Week 13: Nohelinziza!!....

Week 13: Nohelinziza!!....

Hello Everyone! 

I hope that you are all having an outstanding Christmas with your friends and family! Know that I send my love and gratitude to all of you for your support and love that you have shown me throughout my mission so far.

This weeks email is also to let y'all know that both today and next Monday I may not be emailing a whole lot due to activities, but I will do my level best!

Here in Rwanda we had one of the greatest gifts of all. The opportunity for people to be baptized! Both John Maina and Mugisha Pacific are powerful people that I have had the privilege to know and learn the gospel with. 

Oh! Here's another update. I have a new companion. His name is Elder Young and he is from Beaver, Utah. He is a really fun guy to work with and we look forward to another great transfer of doing the Lord's errand in Kigali!  

Anyways, I hope that you all truly get to spend time to enjoy your families and loved ones and to Light The World for one last day! 

With love and the Christmas spirit,

-Elder O'Hagan

Week 12: "I think that this is the beginning to a beautiful friendship"...

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Week 12: "I think that this is the beginning to a beautiful friendship"...

Hello Everyone and Nohelinziza!! (Merry Christmas in Kinyarwanda)

This week has been the fastest so far and it makes me sad, because it marks the end of my time serving with Elder Driggs as my trainer and companion. While the quote in the subject line may be incorrect to the original from Casablanca, truly I have learned much from Elder Driggs that has helped me become a better missionary. 

As for the week, some really great things happened!

Tuesday: We taught some solid lessons today and we also performed some service by peeling potatoes for a couple of different families. This was cool because it allowed for some more trust with one of our investigators, and it reminded me of how Ammon gained Lamoni's trust through service to be able to teach him the gospel (Alma 17-20). 

Wednesday: The highlight of the day was going Christmas Caroling as a District! We went to both members and investigators alike to sing Christmas Hymns and deliver small cakes! Sister Wright drove us around our area and we had a blast! And those we sang to really loved it! 

Thursday: Today was a trying day! There was a bit of discouragement after one of our lessons that didn't go that well for me personally. However, I was reminded of something Mark had said over and over again: Don't Hesitate! When it comes to sharing the gospel of Christ, it can be a really daunting task! But if we have faith and we act on it without hesitation, we can truly feel the Spirit in our lives and the lives of others!

Friday: This was just a real swell day! That's all!

Saturday: Every single member of the Branch who we could visit or have help us translate our lessons was at a wedding. So we went finding and did small service alllll day! It was really fun actually! We even found some powerful potential investigators that I'll be teaching next week with my new companion Elder Young! 

Diligence truly brings great rewards!

Sunday: We went to say goodbye to our recent converts for Elder Driggs today and we also taught a few lessons. The people are really loving here, and it never ceases to amaze me. 

So, that was my week in brief! Next week will be Christmas!! So continue to Light the World this month as we come closer to that wonderful day! 

I love you all so much, and I bid you adieu!

Elder O'Hagan

Week 11: Now I'm Back Again...

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Received: 7:45 AM (MST)

Week 11: Now I'm Back Again...

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the week delay in my group email. We had some difficulty with the internet here last week.

Anywho, I learned a lot this past week about the wonders of the gospel of Jesus Christ as well as how wonderful my time as a missionary truly is!

Monday: We had some interesting things happen! We lost our phone and the contacts we had on it, so we got to do things the old fashioned way until we got a new one! Also, I got my first haircut from a Rwandan that didn't speak English. It was interesting for sure, but luckily it doesn't look bad at all!

Tuesday-Wednesday: We really got to see the importance of listening to the Spirit in lessons and being diligent in the work. I've really learned a lot from Elder Driggs as my trainer. He is a very powerful missionary and he inspires me each day to be more in tune with the Spirit and focused on what exactly the people we teach need.

Thursday: We had Zone Conference, which is always a great experience! We had some fantastic training form the leaders of our Zone and we also received great counsel from President and Sister Collings. One thing that really stood out to me was the remark they made about having super faith. Super faith is doing things that may seem impossible by relying on the Lord and the Holy Ghost. I learned from this that the more we do the unthinkable good in life, the more we will think that we are able. 

