Weekly Update~ "Whom the Lord Loves He Rebukes and Chastens"

Dear Family and Friends,

I'm not going to sugar-coat it, this week was difficult for me. The Lord saw if fit to put Elder Hazen through some divine chastening and decided to do it by stretching me physically and spiritually. Last Sunday after lunch, I began to feel body aches that are a common sign of the flu. It gradually got worse and by the end of the night, I was drained. Monday was better after I got on a cycle of ibuprofen and Tylenol prescribed by Sis. Collings. Tuesday, the same feelings came back, and not wanting to miss time in the short time I have left in the field, I tried to push through and work. My family knows first hand that I can be a baby when I'm sick. At around 7, I decided in my mind I had enough of missionary work for the day, but Elder Moyes suggested we go finding. That was literally the last thing I wanted to do, but I decided to grudgingly go along. I did not have the right attitude. I felt like I was demonstrating faith to precede a miracle or faith building experience, but the charity element was lacking. Elder S. Mark Palmer said,"No true teaching or learning will ever occur when done in frustration or anger, and hearts will not change where love is not present."  That is one lesson I was reminded of. The flu left by Wednesday in time for us to attend Zone Conference in peace. The Spirit was felt and we were all edified. 

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Andriatsoherina, an elder from Madagascar. (If you can't pronounce that, don't worry, neither could any of our investigators) We had an extremely busy day which flew by and topped off the day visiting an RM with the intent of sharing the Restoration and asking for a referral. There was no need as he already had someone there waiting for us to teach...tender mercy for sure. 

On Friday morning, I woke up with the body aches and a headache and had to drive Elder Andria home and pick up Elder Moyes. I had him drive home and as I was in the car, the most negative thoughts were passing through my mind which is very unlike me and it made me even more frustrated that I was thinking that way. When we got home, I offered a prayer to Heavenly Father that went something like this: "Heavenly Father, right now, I'm not feeling great and you know I haven't been feeling great this whole week. In the scriptures, it talks about how the Savior bears up burdens and makes them light and succors according to people's needs. I need that right now." Honestly, the headaches haven't gone away, but this week I gained greater understanding for the love our Heavenly Father has for his children by chastening them and putting them through trials. I need to be patient with myself when I fall short because, after all, we are dwelling in an imperfect tabernacle of clay. I think as I draw to the close of my mission, it's easy to think that there's nothing more for me to learn but the Lord humbled me and reminded me this mortal life is about progression and constant growing. I'm thankful for his love and the Holy Ghost that is a gift from God and is an indicator when we need to change and what we need to change. 

Love, 

Elder Hazen

Weekly Update~ "Looking for a White Shirt, Not Cream"

Dear Family and Friends,

Today I spent my preparation day in downtown Kampala looking for a new long-sleeved white shirt and  popping tags in the market looking for sweet second hand clothes. As we were walking down the street on the lookout, a gentleman stopped us outside his store and showed us his wide selection of dress shirts. He asked us what color of dress shirt we were looking for and I told him the same color of the shirt that I was wearing. He looked at me, puzzled, and asked ''You're looking for a cream shirt?'' Confused, I then looked down at my shirt, then the white shirt he was holding in his hand and noticed the stark difference between the colors.  I guess I've been working too hard. Haha just kidding.

This week was another good one in Nsambya. We continue to receive a steady flow of referrals from the members and we are seeing the blessings of becoming more unified with them in our work. Nearly every day this week we have had a brother and sister from the ward moving to our appointments with us in the afternoons which has been wonderful for both the fellowshipper and fellowshipee. Sarah and her children, Alpha and Stella are continuing to progress. Stella and Alpha went to Gulu this week for a 4-day data entry course so, Sarah was at home all week alone. Elder Moyes and I took the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon with her a few times throughout the week and she ended up coming to church alone which was neat to see. It's funny because her and one of the members we brought with us to teach, Simon Peter, made a bet to see who could get to church first. Sarah won but, we were happy to see both present for the passing of the sacrament. 

