Transfer 7:2 Catching Up and Keep'n On

Hello Everyone!

I want to start off with an apology for the lack of email these past two weeks! The first week I had little time and last week the internet worked for 5 minutes. 

Nevertheless, I hope that you are all having a great week and that your lives are able to feel joy from this email and through the grace of our Savior. 

This past week has been crazy. We had interviews, exchanges, 6 baptism interviews to conduct, and a surprise baptism at our chapel!

First, let me introduce the news of what has happened this transfer. Elder Tryon and I are still companions, and we are also training the same missionary, Elder Wailagala (Wah-ee-lah-ga-lah, it took me a while). He is from Mbale in Eastern Uganda and he will be with us until his visa to serve in South Africa goes through! He is a remarkable person, and I just wish that you could hear his testimony of the gospel and the Book of Mormon! Truly amazing! In addition to that, I am also the District Leader for two areas now; Kabowa and Makindye, which are about 45 minutes apart. The Elders there are also in a tri-panionship and that made exchanges very interesting. 

During the exchange I had the privilege of interviewing 6 people that the Elders in Kabowa are teaching for baptism. Each person was ready to keep the covenant of baptism in their lives, but the one that stood out most to me was an elderly woman called Mama Sarah. She was going to be baptized along with her two daughters and two of her grandchildren, who I might add are wonderful people. Mama Sarah bore her testimony to me at the conclusion of the interview, and I was not only able see how what she had been taught had changed her outlook on life, but also how it had united her with her daughters in love and care for one another. I have no doubt in my mind that they will continue to share the gospel together as they grow in their learning and understanding of our Father in Heaven's plan for us and that they will bless the lives of those in their family for generations to come. 

The last thing for this week that was remarkable to me was also one of the most frustrating to me at first. I want you to imagine with me a good nights rest followed by a morning where there is enough food in the fridge this time to make a decent breakfast. You've ironed your clothes near perfect and you feel good about it. In the hours that follow you have a satisfying study of the scriptures and an effective planning session where you have made great plans to visit people you want to see. You then leave the home to go to lunch and start the days activities. You eat another decent meal of beans and chapati and watermelon, when you pick up the phone and see that you first appointment has fallen through. You're not too worried because you have a back up plan to visit a member not too far away and you plan to help them in their missionary efforts. And then, two hours roles past and you have to rush to the next place to meet with others you have planned. As you power walk down the road you receive a phone call asking you if you baptism font can be filled in an hour or so for a baptism from another area in the mission. You notice that you just so happen to be walking near the chapel, and so you offer your help and get to work. Then the next thing you know, your plans for the rest of the afternoon are gone! This is what happened to us this past Friday, and like I mentioned earlier, I was a bit peeved in the beginning. However, as we continued to help these Elders prepare the font and the baptism service, I realized that we had been exactly where we needed to be when we needed to be there. 

I feel that this is something many people face in life. We feel that everything will be great when our goals and plans going as we have expected them to. We will feel accomplished and we hope to even have our success seen by others so that our accomplishments shall be even greater! However, true success always comes when we make goals that can help us to serve others and bring peace into their lives. We can feel content in life as we set goals to understand who we truly are as Sons and Daughters of God, and that we have divine potential to become more than we feel we can be. Each person can truly come to know Jesus Christ and God as well as we know the parents that have raised us and cared for us. I can promise you with all of my heart that this relationship with them and knowledge of them can come to anyone who diligently seeks in faith through prayer. (James 1:5) As we do so, we can not only bless multitudes, but we can see true peace and happiness come into our life as our ability to be strengthened comes through strengthening others. If we had not been where we needed to be, two people would have had to wait for the eternal joy found in the waters of baptism. I know that this is true, and I testify that the Lord often blesses us through his disciples, our friends and family. 

I love each of you greatly, and I hope to hear from you soon! 

-Elder O'Hagan