Friday: Today we had interviews with President Collings. Again, he is a truly inspired leader and I received great advice and encouragement to do the work! After this, however, our day became rather hectic. We got to do some service for one of our investigators who owns a rental shop. (Picture attached) I also learned more about how the trials and moments that we feel we have failed in life are actually moments of future victory!

Saturday: Nothing too special today. One funny thing that happened was we had an investigator jamming out to Cyndi Lauper music videos as we entered her home. It was interesting for sure.

Sunday: WE HAD A PRIMARY PROGRAM AT CHURCH! It was so awesome! And the children knew how far to hold a mic from their mouth so that they didn't sound garbled! It was a great time! We also saw an amazing miracle from being diligent in reaching our goals! We were one short on our weekly baptismal dates and we decided to not go home until we had it. As we visited a member's home, we found one of her neighbors instead that was truly prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. We aim for him to be converted and baptized December 30th! The Lord truly provides after we do all we can!

So that was this week in a nutshell! I hope that you are all doing well! Also, don't forget about the Light the World program that the Church has put together! It is a great opportunity to do service and feel love this Christmas season! 

Pictures:

Remember that hill a few emails ago? It's now covered in corn fields!

Looks like a cozy home

Some nice flowers

Ironing at Diane's rental shop

Members of our Branch made us Rwanda Flag Sweater!

I love you all!

-Elder O'Hagan

Week 10: Pictures of my view every morning...

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Received: 8:22 AM (MST)

Week 10: Pictures of my view every morning...

Due to timing and internet access, Elder O'Hagan was not able to write his weekly email update today.  He asked me to share the following. 

"I don't know if there will be a weekly email due to time and the internet, so I'll send some pictures here in the case that it doesn't happen." 

"Here are some pictures of my view every morning." 

I love you all so much, 

-Elder O'Hagan

Week 9: There and Back Again...

Sent: 5:53 PM (CAT)
Received: 8:53 AM (MST)

Week 9: There and Back Again

To be honest, the subject line is only because I'm listening to the Motab rendition of The Lord of the Rings theme. And yes, I am still a nerd and proud! 

Anyways, this week has been a wonderful one! I've truly gained a better understanding of my calling and of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He truly is the only way that we are able to overcome the evils of the world, and I know that all it takes is for us to enable ourselves to fully believe in His power and Atonement. We are actually doing the 25 Ways Over 25 Days program that the Church is putting on again this Christmas season. I would encourage you all to look into it! It's a great way to prepare for Christmas, as well as to do things that the Savior did and gain a better love and understanding of Him. 

This week's email is going to be mainly focused on highlights and a lesson that I learned since we are about to have a Family Home Evening training for our branch to become more active in doing that. 

The lesson I learned was about how there are times where we feel completely tired and unable to move forward in our tasks. However, the Lord sees it differently and encourages us to keep being diligent in His work and our lives. We can see this in the Book of Mormon. In Helaman 5:4, Nephi is weary, and so he gives his life to preach the word of God. Later in Helaman 10:4, the Lord commends Nephi for his dedication despite how he felt. It really stood out to me because more often than not, we are our own worst critics, but we can know that God truly does love us and sees us for who we are and what we do! 

As for one of the highlights this week, we went hiking today! I have now summited a hike in a foreign country! I think it was called Mt. Gali. I'll attach photos below. 

To wrap it all up, I am loving the work here! It is a great challenge and I love being able to overcome any challenges that come our way! This work is wondrous and the Church is as well! 

We have a shwanky District office now! I was talking about how the pinnacle chip was flawed, but no one seemed to listen.

I climbed a mango tree with Egide on the hike today.

Majestic View

Majestic View

Majestic View

Majestic View

Elder Kramer with a baby goat.

I hope that you are all doing well, and that you know that I love each and every one of you! 

(Also, Happy Belated Thanksgiving!)

-Elder O'Hagan

Week 8: It's Never Game Over!

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Week 8: It's Never Game Over!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of email last week! 

This week has been a good one for me! While not a whole lot went as planned, we truly got to see the Lord's hand in being diligent and faithful in the work!

