Week 43 - Another Shenanigan‏

Hello All!

    

    Another wonderful week has come and gone, but the snow has come back for more!  Haha, It's really not too bad, the snow is normally gone in a day or so, and I really think that Spring could possibly perhaps maybe be right around the corner...I hope.  The work is good, our wards are fantastic, and the gospel is the greatest.

    Elder Bensing and I had lots of fun this week, one memorable experience being Elder Bensing almost giving an old man a heart attack when he knocked on his door and tried to scare him, thinking it was the members who lived next door.  He's such a fun guy, and I love him!  Our investigators continue to do well and bless my life.

    Tethloch and his little sister Nyamal are all set to be baptized on May 10th!  We met with the family yesterday and got the program all set up.  We also taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it's always so great to see the understanding and faith that little children can have.  We can all learn a lot from them.

    We met with Jody this week along with his fiancée, Leann, and had a great lesson with them.  We're hoping his divorce will be finished soon, and that he'll be all ready to be baptized at that point.  I think he's got a way to go, but I'm sure he can get there.

    We were also delighted to see Julia and Drey (I think I spelled it wrong last week) at church yesterday.  We had arranged a ride for Drey there, but we weren't sure where Julia was or if she'd be there, but she was there and ready to go when our Ward Mission Leader came to give them a ride.  They both had a positive experience overall, I think, and they especially enjoyed the music.  They are such good kids, and I hope they gospel can help them get far above the circumstances they are currently in.  I know it can, and I know it can for all of us, we just have to let it.

    The H family is doing well.  Elder Bensing met with them on Tuesday while we were on exchanges, and we were also able to do a little service for them this week.  They're awesome, though, and we're hoping to see them soon.

    Today I wanted to talk a little about the Spirit of Elijah.  This week we met with one of the members of our ward so that he could help us become a little more familiar with family history and how we can use it in missionary work.  As he was showing us and teaching us how to use Puzzilla (an awesome new family history tool) along with Family Search, I was able to do some work on clearing up some information for my ancestors.  It was really nothing too big or important, but it was awesome!  I remember that in the past General Conference, the Spirit of Elijah was defined as the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the eternal nature of families.  I love that so much!  I was asked yesterday why I decided to come on a mission, and I realized that that is one of the biggest reasons; because I know that I have an eternal family, and I know that we could all have that!  I want to share that.  I want to be with all of my brothers and sisters in glory with our loving Heavenly Father and our beloved brother, Jesus Christ, who we would all be lost without.  I am so grateful for that knowledge, and for my amazing family.

    I love you all so much, and I hope you have a wonderful week!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love ya, eh?

Elder Hafen

Week 42 - Cold Feet

Hello All!

    Another week has come and gone, and one with one of the best holidays there is!  It's been a wonderful Easter week with a lot of opportunity to reflect on the Savior and His incredible sacrifice for us.  Not just us as a whole, but for each and every one.
    It's been a fun week and a hard week, just like a lot of the weeks in the mission field.  We had typical, crazy Calgarian weather, with beautiful sunny days and a crazy full-out blizzard.  Elder Bensing also got to experience what a lake that has been frozen all winter feels like when he put his feet on the ice to see how thick it was and sunk up past his ankles instead. (The members we were at dinner with were kind enough to let him use their dryer, so it all worked out. ;) ) The work also continues to go well.
    I'll tell you right off the bat that we were able to see Julia again!  We stopped by her townhouse complex on Friday, and found her at home.  We were able to teach her a lot of the first lesson, and it was awesome.  She's had a hard time reading from the Book of Mormon so far, but she knows that there is something missing in her life right now, and she wants to change!  The Spirit was there, and I hope she continues meeting with us.  Another miracle as far as Julia goes, her friend, who's name is Dre, also participated in the lesson, and when we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, he couldn't but it down!  We'll be meeting with them again this coming week, and we hope to see some amazing things from them.
    Tethloch continues to do well.  We taught him and his family yesterday, and it was wonderful.  Tethloch's little sister, Nyamal, will be turning eight soon, and so she and Tethloch will be baptized on the same day!  That means that their date has been changed to May 10th.  It's been wonderful to get to know their family a little better.  They're really great people.