The other family we are teaching, Jeff and his daughters, are all progressing as well. Jeff introduced us to his two first born daughters this week and we got to teach them all the restoration together. I think Jeff was relieved that his family is willing to learn the gospel with him because he was worried that if he continued in the discussions alone, he would cause disunity. As we testified how much this gospel blesses families, the spirit was there. Jeff, two of his daughters, and his young son all attended church yesterday and we were pleased to see them. 

I can't really express my gratitude for how much the Lord has blessed us with our current teaching pool. These people are the coolest people ever to make things even more fun. For example, Jeff is a free-lance artist who has been in the craft business for over 25 years. He has been running a craft-shop himself for the past 10 years in Kampala but recently turned over the business to his oldest daughter, Joanne. He also owns real-estate and travels out of the country to sell his art. It's neat to see how business-oriented he is and it's a pleasure to have gotten to know him. 

 Things just continue to happen for us and as we continue to do our best to help those whom we have been given stewardship over, both investigators and missionaries. We had exchanges with Elder Pearson, Dowdle, Ray, and Ellsworth from Kabowa and also attended their Star Wars themed DDM for May the 4th. It was a blast getting to work with both Elder Dowdle and Pearson reminiscing on old times from Lugazi and Rwanda. 

Happy Mother's Day to every motherly figure in my life, but most of all to my own mother. To quote Elder Holland, ''To all of our mothers everywhere, past, present, or future, I say, “Thank you." Thank you for giving birth, for shaping souls, for forming character, and for demonstrating the pure love of Christ.” To Mother Eve, to Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, to Mary of Nazareth, and to a Mother in Heaven, I say, “Thank you for your crucial role in fulfilling the purposes of eternity.” To all mothers in every circumstance, including those who struggle—and all will—I say, “Be peaceful. Believe in God and yourself. You are doing better than you think you are.''

I am eternally grateful to my Father in Heaven that it was part of his divine plan to for my mother to raise me. I love her and my earthly family more than anything.

 I love you all,

Elder Hazen

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~ "I Shouldn't Be Alive!"

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a very busy week and I'll explain my email subject in a moment but, I first wanted to update you all on a few things. This week I was put in a Tri-panionship with Elder Packer and Elder Shumway because an Elder from my zone went home. Elder Mumba went to work with Elder Koopmans in K3 and we were instructed to work in both K1A and K1B so, as you can all imagine, we were running around town quite a bit. Each night, all 3 of us came home exhausted, but I wouldn't have the work be any other way! Some exciting things have happened as well. I have learned so much from working with Elder Packer and Elder Shumway and feel like we are becoming better missionaries each and everyday. Thank you so much for all your prayers concerning Ignatius. We visited him Saturday evening and we shared again about baptism and the Spirit in the lesson was unbelievably powerful. At the climax of the lesson we extended an baptism date for the 10th of July and he accepted! We need to discuss a few other things with him and resolve some small concerns, but I'd say it was the biggest tender mercy of the week. Nearly all the missionaries in our zone have been present for some of his lessons so we are all very excited for him and for the blessings this decision will bring to him and his family. Another one of our investigators, Jean DaMo, will be baptized this upcoming Sunday. Elder Mumba and I found him while tracting about a month and a half ago and he has really grasped onto the Gospel. He is 18 years old and we attempted to teach his parents, but they aren't quite as interested as he is. He and his friend Egide have been taking most of the lessons together. Last week when President came to town, he organized a Youth Conference on Saturday and DaMo was able to attend and he had a wonderful experience and got to build relationships with many of the youth in Kigali. Egide will be baptized on the 10th as well. Bosco is getting the Priesthood next week and Joanna has introduced us to nearly her entire family and we've been able to share about the Book of Mormon with them. 

