Week 39 - I'm Dreaming of a Green April Fools'‏

Hello All!

    It's been an interesting week!  First off, I'm glad to hear that things are going well for all of my wonderful family and friends.  I will say I'm jealous of the weather in beautiful, sunny St. George.  Up here in Calgary, it's still rather cold...and white.  Hopefully that will start to go away this week, but we will see.  I'm sure you're all wondering, so I'll let you know where I am!  I've been transferred into the Calgary South Stake, and am serving in the Sundance and McKenzie wards.  My new companion is Elder Dominic Bensing.  He is from Western Germany, and just finished being trained in Magrath, so we whitewashed into this area.  It's been an adventure!

    The last couple of days in 12th Ward was pretty hard.  I'd gotten very comfortable in that ward, and I will miss it, but I know I'm where I'm supposed to be now.  We went on splits Tuesday night, and I went with one of our bishopric members to see Rob.  It was a bit of an emotional lesson, not surprisingly, but it was awesome.  He said a beautiful prayer to close it.  I am so grateful for that man, and the opportunity I've had to know him, and I can't wait for the day he's baptized.  If I'm able to be there for it, I will really count myself lucky.  We said some more goodbyes that night and the next morning, and then it was off to transfer station on Wednesday about noon.  It was tough to say goodbye to my district and zone as well.  We'd become really close, but one of the Elders from my last district is here in the zone, so that's great.

    We then drove up to transfer station in Calgary and found out our new companions and areas.  Elder Bensing and I then headed to our area.  We've basically spent the last few days trying to figure out what's been going on here.  We've met a few great people in our wards, and I am really excited to be here!

    We have a couple of investigators here who we haven't had the chance to meet with yet, so I can't really update you too much on them yet, but I will hopefully be able to tell you some more about them next week.

    We did, however start teaching a new investigator yesterday.  His name is Tethloch, and he's the 9 year-old son of a recent convert in one of our wards.  His dad was baptized just over a year ago, and is from South Sudan.  They are a really awesome, humble family, and I can't wait to get to know them more.  Sadly, the reason Tethloch isn't baptized already is because his mom won't give him permission to be, but we're hoping her heart will be softened.

    Well, that's been our week.  I wish I could tell you more, but I can tell you that I am so grateful to be here, and I look forward to the growth that I know I'm going to experience here.  We've been setting goals as a zone and I've been thinking quite a lot about what goals I could set for myself, and I've come to appreciate more how important goals, and especially inspired goals, are.  In Preach My Gospel, there is a section on setting goals, and there's a quote from Elder Ballard that really got me thinking about goals and how important they are to our progression. He said, "I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.”  We all have so much potential, and if we're going to reach it, we need to set goals, work hard, and utilize the Atonement in our lives.  I know that our Heavenly Father wants so much for us, and I hope I'll be able to become who I'm meant to be here.  Right now, I just have to try to listen as He teaches me who that is.

    Thank you all so much for your support.  These last few days have been crazy and overwhelming, and I am so grateful to know I have people who love and care for me, and I want you to know that you are in my prayers.  Have a wonderful week!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hafen

Week 38 - Departure

Hello All!

    Well it sounds like things are just swell in ol' St. George!  Congrats to all of my wonderful friends who continue to get mission calls.  You're all going to be wonderful ambassadors of the Lord, and I can't wait to hear about your successes.  Things here are just hunky-dory as ever, but sadly, I won't be in the Lethbridge West 12th Ward much longer; tomorrow is transfer day, and I received a transfer notice today letting me know that I'm going up to Calgary.  I don't know where, since there are 7 zones in Calgary, but we'll see tomorrow.  Along with my transfer, I also got a District Leader call.  Needless to say, I had a bit of a restless night last night.  I'm grateful to know, though, that the Lord helps those He calls to serve, and I'm sure He'll be giving me plenty of that help in the coming weeks.

    The past week has been great, though we did have to stay in a couple of days due to Elder Law not feeling well.

    I am sad to be leaving the 12th Ward, but things are going well here, and they'll be in the capable hands of Elder Law, so I'm not too worried. 

    Rob is Rob.  I'll be going to teach him tonight on splits, and though I'm sad not to be here for his baptism, I'm so grateful for the blessing it has been to know him.

    We also had a great lesson with Darren on Wednesday, where we talked a lot about his family and his considering baptism.  He's been going to church and meeting sporadically with the missionaries for about 12 years now, and he said he considers joining quite a lot, probably more than anyone thinks. but he just doesn't feel ready yet, for whatever reason.  I've been thinking a lot about that this past week, because I know how much of a blessing for him and his family if he did decide to be baptized, but it happens.  All I can say about situations like his is, don't give up.  Sometimes, hearts need a while to be softened, but our Father in Heaven doesn't give up on any of
his children, no matter how stubborn we are sometimes.  Why should we?

    Darcy is also doing really well.  We weren't able to meet with him and his family on Sunday, but we've seen him a couple of times at church and at a Family Movie Night we put on last night.  As of Sunday, he'd read through about half of 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon.  His mom also had the opportunity to share with him her favorite chapters at the end of 2 Nephi.  It's been so wonderful to see the progress of Darcy and his mother's family over the past weeks.

