Just There

Habari!

It was just another week. Nothing too crazy. I shared some things in my package with some kids! They all loved the Punch Balloons! And everyone old and young loved the glow sticks! It was way awesome!

I really don't have much to say, but just some things I have been pondering lately.. It is just so amazing to see how the Lord's plan works. A string of events that we call "accidents" or "coincidence" turn into being in the right place at the right time. I Cannot count how many times I have just acted on a small thought and it ended up leading us to someone or something that we needed to do. I have heard a quote before that says, "85% of a righteous man's thoughts are from the Spirit." If you think of doing something and it is a good thing, DO IT! It is probably the Spirit.

Well, I love you all. Thanks for your support and love! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Hawk



You know you're in Africa when you eat fried Banana.

Punch Balloons

 Glows sticks in the dark

 Glows sticks with the flash

 a cute little girl carrying water just like mama does

Wait.... Which year is it?

Jambo!

I cannot accept that it is 2017. Time doesn't exist in the mission field. It is just going too fast. But, that is life.

It was a good ending to a decent week. We had the baptisms of Alex, Mercy, Robin, and Vickie. It was great! Minus the fact that we didn't have any water.. Luckily it was on a Saturday, so we had time to fill it from the tank we have at the church, carrying buckets of water from the bathroom to the font. Ending up with approximately 2 feet of water that was a nice algae green... hahaha. However, everyone was baptised. They just had to lay down.. It was actually pretty cool, but extremely stressful.

Today we also got to go to the Source of the Nile/ Animal park. It was way cool! Although I don't like snakes it was really cool. haha.

For the New Year there were a couple of Fireworks... haha but it was very uneventful. Just enjoyed some glow sticks I received in a package. I hope you all have made some new goals for this year and that those goals will bring you closer to Christ. I know that is what is truly important. I love you all.

Love, Elder Hawk



You know you're in Africa when they use a pile of leafs as traffic cones.

Baptisms 

 Glow sticks

  Monkey

  Snake 

  Croc

  Turtle

                                          Riding a donkey

Photos posted on Facebook by Tracy Collings

Merry Christmas!

Sikoko!!!

Means Merry Christmas in Swahili! But I am more than certain it is spelled wrong!

It was a pretty good week. We did a lot of traveling. Went to Jinja on Monday and Wednesday and then Iganga on Friday. Wednesday was the Christmas party for the mission. We had three zones there. It was good to see some old friends and have some fun. Friday we went Caroling in Iganga. It was pretty cool. It is a very out of the ordinary thing to do here. But I am sure they will see some fruits out of it.

We had a baptism on Christmas!! Her name is Rachel. I haven't really mentioned her before, mostly because she was just super prepared. She is a cousin of one of the powerful families in our Branch. It was great. We ate very big at Baba Wafula's house. That is how they celebrate Christmas here. Eat HUGE! It was the most food I have ever eaten ever. And I didn't even finish my plate. Then I got to talk tot he family which was the best part.

Well, I love you guys! I hope you had a great Christmas. Remember Christ throughout the year.

Love, Elder Hawk


You know you're in Africa when you mop out your fridge.

 Mopping

 Baptism

The district eating big

  My Plate

Merry Christmas!

Habari!

Well another week come and gone. Some pretty neat stuff happened this week. Had the Branch Christmas party. It was a pretty good turn out. We ate very nice food! Also another cool story...

So a couple of weeks ago we found this powerful family. The man's name is Joseph. We had a very nice lesson with him and then the next week we passed by to set another appointment and he said he was looking things up on the internet. Which is very dangerous. A couple days later he called and said he didn't want to see us anymore. So on Wednesday, I had the thought to pass by, so we do and we end up seeing him and I give him this big speech about how even when Christ was on the earth he even had people contend against him as well as some other things and the Spirit was super strong and he said we could come back on Saturday. So we went back and he had a friend from his church there. So we teach the restoration and it was a super nice lesson! He really seemed to understand and be interested again. A tender mercy.

Well, that's all I got. I love you all! Keep being the best.

Love, Elder Hawk


You know you're in Africa when the way you celebrate Christmas is to just eat huge..

Christmas Party!

George finally did it

Jambo!

That is right! Old man George was finally baptized! It was probably the most excited I have ever been for a baptism. He was super ready. It was a great service.

Not too many other things this week. People keep asking me what Uganda is like during Christmas, and if you want the truth... Nothing changes.. haha Except it rains less and is hotter. I think the reason it is like that is because people here worship Christ year round instead of just happening to remember Him at the end of the year, because we are going to get gifts. It isn't commercialized here. It is pure. People worship Him because they love Him, not because it is the end of the year. Now I am not bashing on the US or anywhere else that celebrates Christmas in that way, but I just came to finally understand it recently. There is no season for the spirit of Christ. Christmas should be year round. How can you make that happen? Do what He did. Serve. I love the Church initiative this year. It's all about service. So look around you! How can you bring the spirit of CHRISTmas to someone this year and all year?

Well, that's all I got. I hope I didn't sound to much like I was preaching a sermon. haha. I love you all. Keep up the great work!

Love, Elder Hawk


You know you're in Africa when people don't even know what snow is...

 JJ

  Jude---one of the members

  Christmas tree!

  Baptism of George!

Busia for a 4th transfer!

Habari!

Well, I am staying with my son in Busia for a 4th transfer! Really pumped!
Many great things happening here, and I am privileged to be a part of it!

Well, nothing too crazy this week. Just pushing. We had the baptism of
Natasha, the daughter of Beatrice, who was baptized a couple of weeks ago.
She was super prepared! We have many people progressing right now and many
people we are getting ready for baptism. It is hard to get time to teach
them all. Not a bad problem to have. It really is amazing to see the Lord's
hand in our work. The whole mission is on fire right now.

George is FINALLY going to be baptized this coming week. It is long over
due, but I am super excited for him. I have been teaching him for like 4
months now! But not much time today because the internet is horrible. I
love you all! Keep being the best.

Love, Elder Hawk


You know you're in Africa when you see fish hanging on a car..

 Sleepy Little One

Natasha's Baptism