So on Friday, Elder Packer, Shumway and I were moving to an appointment using pedal bodas. I sent a picture of me and Elder Mumba on them a few weeks back if you can't remember what those are. Anyway, as we were moving, a motorcycle was coming straight at me and my rider and wasn't moving. My rider tried to turn and get out of the way, but the motorcycle turned the same way and we collided head-on. Luckily, the motorcyle braked before we made contact, but the rider and I were knocked off the bike and I fell on top of my rider…so long story short, I'm not hurt at all, I was a little upset at first, but I started laughing and a crowd of over 15 quickly gathered and a bunch of people on the street came over and started dusting me off. After telling the motorcycle guy I was okay, I got on a new bike because my rider's bike's seat fell off and we moved on like normal. 

Last Sunday, for Priesthood hour, Joel gave a lesson from the Teachings of Howard W. Hunter Manual about True Greatness. As I listened to it, I learned what greatness really is and what it contstitutes. Those who are truly great are those who perform their callings and responsibilities in the church without complaint or fail and turn outward to bless others and bear others' burdens. I'm greatful for the Deacons, Teachers, and Priest quorum advisors, scouting leaders, etc. who have exemplified true greatness while I was growing up. I'd also like to express my gratitude to my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and most of all my own parents for being truly great as well. In the mission field, it's something I'm trying to improve on as I reach out to those around me in my district, zone, and those i'm teaching. I know that little acts of kindness a day make a great difference. 

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

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~ "Witness Comes After a Trial of Your Faith"

Missionary Car Selfie

Dear Family and Friends,

This week Elder Mumba and I saw the principle that a "witness comes after a trial of your faith" in action. As we spent the minimum of 1 hour a day finding new investigators, we came into contact with many potential families as we knocked gates in a particular area that had been successful for finding people who speak English in the past. We set return appointments with most of them, but when it came time to meet with them later that week, they either didn't answer the phone, or they weren't around when we reached their homes. After this happened a few times, and after teaching a few people who weren't very serious or weren't interested, I began to grow more and more frustrated. However, in my personal studies I finished the Book of Mormon this last week and as I was finishing up, I read in the Book of Ether Chapter 12 Verse 26 which talks about the above mentioned principle. During this time, the scripture brought great comfort to me and I knew the Lord was preparing a family for us to begin teaching as we continued to stay the course, follow the counsel of our mission leaders, and do what we were supposed to. This witness came this weekend as we found two wonderful families- husbands and wives with children who are baptism age. We taught one on Saturday and one on Sunday after church. I'm so grateful the Lord answers prayers and teaches us lessons in our times of trial. We were received well by both families and extended baptism dates to both and will be following up on their experiences with prayer this upcoming week.

We have continued to teach Ignatius and have been trying to help him have a spiritual experience to allow the Spirit to testify the things we have been teaching him are true. In attempt to do that, we showed him the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie. The Spirit was so strong as we watched together and learned about the sacrifices Joseph made for this Gospel and how he ultimately sealed his testimony with his blood. After we watched, he had a renewed desire to find out these things for himself. Please pray for him this week.

I had the opportunity to conduct my first companionship exchange this week as District Leader with Elder Nyambita. We spent the day doing some fruitful finding in his area. We were able to set some promising return appointments and were able to get into someone's house and teach a small lesson. I enjoy opportunities like these to get to know other missionaries in the mission and always look forward to learning new things from them. I really enjoy Elder Nyambita's boldness in his finding approach. We ended up having a great day and had a good discussion about the purpose of spending time tracting and contacting.

A lot of times, missionary work is difficult but there are certain times that make it all worth it. One of these times is when you get to hear a Recent Convert bear testimony in Sacrament Meeting. Yesterday, 3 of our Recent Converts bore testimony including Bosco and being able to sit there and feel the Spirit as they testified simply was a wonderful experience and my heart was full of gratitude that I've been able to participate in their journey of gaining a testimony for themselves. Bosco and Joanna were also confirmed as members yesterday.

