Christmas

Skype photo on December 24th

Afoyo!

Well Christmas finally came. Got to talk to my family which was pretty awesome. But this week we had a lot of fun. Monday was P-Day, Tuesday the Elders from Liera came up and we had a Christmas Party. It was fun to get to know some more people from the mission and have some fun with them. We went to a fancy restaurant (for Gulu) and had some pizza. Then we went and watched a Christmas Carol. Then we had some fun just hanging out and talking. Wednesday we had a combined Branch Christmas party. We had a ton of fun getting to know more members and singing and everything. Then on Thursday we went Christmas Caroling to some of our investigators with the Taylors. We got to see Godfrey and Martha's new born baby who is super cute. Elder Taylor but together a video of us singing and stuff on his blog. I think its called "Happiest Faces on Earth." You can go check it out. Finally Christmas morning I got to talk to my family. We set up a secret Santa so we opened a couple gifts and ate some breakfast. After Lunch we went out to find families to teach. After that we went to a members house and had a feast. It was super good! Christmas here in Africa is a lot different. It is a party holiday. There are concerts and parties going on everywhere. None of them even seem Christmas related. That was basically all that happened this week. It's crazy that it is going to be 2016 next week. It's also weird to think that I will be in Africa for all of 2016.

Well I love you all. Thank you for your support and prayers. I'm glad to be in the only church that doesn't just follow Christ, but is led by him. Keep doing good works.

Love, Elder Hawk


You know you are in Africa when you are sweating on Christmas day.

This is a picture of a family that we went caroling to

The Things That Count‏

Afoyo!

Well, to be honest it was kind of a long week. We had a lot of bounces and didn't have that many lessons. The people that were supposed to get baptized this month are falling through for different reasons. We were supposed to have like 8 or so before the end of the year, but I'm not sure if we will get any. It's okay though, they will most likely get baptized early next year.

This week I had a cool experience when we were at an investigators house. He told us that his wife got into a contract to work for the next two months and she would have to work on Sundays. He apologized and said that he figured that our success as missionaries was depending on how many baptisms we get. I told him that we do have goals, but what really matters to us his him. I told him that the reason we want him to get baptized isn't because he is a number, but because we have come to love him and his family and we know that this church can change his life. That really is the truth. I think about President Uchtdorf's talk a couple conferences ago where he said that sometimes the things that you can count don't count, and the things that you don't count do count. That is especially true on a mission. I have come to love all the people of Uganda and especially the people we are teaching. I want to see them accept this gospel so they can change their life, as it has changed my life.

Sometimes in life we get caught up in the numbers. We need to stop and think about the things that really matter. This Christmas, don't get caught up in the numbers. Don't count how many presents you got or how much money you spent. Think about how you feel when you give or the smile on someones face when you just take the time to talk to them. Most of all think about what the Savior has done for us. He went through all that pain, suffering, and anguish so we could make it back to our Father in Heaven. Think about what we can give back to him. We can never repay him for what he did, but we can show him how much we appreciate it by the way we act, and the way we treat others. In the end God won't judge us on how many great things we have done, but who we have become because of them. This year give yourself to Him.

I hope you all enjoy this Christmas season. I love you all. Be who Heavenly Father needs you to be.

Love, Elder Hawk


You know you're in Africa when people switch their Ls and Rs when speaking.

Our Sweet Jerseys

(another photo, thanks to Elder Roylance)

Recognize the Lord's Hand‏

Afoyo!

What a week! It was kind of slow in terms of lessons, but the end of the week was my favorite by far. We found some great families this week. Geoffrey and Gladis, Robert and Maria, David and Jackie, and a couple others. We have been seeing the Lord's hand in our work, especially the last couple of weeks. Families are progressing!! It is so great to see these people want to change their lives. I told you guys about how our church attendance was struggling and how investigators weren't coming to church, but it's all changing. It just shows if we continue to have a good attitude and work hard and be obedient, the Lord WILL bless us. The last two week in church have been amazing! The best weeks we have had. Yesterday, was a bit better than last week. I'm not going to say how many people or how many investigators came, but every single chair in the chapel was filled. We can see the miracle that the Lord is doing in this branch and I am so happy to have the privilege to watch him do so. Don't get me wrong, me and Elder Majawa are doing what we are supposed to be doing, but I know that this success is in no way because of us. As I'm  writing I realize that this might sound like I am boasting, but in the words of Alma, "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my own strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

Well, I don't have much else to say. I love the work, I love the Book of Mormon, and I love all of you. I hope all is well back home and that you are preparing yourself for Christmas. While it's getting cooler over there it's getting hotter over here. What family in need are you going to help this Christmas? Have a great week.

Love, Elder Hawk

You know you are in Africa when its 95 degrees in December.

The Chapel in Gulu 

 Chowing down

The Zone---after playing basketball  in this sweet stadium that is at the school where the guy in our compound works!

Thanksgiving

Afoyo!

Well this week I am going to tell you some more about the culture
since I haven't said much about it yet. Here goes: The people here are
in the Acholi tribe. They all speak Luo and I have learned how to say
quite a bit. Mostly greetings and such but it is a pretty simple
language. Here in Uganda there are over 40 different languages. Some
sound similar, but most are completely different (Talk about tower of
Babbel). The people here are extremely friendly, especially to guests.
If you are a guest to their home they will bend over backward to make
you feel at home and welcome.. well a majority of them. They will give
you their seat, their food(which they don't have very much of), and
anything else you can think of. Most people only eat one meal a day
around 6 or 7. Practically no homes have running water, and all the
water that comes from the tap is unsafe for drinking. So they either
boil it or they go get water from a well. They carry water in big jugs
called jarry cans. Quite often for service we carry them and they are
super heavy. Almost every road here is made of dirt, and they aren't
smooth either. There is no major store, we just go to small shops to
buy food. I cook almost every meal. When the people cook they usually
do it on very small charcoal stoves. They eat a lot of cassava,
greens, beans, and white sweet potato. A lot of men here after they
get home from work they go out drinking. When they drink though its
not your usual alcohol, its alcohol that looks like mud. They usually
share and drink out of a pot with really long straws. It's disgusting.
The women are very powerful and independent since the men are almost
always away at work. They tie their babies to their back with a
blanket or sheet and usually have something balancing on their head.
Well... I can't think of much else.. so that Gulu! It's a very small
town so this isn't typical Uganda.

On to this week. We met so many people this week! I can truly see the
Lord's hand in the work here in Bar-Dege. We find at least one new
family a day. We are trying to change the dynamic in the Branch to
families so that way it has a solid foundation. This last week was the
best week of church yet. It was so powerful! We had more families
there than I had ever seen. One investigator that sticks out to me
this week is Michael. He is the man! He is 75 and is super smart! He
understands what we teach him and is always willing to keep the
commitments we give him. I always feel the spirit so strong when we go
and I always leave happy. We have only taught him twice but I can tell
he will be a very good addition to the church. We haven't gotten tot
teach his wife yet because she has been sick, but I am sure he can
help us to teach her since he already has a powerful testimony. Well
not much else to say. I will try to talk more about the culture and
the people from now on because those are the things I'm sure you want
to hear. I love you all and hope all is well back in the states.
Remember who you are and love everyone you come into contact with,
because you never know what kind of positive impact you can have on
someones life.

Love, Elder Hawk


You know you're in Africa when almost everyone you meet has a family
member with Malaria.