Monday: We went to the Genocide Memorial again today with the new missionaries  that came this transfer. Other than that it was a regular P-day. Also, Happy Birthday to Mark and my grandmother again!

Tuesday: It was a pretty good day. Only thing that really stood out is that sometimes there will be many distractions in a lesson, and it's less about saving that one in particular, but preparing the next visit to make it a good one!

Wednesday: I had an opportunity to give another training in District Meeting! I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. For some reason teaching other missionaries is more daunting than teaching people we find everyday. Anywho, it went well, or so they tell me :)

Thursday: Today was awesome because I had some personal breakthroughs with the Book of Mormon! It truly is so spectacular how this book came to be and that we can have it in our lives. I thought a lot about President Nelson's talk this past Conference regarding the Book of Mormon, and I encourage you all to do the same! 

Friday: I don't know why, but being a missionary seemed to be surreal for me for a while, but now I'm really beginning to become comfortable with this calling and I look forward with confidence! Today we met with one of our investigators who is close to baptism named Benny Dolantine. She has a sincere desire to serve the Lord, and has even had becoming a missionary for our church as a motivation for being baptized. She shared her testimony with us that even if she is not supported by her family anymore that she is willing to do everything for Christ. This really stood out to me and reminded me of why I came out here. There are many prepared by God, and they need us to be able to be there for them to progress in knowing the truth we know.

Saturday: Two really cool things for today! 1) We got to watch Tour de Rwanda pass by our chapel as we were street contacting and having coordination meeting! It was brief, but still really cool!! 2) I won't go into too much detail since this one is somewhat personal (sorry folks), but I have found someone who I have been personally prepared to teach! All I can say is that I am really happy, and that the Lord gives us trials and experiences in life not only for our growth, but also to help others overcome those things with our support and the Lord's love! :)

Sunday: Today was really nice! We had a multiple Stakes Conference for the entire Africa South-East Area! We heard from Tad R. Callister, Bonnie L. Oscarson, Our Area President Kevin S. Hamilton of the Seventy, Carl B. Cook, and Elder Andersen of the Twelve! It was very nice to hear them talk specifically to the needs of our Area over the broadcast. They truly are all wonderful leaders and are inspired in what they teach us. 

Overall, I am loving the work that I'm doing here in Rwanda. It may not be the easiest all the time, but the trials we go through are truly for our benefit. After all, it is after the trial of our faith that the blessings come into our lives! I love you all so much, and I hope that all is well with each and every one of you as you go day to day doing your very best! I invite you all, whether you are a member of the Church or not, to see how the gospel of Jesus Christ can truly elevate your life, and also to read the Book of Mormon! It contains answers to the greatest questions you have about life, I can promise you that with all of my heart!

So, I don't have any photos this week. Here are some funny and interesting things that have happened instead!

1. My name has managed to be said in so many ways that I've lost track. The best so far has been O'Hangwei though!
2. Someone has named their newborn son after me apparently. The name is Mugisha O'Hagan.
3. Every seems to think I'm French or a Jehovah Witness. 
4. The children here are the highlight of my day! They will just come up to us and give us fist bumps with the biggest smiles on their faces! 

I'll be sure to send photos next week! Also, if you have any questions about what Rwanda is like or what specifically I'm doing, feel free to ask away and I'll answer as many as I can in next weeks email! 

It's Never Game Over!!

-Elder O'Hagan

Week 6: The End of a Transfer...

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Week 6: The End of a Transfer

Hello all! 

This weeks email will be much better than last weeks. I can promise you that! I've really grown in my faith and testimony this past week and I have a newfound appreciation for this Church and our Lord.

Monday: There isn't much that happened because it was P-day (and I usually just go grocery shopping and study for most of the day) but we did find a DVD in our flat called "Pioneers of Africa". It talks about the development of the Church in Africa and is truly inspiring! I believe that you can find it online, and I highly recommend it if you want to get a better feel of what I am experiencing here in Africa.

Tuesday: HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN! Even though they don't celebrate it here I still dressed up! ... as a missionary! Anyways, today was really awesome because I had a successful phone call in Kinyarwanda!! This language is not easy, but it is really cool.