    Still no word on Sam, Ben, and Beth.  It's been hard to know what to do to help them over the past weeks, but I know the ward will continue to do all they can to bring them back.

    I was reading in Romans this morning, and I came across a fantastic scripture.  Paul is talking about becoming joint-heirs with Christ, and all we have to do to achieve that is suffer with him.  I took that to mean endure to the end.  Then he says, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."(Romans 8:18)  Enduring is hard.  Change, heartache, disappointment, discouragement, it all takes its toll.  But, compared to the glory that awaits us, it's nothing.  All we have to do is endure the puny trials of our mortal lives, and we will receive glory, honor, joy, and peace beyond measure!  How comforting is that?  When we have an eternal perspective, all of our trials become easier to bear, and that's definitely something I know I need at times.

    Well, wonderful people.  I love you all!  I'm realizing how incredibly blessed I am to have the people in my life that I do, and I'm determined to try to bless your lives as much as you've blessed mine.  It'll probably be impossible, but I'm gonna try! :)  Have a great week!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hafen

Week 37 - Chlorine

Hello All!

    I hope you're all doing well this beautiful morning!  It sounds like everything is going well, and I'm so grateful that my family and friends have been so abundantly blessed.

    Things here are just great!  This week we had a fun time with our water supply here.  You see, since the temperature rose so drastically, the snow is all melting up in the Rockies, and the water purification systems can't keep up with all of the run-off.  To compensate, they dumped a whole bunch of chlorine in to purify it.  If you are familiar with my skin, you probably know that I don't like chlorine, at all.  But it's okay!  It's pretty much gone now, and the warmer weather is more than worth it.

    On the much more important side, we had a wonderful visit with Elder Nelson this past Saturday.  He spoke with some of the other brethren, including Elder Maynes of the Presidency of the Seventy, and President and Sister Nicholas also spoke.  It was really wonderful and taught me a lot about what I need to do to be the missionary I am supposed to be.  Mostly, I just need to open my mouth and show my love for the gospel and for all of my brothers and sisters.  I really think that's what's held me and a lot of us back from bringing more people unto Christ.  We're afraid.  But the more we face our fears and conquer them with Christ's help, the more our Father in Heaven will bless us to meet those whom He has prepared.

    Our investigators are doing just swell!  

    Rob is great.  He came on splits with us this past week, and loved it.  We're still just waiting on his divorce to come through.

    We had a great lesson with Darren and his family this past week, and talked about him quite a bit when we were correlating with our ward leaders on Sunday.  We're hoping to meet with him on Wednesday and show our love for him and our desire for him to receive the blessings of the gospel.  Maybe this is finally his time!

    We also had a lesson with Darcy yesterday, which was great!  I was on an exchange with Elder Lusk, the District Leader's companion, because the District Leader, Elder Bluth, and Elder Law weren't feeling well, so we stuck them in our apartment and did some missionary work.  We learned a little more about Darcy; his family in Ontario went less-active when he was about 4 years-old, but he still has quite a bit of knowledge about the church.  He's really looking to "explore his spiritual side" at the moment, and he's very open to what he's learned so far.  He also has a brother, who's another adoptive son of their mother who lives in our ward, who grew up in Calgary and just returned from his mission.  Anyway, we taught him The Restoration, and it went really well.  I'd say the Spirit was definitely helping us, and Darcy accepted the invitation to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, as well as the invitation to be baptized when he gains a testimony!  We also had the YSA missionaries in the lesson to see if Darcy was interested in going to the YSA ward, but he wants to stay in the family ward with his mother's family for now.  So, we still get to teach him and help him towards baptism.  It would have been great either way, but I'm happy we get to be a part of it, especially to see how this can help his mother and her fiancée and children, because they are less-active at the moment, but making great progress!  He's a solid kid, and I can't wait to see his progress!

    I don't have too much time left to email today, but I just wanted to share a scripture that I found this morning as I was studying charity.  It's in Colossians 3:14,"And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."  That's something I've really been trying to do lately.  I know that no matter what happens to us, charity can keep us close to our Savior and always doing what He would have us do, especially towards our fellow men.  That's what should motivate our actions.  It's what motivates our Father in Heaven's, and it will bring us such great peace in all we do.  I know that is true.

    Good luck with everything you're all up to!  Remember that whatever happens, your Heavenly Father loves you so much.  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hafen

Week 36 - Spring is Just Around the Corner.....We Hope!

Hello All!

    How are all of you wonderful people?  It sounds like things are just swell!  Congratulations right off the bat to all of my friends getting their mission calls and such this week.  This is the greatest work ever, and I can't wait for you all to be out here!  (You getting your calls also makes me feel like I've been out here a long time. ;) )  I hear the weather in good ol' St. George is just gorgeous, and it is pretty awesome up here, too!  A Chinook blew in a couple of days ago; the snow is pretty much all melted, the temperature has shot up, and I'm not even wearing thermals under my pants today!  Gotta love Canada, eh?

