Week 52

Hello everyone! 

I did not imagine that this time in my mission would come up so fast, yet here we are! It has been a privilege serving here for this time and I look forward to the time I have left. The people of Rwanda and Uganda are wonderful and each day I am blessed to get to know them and to be able to share the gift of the gospel that has changed me so much with them. 

This past week was busy! We had quite a few people to teach, and we also had Mission Tour. We were visited by Elder Joni L. Koch, a General Authority Seventy. His message to us really opened my eyes to help me see how I can be a better missionary/person as well as teach the gospel in a way that will bring a deeper change of heart into peoples' lives, including my own. Below is a photo of all the missionaries in Kampala, Gulu, and Masaka (good luck finding me.)

As for blessings we saw in our work this week, they are two seemingly small things that I personally seek for every day that I am here. The first has a story attached to it. There is one person that we received as a referral from elders in Minnesota named Godfrey. He already had a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the Restoration before we had even met with him! He accepted a date to work towards for baptism and we had a follow-up appointment planned. Unfortunately some things with his job got in the way and we awaited the next chance that we could get to meet with him. When the time came, we shared about God's plan for us and he was so happy to learn about the Spirit world and was very surprised that the gospel is being taught there (1 Peter 3:18,4:6) It was during this lesson that we also learned that his wife had been battling with cancer for three years and was in bad condition at that time. He told us that the message that we share really gave him comfort amid the stress of his demanding job as a manager of quite a few markets in Uganda and taking care of his wife. He looked forward to our next visit and we did too. Then a month and a half passed as we called and tried to set programs with him and his family. This last Friday, we had some of our appointments fall through, so I started making calls to see who we could visit. I felt inclined to give him a call. When he picked the call I greeted him as usual and asked how he and his family were doing. After a brief pause he said that they were not fine, and that his wife had died just four days before. This hit me hard. He always talked about her and how great she was and how they always read the Book of Mormon together. Without delay Elder Palmer and I went to comfort him and his family with prayers and a brief message. We chose to talk about the Temple Sealing, and that he can one day be sealed to his wife and children forever, and they would never be apart. At the end of our visit, he told us that the things we have shared with him are the reason why he invited us back, and that he wants us to keep coming to strengthen his family. 

This is what I love about what I do. It's not me or my companion that brought us back, but the message that we share. (Alma 26:12) When the Lord and His ultimate sacrifice are at the center of focus in a lesson and throughout our visits with people, I could not be happier. I have changed more than I could have possibly imagined within this passed year. I'm still the goofy me that I am, but I have seen what really matters, and the Lord has provided me so many things for me to grow. What makes this better, is that I am not the only one who has gone through this! Every missionary and disciple of Christ does. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to hear what we proclaim, I urge you to at least listen to the missionaries or your friends who are members of the Church. I can promise you that it will bring something great into your life. I can tell you that because that is the reason why I am still out here. 

The other blessing we received was the opportunity to push a cargo truck up a hill. The vehicle had blown something and was leaking in the middle of the road during rush hour traffic. So Elder Palmer and I ran over and offered to help push. On our own we could not get it to budge, but soon other onlookers joined us. As Elder Palmer and I talked about it afterward we noticed that all it takes to see the good in people is for one person to do good, and that the rest will follow. However, the trick is for that one to manifest themselves among the crowd. 

Well, that is all for this week! I sure am grateful for your love and support! I love you all and I hope, as always, that you have a great week! I even challenge you to make it a supercalifragilisticexpialadocious week. I don't know how it will happen, but I am sure you will find a way :). 

-Elder O'Hagan