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

Week 34 - We Are the Champions!

Hello All!

    How are all you wonderful people?!  It sounds like things are just great at the moment, and I hope they continue to be that way.  It sure was for the Canadian hockey team!  (I just decided I can be excited for all American and Canadian medals for these Olympics.) Congratulations to all of my friends who are receiving their mission calls and everything else.  I'm so excited for you!  You're all going to be great servants of the Lord.

    As I'm sure you could tell from last week, though, missions are sometimes kinda hard (surprise surprise), but they're also great!  I'm sorry if I was a downer last week, but this week has been fantastic, and the Lord is truly guiding and blessing us in His work.  

    As for the reasons missionary work is so great:

    Rob continues to do wonderfully.  He's working toward his baptismal date, and is so committed and converted already!  On Sunday, his fiancée, who has been less active for a long time, was hoping they weren't going to come to church because she wasn't feeling too hot, and it was the Daytona 500 that day.  Apparently, Rob hasn't missed it since about 1982.  But, that wasn't Rob's plan.  He recorded the race, and made sure they were at church just fine.  And quite a bit earlier than the rest of the ward, I might add. *cough* Mormon Standard Time.

    Sadly, Sam wasn't in church yesterday, and neither were Ben and Beth.  Our lesson with them this week also fell through, which was a bit of a bummer, but we'll keep trying.  I just want to use this situation as a perfect illustration of what Satan will do to all of us in our lives.  We're all going to have times when Satan just pounds on us mercilessly, and it's up to us to make sure we can withstand it!  I'm not saying that I'm overly worried about Ben, Beth, and Sam, but it is something we'll all have to go through.  

    Something really exciting...we found a new investigator yesterday!  His name is Darcy, and he's the son of a less active member of the ward.  He's actually just started living with her and her family, because she put him up for adoption when he was born, and he was raised out in Ontario, with an LDS family, actually, but one that also went less active.  He's a great kid, though, and is trying to explore his spiritual side right now.  He's actually just about a month younger than me, so we may be passing him off to the YSA elders, but that is just fine!  It's great to see that the our Heavenly Father is preparing His children wherever you are.

    This week, I just wanted to share my testimony of Joseph Smith.  On Saturday, we had a lesson with Rob, and taught him about the Prophet Joseph.  We watched the Joseph Smith movie with him, and the Spirit was so strong!  Joseph Smith was a prophet.  He saw our Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ.  He restored the Church of Jesus Christ, and I love him so much for that and the incredible man he was.  It's simple as that.

    Well, my wonderful friends and family, you're the best.  Thank you all so much for your support and love and encouragement.  I don't know what I'd do without you all.  Have a great week!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hafen

   

Week 33 - Happy Belated Family Day

Hello All!

    First off, sorry I didn't email yesterday.  It was Family Day up here in Alberta, so the library was closed.  Isn't it nice to be a member of the church, and have Family Day every Monday? ;)

    Things are still just great up here, and hopefully will get even better soon.  This past week has kind of been a tough one, just with trying to figure out what we're going to do to keep us busy for another transfer (covering just one ward here is kinda tough sometimes.) along with some other things going on.  But that's okay, because those are the times that temper and refine us, and make us more who we're supposed to be.  Plus, there's nothing to worry about, because the Lord is always there.  He was definitely there for us this week; on Sunday, we were pretty down in the dumps going into sacrament meeting, but then He provided for us.  All three of our current investigators were there, and Ben was there with Sam.  Ben and Beth have been going through some pretty tough times lately with adjusting to being in the church now along with everything else going on in their lives.  It seemed like Ben had a really great experience, though, and is committed to getting everything balanced out in his life so he can be as active as possible.  They're doing really well, and it's such a boost to see the people the Lord has given us stewardship over progressing and being blessed by their obedience.  It makes us feel a little better about ourselves as missionaries, too. ;)

    Sam also let us know how he's been doing, since we haven't been able to meet up with him lately.  Apparently, he's been reading and praying, and I believe he was fasting on Sunday for strength to stop smoking.  Hopefully, he continues to do well!

    Rob is also doing just great, and we set a tentative date with him on Sunday for his baptism!  They still haven't heard anything new about the divorce, and we're hoping it will be done soon, but for now, we're planning on the 17th of May.  (Victoria Day, for all you Yanks.)

    Oh, some other exciting news.  We got a call from the mission office, and Joe, who Elder Musselman and I started teaching in Raymond, is getting baptized on the 2nd of March!  Sadly, I probably won't be able to be there, but it's so exciting to know that he's continued to do well.

   

Other than that, we're still trying to keep busy and find those whom the Lord has prepared for us to teach.  I'm also becoming more and more converted to my purpose as a missionary and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which are basically the same thing.  I guess my wonderful mother's Sunday school class had a lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ this past Sunday which is kinda cool, since that's what we've really been emphasizing as a mission for the past couple of weeks.  As I've studied it more and become more converted to it, something has really stood out to me.  I'd say it myself, but Nephi says it a little better in 2 Nephi 31 when he's teaching us about the Doctrine of Christ, "And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen."  This is it, ladies and gentlemen.  This is the only way back to our Father.  Those of us who have been blessed enough to have it in our lives, and now I have the opportunity to share that with others and have it bless their lives.  How lucky am I, and how lucky are we?!

