One More Time...

"Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time..." - Jacob 5:71

Hey everybody! The time is coming soon to call it a wrap and to start packing up. This past month has been a wild one as I have considered that my mission is ending. I have had days where I feel it and I am ready to move forward in life. I have had others, however, where I struggle to say goodbye. I am truly grateful to have come to Rwanda and Uganda and to have gotten to know the people and the cultures I found in both places. Granted, it did take a lot of getting used to (I still am getting used to some things here), but in the end I have come to love the people whom I have served.

Before I continue, here are some fun facts about my mission that I have whipped up as I have reflected on these past two years:

• 1- I have served in 5 areas with 11 companions. Each companionship lasted about one or two transfers.
• 2- I have learned the basic greetings and some other words in 10 languages: French, Arabic, Luganda, Lusoga, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Pigeon English, E.S.L (European Sign Language), T'wi, and Swahili.
• 3- 18 months of my mission were spent walking, and 6 I had a truck.
• 4- I learned how to drive stick for the first time in my life and how to drive on the left side of the road at the same time. 
• 5- At the end of 2018 I made a comment in my journal that 2019 would be a year of testing my faith and building a "firmer foundation". Throughout this year I was hit by one vehicle, bed-ridden 6-7 times by sickness, and sent to the hospital once at midnight. Oh how I jinxed myself on that 🙂
• 6- Last one! My name has been said in 100s of different ways including, but not limited to: O-hi-gen, Aogan, Hogan, Hagan, O, O'Hangwey, and O-agan.

Each day I have learned from the challenges placed in our path in doing the work and I have enjoyed feeling the Spirit of the Lord guide the companionships I have been in to overcome each individual trial. I know without a doubt in my heart that this work is divine. I know this from my experience, all of it. I know that there is a God in Heaven, and that He is our Father. He loves us and knows us. He reaches out to us more than we can ever fully comprehend. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He is the Son of God. He lived a life for us to pattern as He did all that the Father asked; He invites us to do the same each day, and He has given us the means to overcome our weaknesses and the whirlwinds of the world through His Infinite Atonement. I know that this is indeed the only true Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth, and that the Prophet Joseph Smith was indeed called of God and inspired of Him to reveal lost gospel truths. One source for this knowledge is the Book of Mormon, a book that I have come to love as I have read it again and again. It testifies of Christ and gives us a greater hope in Christ and His redemption. Alongside the Holy Bible, it puts down the 1,000s of false beliefs in the world as both books together provide a more focused view on what will bring us true consolation and joy. As a result of each of these things I have come to know I also know that each of us is good enough for the blessings of a loving God to be poured into our lives. You do not have to be perfect right now to receive the blessings He has in store for you, but you have got to be believing and willing to give Him a shot. He is ever there for us, and again, He is real!

I cannot say that this knowledge has come from my own thinking alone. There is no possible way for me to have known these things I do know by my own mind. I have felt it, read it, and proven the truthfulness of each of these things day after day for the past two years. It has only been through my personal experiences and the influence of the Holy Ghost that I have come to know that these things are true. Now, my knowledge of these things is still growing, and I have so many questions that I am still praying for answers to, but I have no doubts about any of it. My mission has been the greatest gift ever given to me by God in my life, seconded only by my ability to even be alive to experience such a time. I am grateful to each of you who have supported me in this. I love you and hope that you may feel such support from those around during the various phases of your lives.

I do not know completely what lies ahead in life. I am excited to be reunited with each of you in a week or so, and to continue serving the Lord in whatever way He sees fit.

Best wishes to you all, and may this next week be a great one for each of you.

Much love,
Elder O'Hagan