    Rick and Cindy are doing well.  We had a lesson with them this week, and were able to answer a lot of the questions that Rick has had about baptism for a good 50 years.  Isn't the gospel great!?  We also started teaching a family I'll just call the H's.  They're really kind people.  The mother is a very strong born-again Christian, but the father and son seem to be more interested, and we'll hopefully see them learn more and progress!

    This week, we also got to participate in a couple of seminary classes.  We're lucky enough here to have seminary buildings and release time seminary for the kids in high school.  In the class, they concentrated on the Savior's visit to the Nephites in the Americas.  The passage of scripture the teachers really emphasized was 3 Nephi 11:11-15. In verse 14, the Savior says, "Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world."  The Savior was inviting them to receive a personal testimony that He really was the Son of God and their actual Savior and Redeemer.  He gives us the same opportunity and invitation.  We may not be able to thrust our hands into his side or feel the prints of the nails yet, but through doing our best to diligently live His gospel, we can gain a testimony that is just as certain and strong as was the testimonies of the Nephites who saw Him.  I know that's true, and I hope that our Heavenly Father continues to bless me with a growing testimony of the Savior.  I know He is my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Master, but I know I can know it more surely!

    I hope you're all doing well.  We're children of God, He wants us to be happy, and He's taught us how to be happy in this life!  Live the gospel, I beg of you, and you will be happy!  Thank you all so much for your examples and for your love and support.  I love you all so much!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all!
Elder Hafen

Week 41 - Divine Help

Hello All!

    Can you believe another week has gone by?  They go by so quick, I can't believe it.  It's been a packed week, but another great one.  I've really learned this week that the Lord's hand is in this work, so how could it not be a great week and a great work!  That doesn't mean it isn't hard, but it's more than worth it, that's for sure.

    We've had a great time getting to know our wards a little better over the past week, and it's been great.  We have some really great wards with some wonderful, friendly people who are more than willing to help (and feed) the missionaries.  It's pretty fantastic.  We were also able to have interviews with President Nicholas this past week, which is always a good experience.  He's such a wise, kind man, and his guidance and leadership have really made a difference for me.

    Our investigators are also doing well!  The big news of the week: Tethloch got permission to be baptized!  His mother signed the paper this week, and now all that's left to do is continue through the lessons and have a baptismal interview.  He's such a great kid with a really sincere desire to follow Jesus Christ. (He's very excited for his baptism. :) )  

    Anthony, who Elder Bensing found while we were on splits, came to church yesterday, which was great!  I think he really enjoyed himself, and we're hoping to be able to meet with him this week.  Sadly, he may be moving soon, but we're hoping to see him progress and be a treat for the next missionaries to teach if that happens.

    We also had a lesson with Cindy this week, Rick wasn't there, which went well.  We talked a bit with Brother Mullen, her boss and fellowshipper about her, and she is apparently just waiting to be baptized.  She just needs to decide about some things in her life first, and then work through them.  She was also at sacrament meeting yesterday, and seems to be doing well.  From what she told us, Rick is also doing well.

    We weren't able to meet with Jodi this week, but we're hoping to soon, and see how he's doing. I just wanted to share with you a bit of a miracle from this week to show you how I've really seen the Lord's hand in this work.  On Saturday, we were going around one of our wards trying to contact some potential investigators and less-active members we haven't met yet, and we felt like we should go stop by a less-active member who we'd had an appointment with the night before, but it hadn't worked out.  We knocked on the door, but we didn't get an answer.  Then, as we were heading back to our car, a girl who lives just a couple doors down started talking to us.  Her name is Julia, and she is 14.  She used to be baptist, but no longer goes to church because of some things that seem inconsistent and wrong to her.  It was a wonderful opportunity to share with her a bit about the Plan of Salvation and the Book of Mormon.  We gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and set up a time to come back and visit with her and her family yesterday.  Sadly, that appointment also didn't work out.  Sad, yes, but it's okay!  It was such a testimony builder to me that the Lord is guiding us in His work.  I am so grateful for that, because I know that I would totally ruin this work if it were left up to me.  I love Him so much for that.