    Well, my wonderful friends and family, you're all great.  Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.  It means a lot.  Have a great week!  Good luck with everything you're up to.  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much,
Elder Hafen   

Week 32 - Six Weeks More

Hello All!

    Well, West Lethbridge is as good as ever, and it'll be that way for at least another six weeks!  Neither Elder Law nor myself will be transferred this transfer, which is a little weird, but also awesome.  I've loved this area so much, and it'll be great to see how much the Lord will give us as we continue to work hard and try to find the work He's prepared for us.

    Not too much to update ya'll on this week.  It's been tough to find times to meet with people, and Randy, sadly, dropped us this week.  He's a great guy, and we'll hope for good things in the coming weeks for him.

    Sam didn't make it to church this week, and some things came up that will prevent him from being baptized this week.  We'll keep working with him, however, and hope that he keeps progressing and working towards that covenant with his Heavenly Father.  

    Rob is doing just as fantastically as ever!  We were able to meet with him once this week, and taught him the Law of Tithing.  Apparently, he's been asking his fiancee when he can start paying his tithing.  They're even going through a pretty tough time financially right now, and he's still so willing and excited to do everything he can to keep his Father in Heaven's commandments.  

    There was also some exciting news this week regarding the husband of one of the members of our primary presidency.  I told you a little about him last week, but he was at church this past Sunday...and stayed all three hours!  It seems like he's making really great progress, and we're hoping to see something come of it all soon.

    This week, we taught Gospel Principles...again, and the lesson was on the Creation.  It was actually really interesting and somewhat challenging to teach on it.  There was one scripture that stood out to me particularly as we were talking about all the incredible things our Heavenly Father has given us.  It's D&C 59:18-19:"Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul." This Earth and everything on it, in it, above and under it was created for us.  Our Father in Heaven loves us so much, that He has given us this incredibly beautiful and useful world, and I, for one, am so incredibly grateful for all of it.

    Well, my beautiful friends and family, have a fantastic week!  Good luck with all you're doing, and always remember how much your Father loves you.  Never forget that, and you'll be able to get through anything.  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hafen

Week 31 - Happy Birthday...to me!‏

Hello All!

    Southern Alberta is still fantastic as ever!  It's been a bit of a different week, as this was the week in Elder Law's training when he was to take the lead in all teaching and planning situations, which he did very well!  It was just weird to realize that his training is almost over, and possibly our time together.  These last two transfers have really flown by.  Speaking of which, that's why my subject line is my subject line this week.  Seven months ago at this very moment, I was sitting in my MTC classroom, waiting for things to really get started.  It's a little weird.

    It's been another adventurous, and cold again (:P), week!  The Lord is blessing us, and hopefully will continue to!

    Sam is doing well.  We were finally able to meet with him, and Elder Law taught him the Word of Wisdom this week while we were on splits.  The brother he went with actually had a lot to contribute to the lesson, and Sam is committed to following it.  We also changed his baptismal date to February 15th, and we're hoping and praying he'll be ready for that day.  

    Rob also continues to do well.  We should be meeting with him in the next couple of days to start finishing up the lessons we still need to teach him, and hopefully set a tentative baptismal date, depending on the outlook on his divorce.  Augh!  He's just so incredible, and I honestly feel so blessed to know that I was allowed to be one of the missionaries who started teaching him.

    We also met with one of our other investigators this week, Randy.  It's really difficult to find times that work for him, since his work schedule is so crazy, (He works up north on the oil rigs) but we were finally able to meet up.  He's what could probably be called an eternal investigator, but a really awesome guy!  He says that he doesn't "see himself being baptized", but he listens to stuff on BYUTV all the time, and really gets the stuff we teach him, he just has a lot of trouble following through on commitments, and it really goes to show how important it is to diligently read, pray, attend church, and everything else.  We're not going to progress if we don't.

    We're also hoping to find some new investigators this week, and start teaching one of our current investigators more seriously.  He's the husband of a member of our Primary presidency, and their children are baptized (mostly, at least) and active.  He's also been taught before and has come to church for the last several years.  He's an awesome guy, and he actually bore his testimony yesterday in church about how much he loves the church's emphasis on family.  We'll cross our fingers and pray that things work out with him.

Really quickly, I just wanted to share a tidbit from our Gospel Principles class this week.  Yes, Elder Law and I taught Gospel Principles again, though we did have a few days warning this time. ;) The lesson was on agency.  For part of it, we were emphasizing how we really do get to choose where we end up after this life. (2 Nephi 2:27)  Elder Law made me aware of a couple of scriptures in 3 Nephi 18 that really illustrates the differences between the two beings who want to "have" us.  In verse 18, it talks about Satan and how he "desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat."  Satan only wants to possess us.  To have power over us.  To control us and subject us to all the misery he's brought upon himself.  He wants absolutely nothing good for us.  On the other hand, there's the Lord.  In verse 31, He tells us, "But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, that he may not destroy my people, for behold I know my sheep, and they are numbered."  He is the Good Shepherd.  He wants nothing but the best for His sheep.  Whatever direction He leads us, it will be for our good, even and especially when it doesn't look like it to we simple-minded sheep.

    Well, I love you all.  You're wonderful.  Have a fantastic week!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hafen