Wednesday: We had Zone Conference with Elder Palmer of the Seventy! It was a truly amazing experience that I'll never forget. It's not often that you get to spend a day learning from (and eating lunch with) a general authority. One interesting thing that happened was that we had three generations of missionaries from one family in the meeting. Elder and Sister Wright (Rwanda Senior Couple), their daughter and son-in-law (President and Sister Collings), and their RM son (Conner Collings). It was really nice to see how missionary work becomes multi-generational and I hope to see that happen in the future in my life!

Thursday: Today I really studied out what faith is and I gained a stronger testimony on how through faith the Lord provides miracles. One of these came through a blessing I was able to give one of our investigators to help her diligently pray to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I won't go into detail, but it truly was by the Spirit that this took place. The second thing that happened miraculously was that we taught a full lesson to a family where each person speaks a different language. They have French, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda! It was interesting for sure!

Friday: Nothing really profound or special, aside from the fact that Hymns are powerful!

Saturday: This was the craziest day of my mission so far! We (mainly Elder Driggs) had planned a Branch activity called Cultural Game Night (CGN). In it there were four countries represented (Kenya, South Africa, Finland, and America) in games, food, and how the gospel got there. It went way better than planned! We had attendance of 120 people! 20% of which were investigators or non-members! This is awesome considering we normally have sacrament attendance of 60-80. However, this meant that we were running all over the place to run everything, and that I was in the kitchen pumping out food with the missionaries and some of the members. 

We also had a powerful baptism immediately after for Mucyo Joseline who is also Redempta's daughter! It was amazing to see the love and bond they had as a family during the ordinance and I know that they will truly be powerful members of this Church!

As for this transfer, it has truly changed me as a person. While I am still the same in many ways, I've gained a better understanding and testimony of this Church, The Book of Mormon, and that Jesus Christ knows each of us and loves us fervently. I hope that with this next transfer I will be able to become a better teacher of the gospel as I study and apply His teachings. 

I am forever grateful for the love and support that you all have for me and other missionaries. I can feel it each day and I know that it truly helps further the work! I hope that you all continue to brighten the lives of others, and that you can all know that the Lord loves and cares about you, and that I do too!

Event Turnout

Mucyo Joseline Baptism

The average view in Rwanda this time of year

Never Give Up! Never Surrender! 

- Elder O'Hagan

Week 5: Big Spiritual Events in little Email (get the movie reference?)...

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Week 5: Big Spiritual Events in little Email (get the movie reference?)

Hello Everyone! 

This weeks email will be short due to time, but I wanted to share some things that happened this week that stood out to me!

The Lord provides ways for us to be prepared to meet others as long as we ourselves prepare to meet the Lord. This can be done as we strive to be unified with all of our loved ones and with those we work with each day! Elder Driggs and I have really seen the blessings that come from this as we have worked together to strengthen the faith of our investigators. 

Sorry again for keeping this short, we have a zone meeting in preparation for Elder Palmer coming for a mission tour. I promise that next week will have more!

Haircut from Elder Driggs

Scenic Tree

Scenic View

I love you all very much!

Don't lose hope and faith and Trust in the Lord!!

-Elder O'Hagan

Week 4: Becoming Rwandan, Exercising Faith, and so much more...

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Week 4: Becoming Rwandan, Exercising Faith, and so much more...

Hello everyone! I hope that life is treating you all very well! Life here in Kigali is starting to become second nature as I am now starting to speak the language a little bit and now officially have a worker's ID! It's pretty neat. Also, I'm in a random internet cafe, so there won't be any pictures sadly this week. 

Monday: Normally I don't add P-Day in my weekly email, but this one really stood out to me. This is because I went to the Rwandan Genocide Memorial with my District. I do not have words to describe the pain and sorrow that I felt for these people as I saw the entire event unfold before me. I now understand how Moroni and many other Book of Mormon prophets felt as they wrote about the wickedness and bloodshed on the Lamanites. However, I have also never felt so much love. To see the unity and progress that this country has made in response to this catastrophe is remarkable, and I have a newfound respect for everyone I meet.