    Well, you're wonderful.  Thank you all so much for the blessings you've been to me in my life.  I'm so grateful that the Lord has blessed me to be able to know such wonderful people.  Have a great week!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much!

Elder Hafen

Week 40 - D&C 1:38

Hello All!

    Another fantastic week in the great Canada Calgary Mission!  It's been a crazy week with figuring out our area some more, finding some great new investigators, and of course, seeing the Lord's servants speak to us in General Conference.  It's been a bit of a roller coaster, but roller coasters are fun, so that's great!  Oh, and of course, the weather has been brightening up nicely.  Right now, it's a sweltering 16 degrees Celsius.(About 61 degrees Fahrenheit.)  I never thought I would think of that as warm.

    Anyway, the work is great, and I actually have some fantastic people to tell you about this week!  

    I'll start with Tethloch, since you already know a bit about him.  We were very pleased to see Tethloch and his family at General Conference on Sunday afternoon, and were able to go over later to visit with them.  They are such good and humble people, and they love God so purely and so abundantly, and it was great to be able to talk with them.  We also learned some great news!  I guess that Tethloch's father, who's name is James, talked with Tethloch's mother last week, and she said she would be willing to sign the permission form for Tethloch to be baptized under some really reasonable conditions.  So, we were able to set a baptismal date for Tethloch for May 3rd!  It should work out just fine, and I can't wait for him to be able to be baptized.  He his such a great kid, and has s sincere desire to follow Christ already.

   

Two other investigators we taught this week are Rick and Cindy.  Cindy is the secretary of one of our Ward Mission Leaders, and had been taught once before we got here.  Rick is her boy friend who works for the City of Calgary.  They've been together for quite a while, and have a couple of children and grandchildren together.  We met with both of them at our ward mission leader's home and it was a very nice visit.  They both seemed very willing to search and learn for themselves whether these things are true.  I think they both watched at least some of General Conference, and I can't wait to meet with them again this week!

    We also met Jodi for the first time this week.  He and Leanne, a returning member of one of our wards, are in a pretty similar situation to Rick and Cindy.  He's met with the missionaries before, and wants to baptize his and Leanne's daughter when she turns eight later this year.  He has a divorce that needs to be finalized, which should happen soon, and a wedding that will need to happen as well, but we're hoping he'll be ready to be baptized soon!  We talked to him a bit about setting a date to shoot for, and he came up with August 17th, so we'll hope for that day!

   

Overall, it's been a great week, with lots of opportunities to learn and grow.  I have enjoyed Conference so much on my mission, and I hope I'll be able to keep that attitude afterwards, but I've really been able to learn so much from it.  I just wanted to share with you some of my impressions from one of the talks, Elder Richard G. Scott's.  I couldn't tell you exactly what Elder Scott said, but I can tell you what I was taught from his words.  I've been wondering quite a bit lately about how I can best magnify the callings the Lord has given me so far in my mission and in my life, and how I can serve the people I've been called to a little better.  From what Elder Scott said, my answer is basically this: love.  Elder Scott talked about the influence people had had in his life as they had simply expressed their love and testimony.  I can think of so many people in my life who have done the same; my wonderful mother, my good and generous father, grandparents, teachers, friends, and others.  These people all have had some things in common.  They've loved me with Christlike love, and they've stayed true to what they know to be right.  I just hope that I can maybe have some small impact on the people I've been lucky enough to be called to serve.

    Well, wonderful friends and family, it's been a good week and a great weekend.  I hope you all have the ch

ance to study the General Conference talks again, because I'm sure our Father in Heaven has more to teach us from those inspired words.  Thank you all so much for your impact in my life, and all you have taught me.  Have a great week!  Be good!  Have fun!

I love you all so much!

Elder Hafen

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