    Things here are great, as usual.  We got some exciting news today from President Nicholas: Elder Nelson is coming to speak to us this week!  It's kind of short notice, but we are so lucky to have the opportunity to hear from two apostles in less than six months.  I can't wait to be able to share what the Spirit teaches me next week!

    There's not too much to update you on since last week.

    Rob continues to be awesome as ever.  His divorce is still pending, but hopefully it will be finished soon.  He prayed in a lesson we had with him, and expressed his desire to be baptized to his Heavenly Father.  It was really touching to see how willing and anxious he is to follow the Savior's example and become a part of His church.  In fact, I think he'll actually be coming out with us on splits this week, which he seemed to be really excited about!

    Ben, Beth, and Sam are doing well.  We ran into Ben on Saturday night as we were walking down his street, and got an idea of what's going on, since we haven't had the chance to get over there again.  I guess some things are starting to slow down a bit more in their lives, but others are just picking up.  Ben bore his testimony to us, practically, and told us they were going to be at church the next day... which they weren't.  It's been sad to see them struggle without the support and blessings of being fully active in the gospel, but we'll keep trying and hope to see some good progress happen soon.

    We're also planning on meeting with the part member family I've mentioned before this week.  She's in the primary presidency, and he's not a member, but has been coming to church for years.  His name is Darren, and he's a really awesome guy!  He's been taught by the missionaries before... a lot, and there are some things that are holding him back from joining the church.  Hopefully, we'll be able to discover what those are a little more and help him in seeing how blessed he and his family will be when he embraces the gospel in its fullness. 

    This week, I've really been learning a lot about faith.  In Preach My Gospel, there is a section on Christlike Attributes, and I try to work on one every two weeks or so, and faith has been the one this week.  As I was thinking about it this morning, I thought about the people who accuse those of us who follow Christ as being sheep.  In a sense, they're exactly right!  He is the Good Shepherd, and we are His fold.  As the Shepherd, He knows where He's taking us, and it's much better than anywhere we could imagine.  All we have to do is trust Him; when the path gets rough, when we get discouraged, when it seems like nothing is going as it should, the best thing we can do is continue to follow him, and He will see us through to the green pasture where we can be with Him and those we love forever.

    Well, you're all wonderful people, and I hope you remember that!  Good luck with all that you do.  Build up the Kingdom wherever you are.  Be good! Have fun!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hafen

Week 35 - The Cold One

Hello All!

    I hope you've all had a wonderful week and are enjoying all of your crazy successful endeavors!  I hear everyone is just great.  

Congratulations to my wonderful friend, Michael "Freshman" Graf this week especially.  He's going to be the best missionary Moscow has ever seen. 

    Things here are going just swell!  It has been somewhat cold (aka very cold), which has made it a little tough to be able to go out and do stuff.  In fact, on Saturday, we were stuck inside for much of the day.  (Did I every tell you all we're sharing a car now?  I don't think I did....whoops!  My bad.)  Anyway, we didn't have appointments, and we have to be careful on using too many kilometers on our car, so we couldn't really do much.  But that's ok!  Days like that really help me get motivated to go out and do some work!  I'm really looking forward to this week, for that reason.  We've made some pretty high goals as a companionship, and I can't wait to see what the Lord does as we go out and try our best to make it happen!

    The past week has been good, but it has been a little tough to get in with people.  We had a few cancellations, but people are still progressing well.

    Rob, of course, continues to be awesome.  We met with him a couple of times this week, and talked about quite a few things.  He had some questions about the sacrament.  He's Catholic, so he didn't quite understand how it was doctrinally sound to use water instead of wine, and we talked about Temples and family history work, as well, which he seemed to really like!  He's started to do a little bit of looking for his ancestors, but he doesn't have too much information, so it's going to be a bit of a search.

    We ran into Ben this week as we were walking around, and had a really nice chat with him.  They continue to struggle quite a bit, and it's been hard to meet with him, Beth, and Sam, but he shared a really amazing spiritual experience with us, and it's incredible to see how much the Lord continues to bless and sustain them despite everything crazy happening to them.  It just goes to show you how much our Heavenly Father really wants all of us back!

   

Our lesson with Darcy and his family also fell through this week, but we're hoping they come to a church tour that we're putting on tonight, and it will be exciting to see where things go with him!     This week I've been thinking quite a bit about subjecting ourselves to God's will, and how hard that can be sometimes.  A scripture I read in John really went along with that topic as well.  In the scripture, Jesus is just about to be crucified, and Pilate asks the Jews, "Shall I crucify your king?"  The chief priests, so puffed up in their pride, respond, "We have no king but Caesar." (John 19:15)  The Jews were so convinced that the Savior would come and deliver them physically from the rule of Rome, and when He didn't, they would have rather continued to allow the Romans to rule over them than accept the fact that their expectations of the Savior weren't correct.  How often do we do the same thing?  I know I have.  We expect something to happen when we obey, and when it doesn't, how do we react?  The wonderful thing is that if we allow ourselves, we realize that the thing that actually happened is infinitely better than what we wanted to happen.  God knows what he's doing.  We just need to trust that.

    Well, wonderful people, I hope you're having a great day and a great week!  Remember how much your Heavenly Father loves you.  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hafen