Kigali Genocide Memorial Website: http://www.kgm.rw/

Rwanda: How the genocide happened: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13431486

Tuesday: Nothing too exciting happened today aside from preaching the Gospel of Christ!!!

Wednesday: We had interviews! President Collings is one of the most inspired men that I have ever met!  He and I were able to talk about how my mission is going and where I want it to go and I loved it. Some key things that I learned from this experience is that Preach my Gospel and personal studies are key to be progressing efficiency as a missionary! Later on in the day Elder Driggs and I went to teach a recent convert, Redempta, about Temples and Family-History work. I have never seen someone get so excited about these things, and it brought us all joy and happiness for her to know that she can be eternally sealed to her husband that she lost in the genocide. It was a very powerful and uplifting moment.

Thursday: I'm not going to lie. Today was not the best day for me, but it was still a good one because I used it as a learning opportunity. Whenever we have days where we feel that we didn't meet a requirement fully or even at all, we can have hope in knowing that the Lord will provide a way for us to quickly turn around and be able to do more than we thought we could. He often does this through the small moments of joy that we have. So never take the good small things in life for granted, they might just be what keeps you going!

Friday: Today we got to do the Lord's errand and I learned even more that hope is key!! In addition to this Elder Driggs and I are really working well together and I learn much from him each and every moment of the day. He is a powerful missionary.

Saturday: In today's training I learned a lot about the importance of being a member of the Church and it's organization. Rwanda doesn't have the church as fully developed as it is in Utah. As a matter of fact it's only 7 years old here. So being able to establish the Church here is equally important as teaching investigators is. I encourage you all to truly do all you can to learn about how the Church is organized and even to do all you can in whatever calling you have if you are a member. (Especially if it means feeding the missionaries ;)

Sunday: Today I really got to connect with the members of the branch here and we even have a Branch Cultural Game night planned to unite the branch and invite non-members to see who we are. I'll talk more about that in the coming weeks when it happens November 4th. The other thing from today is that I didn't realize how much being a stage tech would help me on my mission. We were having trouble with microphones, much like a theatre department I know ;), and so I was able to solve the issue and we were able to have one working mic instead of two because the cord was fried. 

Anywho, I am very happy to be out here serving the Lord full time! It has helped me gain a better testimony of the church and it's origins. I also know that it has been making me a better person, and one that God would want me to become. I love you all very much and I am grateful for your support! Never give up on prayer or scripture reading, and never surrender to any doubts or fears that you may face each day. You are enough! And you can become more through those spiritual essentials of faith and study!

Much love from the Heart of Africa!

-Elder O'Hagan

Week 3: "And the rain rain rain came down down down"...

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Week 3: "And the rain rain rain came down down down"...

This week has been yet another great one! That being said, it has had its trials, but that's just life!

Tuesday: As the subject line suggests, it rained hard!! On the upside though, we got to develop a stronger bond with the members here in Kigali 3. 

Wednesday: First things first, Elder [Sam] Martinez is now a part of this wonderful work and I am beyond excited for him! I know that he will do very well in the field. As for me, it rained again. However, I got a stronger testimony of the Spirit and it's ability to help us be more efficient teachers and disciples of Christ. I urge you all to seek this guidance whenever you are in need, because it truly brings peace to our souls.

Thursday: We went digging again!! And I forgot sunscreen for my shins!! So my legs looked like tomatoes all for the rest of the week! The moral of the story: don't underestimate the sun at the equator my friends, it's not wise! What was wise, however, was to see the reality of missionary work for what it is and can be. Often times, expectations supersede reality, and we might feel inadequate or that we aren't meeting the bar just quite. From my experience so far, I can say that we must realize that life often doesn't goes as planned, but we can use that plan to spring back from discouragement and move forward to success.

Friday: It was Friday the 13th in October, so that's pretty neat. We also had this bird that continued to attack our flat (apartment) all morning as we got ready. It was really weird. We had some great spiritual lessons this day and we were feeling pretty good, until it rained incredibly hard. Normally we would just trek right on through it without any comment, but this time we decided to sing hymns together as we walked. As we did so, the rain actually went down! So that was nice, until I realized that I was singing very loudly and a lot of people looked at me like I am a crazy Mazungu. That means "white man" by the way.  

