Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Week 25 - Happy Christmas!

Hello All!

    Well I hope you are all excited for this wonderful Wednesday!  It's kind of a big deal.  I gotta say, it's a little different experiencing Christmas as a missionary, but that's ok!  I'm so grateful for this opportunity to invite others to come unto Christ, especially at this incredible time of year.  I just hope that I do the best I can and find those people whom God has prepared for me to teach, because I know that our Father in Heaven is preparing His children to accept the Gospel, and He gives all of us opportunities to share it; to give the gift of His love.
    Christmas is sometimes a slow time for missionary work, but also a great one!  We haven't been able to meet with a lot of people just because of the busyness of this time of year, but we were still able to see some incredible miracles and the Lord's hand in this great work.
    Sadly, Ben and Beth are still out of town for probably a couple more days.  They are back east to be with family after the tragedy in they all went through, and it's been pretty rough on them.  Ben especially comes from a really hard background, and being with his family kind of reminds him of his past, which is not the best thing.  But, they're still doing well, we think, and we can't wait to see them again!  
    We also had a Christmas miracle this week in the form of Rob.  Rob is the fiancée of a less-active member of our ward.  The two of them were moving several weeks ago, and we were able to help them out with that.  Rob's a great guy with a pretty strong Catholic background, and we've also been able to stop by a couple of times since then and built a good relationship with them.  Anyway, we stopped by them on Saturday to invite them to the Christmas sacrament meeting.  We were having a nice chat with them, when Rob's fiancée brought up that Rob had wanted to ask us something.  He then asked us how he could learn more about the church.  It was pretty cool. (Understatement.)  So, we arranged to come back the next night to teach him.  They were there at sacrament meeting on Sunday morning, and he really enjoyed it, and the lesson went very well!  He was very receptive, and he accepted the invitation to read and pray about the Book of Mormon.  He even offered the closing prayer, which was beautiful.  We have another lesson with him set up for Boxing Day- that's December 26th for you 'muricans- and we can't wait to see how he's progressing!
    I just want to share quickly my testimony of Jesus Christ as we prepare for Wednesday: In John it tells us, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)  What an incredible gift!  I know that Jesus Christ came to this earth because He, and our Father in Heaven, love us more than we could possibly imagine.  I know that He truly did live a perfect life as an example to us, and that following that example will bring us more happiness than we could find anywhere else.  I know that He truly did take upon Himself every sin, every sadness, every pain that each and every person has ever, or will ever experience.  I know that He is the only way back to our Heavenly Father, and I am so grateful for that.  I love Him, and I know that He loves me.
    Well, my wonderful friends and family, have a Happy Christmas!  Always remember what this time of year is for, and be sure to express your gratitude for the incredible gifts your Father in Heaven has given you, because He has given us so many incredible gifts!  Have a great week!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Elder Hafen

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