To conclude, I just wanted to share a brief testimony about the Book of Mormon. I have read it every single day for my entire mission and I learn something new every day. I add my testimony to Joseph Smith's that it is the most correct of any book on the face of this Earth. I testify that the Book of Mormon and the Bible are one in purpose: to testify of the Savior Jesus Christ. I know that it is true and it was brought forth and translated by the gift and power of God and that Joseph Smith was called in his weakness and strengthened to do this great work. 

I love you all,

Elder Hazen

RJ Sent Pictures of Rwanda, so we can see the sites!

Weekly Update~ "Agents Endowed With Moral Agency"

Baptism of Jean De Mo

Dinner at the Gilettes, the Senior Couple

Rainy Season in Rwanda 

Dear Family and Friends,

   This week I learned a lot of valuable lessons. It wasn't the easiest week I've had on my mission but again, I'm so grateful for the times of trial which allow me to learn.

   With it being in the middle of the rainy season here in Rwanda, we found it difficult to move from appointment from to appointment so we always found ourselves behind schedule. Due to the fact that people completely stay inside and stop moving during the rain, many times throughout the week people bounced us because they were away from their homes waiting for the rain to pass.

 We weren't able to see 3 of the families we have been teaching this week because they were busy each with their own individual reasons, so we found ourselves tracting and street contacting a lot. Honestly, I've never faced so much rejection since I've been out here as I did this week. There were lessons that we'd completely get through the Restoration and we'd think it went okay, but then they'd ask us a bunch of questions and it's turn into a debate and we'd have to leave because the Spirit was gone. I know we don't get rejected the same way missionaries do around the world by getting doors slammed in faces etc. Nearly as much as they do- and I consider myself very lucky, I haven't had to deal with it much so far but, this week was very frustrating. 

   One night during the end of the week, it was nearing the end of the day and Elder Nambale and I were waiting for a bus in the rain. Feeling dejected and discouraged, I had the Book of Mormon in my hand and I began flipping to random pages and reading random verses. The stories I flipped too included Abinadi, Alma, and Nephi the son of Helaman who were both wonderful missionaries who faced their fair share of rejection and hard-heartedness. As I read those stories, I realized I haven't had to endure through nearly as much as they did throughout their ministry, yet they always remained bold and retained their desire to serve the Lord. As I read these stories, I felt the love my Heavenly Father has for me and the efforts I'm putting in for this work. It felt like I received a warm hug and it was exactly what I needed. 

   I also learned this week how much being at the right place at the right time makes a difference. This week, we met our third less-active member this transfer while walking to our next appointment. It's been super nice because when they see us, they stop us and we are able to take their contacts and schedule a time to meet with them during the week. We have been able to re-activate 2 less-actives through these spontaneous meetings which has been such a blessing.

   I learned a big lesson on humility this week. I won't go into the details, but basically there was a disagreement between me and someone else this week. I felt like I wasn't the one at fault, however I was still stewing about what happened. This morning, as part of the Book of Mormon reading challenge, I read from Alma Ch.60-62. In this section, we read about how Moroni blasts Pahoran for neglecting his armies and basically tells him he and the government are spectators only thinking about themselves while the army fights their battles for them. We learn a lot by how Pahoran responds and I wrote this quote by Neal A. Maxwell in my scriptures in that chapter:

"You and I cannot control the intentions or behavior of other people. However, we do determine how we will act. Please remember that you and I are agents endowed with moral agency, and we can choose not to be offended."

   When I read this quote, I immediately felt the need to apologize. Even though I wasn't the one who started things, I felt I needed to end it.  After I apologized, I felt all tension leave and felt ready to move on. I don't know how he feels now, But I sure feel better.

   To end, I just want to share how much I love teaching families. Right now we are teaching a guy named Olivier who has a son named Eli. When we go over there and teach him, Eli is always present during the lesson and every time we have Olivier pray, Eli repeats everything his father says and it's my favorite thing ever.

I love you all

Elder Hazen