Saturday: Today was interesting. It rained a lot, and Elder Driggs had the flu this time. With this I had the opportunity later on in the day to give him a priesthood blessing to help him do the Lord's work, and he is now feeling much better! There was also a member of the branch presidency who has Malaria that I gave a blessing to. Hopefully he is getting better soon. The power of the Priesthood is truly a wonderful thing, and I am so glad that I can take part in its power to help others! Also, The Plan of Salvation is great! I won't go into too much detail, but all I can say is read 2 Nephi 9 and the first three chapters of Jesus the Christ and you'll see what I mean.

Sunday: Today we had another baptism! Her name is Sister Redempta and she is one of the funniest ladies that I've met out here! We finally had normal church services instead of Conference, so we got to know the members better and even bore our testimonies for testimony meeting. There was one man that was visiting for the first time from a different church who decided to bare his testimony as well. He got up and started yelling "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!" multiple times while the members were confused with how to respond. He thought that we were the weird ones and asked if he could get an Amen, to which the branch awkwardly said amen back. It was one of the funniest things I've seen out here! And now we are going to teach him, so that'll be fun! 

To wrap this all up, I love the work out here! It's truly where I need to be and what I need to be doing. Without this opportunity and the spiritual growth that I'm developing out here, I'm not sure where I'd be or what I'd do. I know that as you all pray for strength and search the Book of Mormon for answers to anything that ails you, that you will truly receive those things.

Elder Driggs, Brother Predonce, Elder O'Hagan

View from our Service Project Area

View from our Service Project Area

View from our Service Project Area

I love you all very much!

-Elder O'Hagan

Week 2: Serving Boldly Where Others Have Served Before...

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Week 2: Serving Boldly Where Others Have Served Before...

This week has been a great one to be sure​! ​

But as I am doing many things all the time, I forgot my day-by-day paper to help me with this email. So here are some highlights​!​ (Woo hop)

Tuesday: I got the flu from something I ate on P-Day and lost my voice. Which is problematic when your one job is to testify and preach the gospel! However, whenever I needed to bare my testimony in a lesson (since that's basically all I could do) my voice would return to bare that testimony and would disappear immediately afterwards. This showed to me the true importance that Christ has in our lives, and that He will provide when we make Him the center of our lives. I also received a blessing from my companion, Elder Driggs, that helped my voice to be mostly restored the next day to further the work.

My Companion, Elder Driggs

Thursday: We did a service project today! We hiked 5km to a Sister's plot to plant beans, and let me tell you, that is not an easy task! They do it by putting the seeds in their mouth and spitting them out as they dig the holes for them like they are sunflower seeds! It was so much fun though, and we got to teach a lesson afterwards, so it was fantastic!

Friday: Today was a bit difficult because we went on splits for most of it to cover baptismal interviews for the Sister missionaries. Brother Predonce and I went to visit our planned investigators for the day, and they were all asleep or not home!! Now, before I continue, Predonce is hands down one of my favorite people here in Kigali 3! So with that, we went finding and shared spiritual thoughts with recent converts after we said a prayer for guidance at the Chapel. We also found many new investigators along the way, and I pray that they will be receptive to the Lord's gospel.

Random note: Our chapel is a re-purposed apartment complex. So it's pretty cool.

Sunday: We got to watch Conference again because we didn't finish it last week!!! So that was a great spiritual morale booster! It also gave me the opportunity to really ponder the talks given in the Sunday afternoon Session. In addition to this we also had 4 new members confirmed today into our Branch! Being a part of that Priesthood circle is truly amazing, and it reminded me of how truly blessed we are to be a part of this great church! 

To wrap that all up, we also had dinner at the Branch President's home. President Charles is one of the sweetest and most spiritual men I have ever met! He has been a member of the church here in Rwanda for 7-8 years now and every member of his family is in the church. There should be a picture of Elder Driggs and I with them attached. 

Elder Driggs & Elder O'Hagan with President Charles and his family

Elder Driggs, Brother Hertier, Elder O'Hagan

As for you all back home. I hope that you all are doing well and I love each and every one of you!

May the Lord be with you always,
Elder O'Hagan