuesday- Elder Ward and I spent the day saying our last goodbyes to a few people in our areas. I went and saw Eron, Sunday Toko, Christine, Resty, David Hadson and Reegan, and we had one last dinner with our friends from Help International which was as good as ever. I spent the rest of the night packing. During that process, I found that a rat had climbed into my small carry-on suitcase and died because of the rat poison it had probably consumed. It had probably been dead for about two weeks because when I opened it to begin putting a few things inside, it absolutely reeked, and it was rotting and being eaten by maggots and things. But, I had Steven deep clean it with soap and water on Wednesday so everything was good to go.

Friends from Help International

David, Hadson and Reegan

Wednesday- Wednesday morning, Elders Robinson and Dlamini picked us up at around 9:30. We said good-bye to Andrew, Steven, Bro. Ochitti, Elder Ray and Elder Tesch. I'm going to miss those guys a lot there's not much more I can say. When we got to the Ntinda apartment, Elder Ward and I hopped in the truck with Elder Dlamini and Robinson and met a bunch of ZL's from the mission at Little Donkey in Nsambya. Little Donkey is probably the best Mexican food place in Uganda. I got a fat plate of nachos and a quesadilla. I was a happy little Mexican boy. :) After that, we drove back to Ntinda and people started to leave. I spent the rest of the night hanging out with Elder Owen and Chifamba because they spent the night at Ntinda as well. We had a nice game of Scum going with about 12 missionaries in the AP flat at the end of the night. It reminded me of the glory days of the Cedar Hills 14th ward playing scum Sunday nights. Also... When I woke up that morning, I felt like my neck was sun burnt or something. Thinking it was a spider-bite or something, I asked Elder Ray if he saw anything but, he didn't. As I went through the rest of the day, it started hurting worse. It was super irritating because my shirt collar kept rubbing against it. That night, Elder Chabra took a look at it and by that time, a rash had begun to form. Elder Chabra told me I had shingles and put me on medicine to cut down the cycle of the virus. So, instead of suffering 10-14 days, I would only have to deal with it for 7-10. Haha I've had to take 2 pills 5 times a day and it hasn't been fun at all. But, all trials are from God and they bring us closer to him as we rely on him:) I should be on the down-hill for this by now, I'm crossing my fingers!

Andrew the Compound Guard and Close Friend

Elders Ray, Ward and Tesch

Hard to Say Goodbye

Start of the Shingles Virus

Thursday- We began the morning by doing personal study and a 10 person companion study in the Ntinda flat. The rest of the day, Elders Hatch, Carter, Shumway, Mugwagwa and I all went out into the DL side of Ntinda and worked. It was a fun time because this is both Elder Carter and Shumway's first week on mission so, it was cool to be able to experience that first full day with them. We spent most of the day tracting, but in the evening, while Carter, Shumway, and Hatch went to teach a scheduled appointment, Elder Mugwagwa and I split off to go follow up with a Mom we tracted into that day. On our way there, we saw a few guys with a basketball walking up the hill past us. When we got to the home, we got bounced so in order to pass the time until we had to meet up again, we decided to go find those guys with the basketball and see if they wanted to play a pick-up game with some missionaries. We found them a few minutes later and asked if they wanted to play and they reluctantly accepted...Little did they know, they were beginning a game with a member from the Zimbabwe national basketball team.  They weren't prepared for what happened next. Elder Mugwagwa and I went on an 18-0 run against them and Mugwagwa humbled a few kids by absolutely posterized them on a few dunks. One of the funnest days I've had on my mission. I spent the rest of the night hanging out with Elder Mugwagwa talking basketball and packing. He left the next day with us for Ethiopia. I hope I get the opportunity to serve with him soon.

Elder Mugwagwa

Friday- We left for the airport early in the morning. We were a bit late so, Brother Godfrey hauled butt haha, it was an impressive feat of driving. We landed in Rwanda earlier than we departed because there is an hour difference. We got picked up by Elder Brogan, got dropped off at the apartment, and went finding allll day. Haha it was a good first day in Rwanda.

Airplane that flew to Rwanda

Saturday/Sunday-In the morning we had ZDM then went to a restaurant after. Had lunch at an unreal restaurant and had a cheeseburger that tasted like home. Went to a primary activity after then taught a lesson in the evening. On Sunday, I was impressed with how organized the branch is. We had a great testimony meeting. In the evening, we taught a family and it was a great lesson!

I just wanted to leave a last thought from my study this week. In Mosiah 2:20-22, King Benjamin talks about how if we work our entire lives dedicated to God, and don't make a single mistake or anything, we would still be unprofitable servants to God. I'm just grateful for the power and strength God gives me each week to work as hard as I can because I know I would be nothing as a missionary if I didn't have his assistance.

I hope you all enjoyed conference. I may get to watch it this week! I'll share some thoughts next week. Also, keep the Rwandan people in mind this next week. It is Genocide remembrance week.

 I love you all,

Elder Hazen