Hey there

Well everything is pretty amazing this time of year. Just a little rainy right now ha but nothing bad. I actually got a different number for you guys to call they do numbers weird here you can have one phone but like three different numbers because of the chip you buy. You can call the one I gave you or this one, it is 0704395577. I hear its makes it a little cheaper for the parents at least I hope it is. Either will work, my best time to be called is 7 or 8 ish and maybe Ill call you first to give you the number I will be using.
So some good news is that family is still progressing, Rose and Samuel, and hopefully through the Lords will they will be ready on New Years. They have been so patient they have wanted to be baptized so long, but the only hard thing is that they have a hard time meeting with us because they are always so busy. They should be good to go though on New Years all according to the Lord we know it is all according to his time. Also Billy, this one kid we have met, has such a strong interest in serving a mission he has been taking the lessons and reading everything before we see him and has enjoyed meeting with us. He has been making friends at church right off the bat too, which is great, and he has a good attitude and is always very happy. One thing he told us was that the first day he met us he said he felt super tired and that he had no energy, but he said he knew that was the adversary trying to pull him down and he is a really good kid. We have also got the chance to meet with one of Rodger Balyjusa referral and his name is Jimmy and he is really powerful also and he really understands all we are teaching him. Also Charles wasn't able to come to church, which was sad, but when we met with him we could tell he was a little down and was really sorry to miss out on church because something bad happened to his bike he rides and he lives pretty far away so he had to go get his bike fixed and we could tell he was super sorry. Ronnie was able to talk with the Bishop about his marriage situation and most of the people we have now they are going to wait on their wives to see what happens because the ward is doing a lot but there is only so much they can do. Now it is up to the person to talk to their step parents their parents and their wives to see if they can be married. We are waiting on a few people like Brian Enock and Ronnie, they are the main ones that are struggling right now, but they continue to come to church and show their desire to be baptized. So it is good they are looking at the positive and they know it is all by the Lords time that it can all happen. We have been meeting with some great people and these people here in Entebbe Uganda are still as amazing as ever and I have been blessed so much to serve here right now. I love the mission life it is truly a blessing to be here and there isn't anything better anyone could do it's just an awesome experience! I am so grateful to be here now.
So Ryan is now home that is so crazy I can't believe how fast time goes by. I have yet to get the other packages, but they should be getting to me today at least I hope so. We will see. I cant wait to hear from you guys and talk with you. I love you guys thanks for all you do!!
Love Elder Hildreth

Hey! 12-12-11

 Everything is going great and I guess the second package is at the office now. My week went super well I enjoyed it very much. This week we have been working hard on progressing the people we have and even have been finding some more great people. We met a guy named Billy a few weeks ago and he was just a guy contacted but he decided to just give us a call and hear our message and man that kid is super powerful I think he is about 20 or so but he was just so nice and as we read through the Book of Mormon he was like this book is super simple and he loved it so much it was really awesome. I also got to work with one of our Zone leaders in Kabowa again ha. So it was supper cool to work with him and learn many new things on how we can improve and continue our progress as missionaries and it was really cool. Also at the apartment we were all related mission wise it was cool there were four of us and we were all led back to Elder Rennie(our Trainer) and it was pretty cool. So That's a little about that. Also Emmanuel wasn't able to make it to church because of work, but Charles was there so were Samuel and his wife Rose and their five kids also Billy and Ronna a lady we met last week that just showed up to church so it was really cool. I wasn't  at church, but Elder Shinga told me about it and they are all ready now which is great so hopefully next week we get some more good reports. Ronnie I guess wasn't there which is really sad I thought he would come. So this week was another fast and great week full of lots of great experiences. A few days ago we were bounced by this one guy so we decided to go in this one direction and we were able to find this great family they were both teachers and they both were just awesome and their kids were really cool. I guess they didn't come to church, but I am not giving up on them yet. We will go back and see why they didn't show. I hope all goes well. As for Charles and Emmanuel and those guys they are doing awesome and it is just great being able to talk with them and be with them and they love hearing the gospel and learning more and more things which is great! Rose and their family have just been prepared through our Heavenly Father to be ready they came to Esther really wanting to change, so she told them and now they are happy and you can see it on their faces that they love this gospel and it is just so awesome! Geofry and Kennedy are still doing great and so is John they continue to progress and are doing awesome. I am enjoying it very much here in Entebbe and this area which many people have had troubles with is such a great area and full of people that are interested in the gospel.

 For Christmas they really don't do too much that I have seen so far no songs no trees really I guess one house that I saw, but everyone does love Christmas here they probably don't start until around the 20th I guess that's how it is most across Africa. It is really weird but its all good. It is also weird not having snow it just seems kind of similar to any other day of the year ha. Thank you so much for those stories they were really cool I enjoyed them. Do you think you could send some of those things you do for Christmas eve?  I hope all is well and I thank you for all you guys do! I love you cant wait to hear from you!

Love Elder Hildreth

Hey
I am doing great just another week in paradise. Yeah actually the grasshopper isn't half as bad as you may think it to be but it is weird not going to lie ha. We were unable to see the Christmas Devotional. It isn't something they watch here I guess, but maybe someday I'll see it. It is not a white Christmas here but a green one and maybe rainy ha but nothing to bad. I am definitely looking forward to a Christmas in Uganda it will be really cool to see what it is like here. I am truly enjoying the work and the people here they are so amazing. Thank you very much for the inspiring quote from Elder Henery B Eyring that is a great one a truly does help you want to serve the Lord to the best of our abilities. I will pray for grandpa and I know it will all be OK. Well this week was another good week I got the chance to go on splits with a missionary who is about to go home his name is Elder Stevens and he is leaving this transfer and when I first got here he was pretty cool and I got to go on splits with him while Elder Shinga went with one of the Assistants Elder Lee and it was very good to be with Elder Stevens you could tell how much he cared for the people and how much desire he had. One thing he told me was even though it seems like it may be forever away tell you go home it isn't he said it truly goes by super fast and he told me to continue to work diligently and to do the best I could so that I wont have any regrets. I know I want to be able to do the best I can so that when I stand in front of my Heavenly Father he will be proud of me. So it was pretty good to be with him and learn from him I could tell he was a great missionary and truly did his best. So this week went good. So this Sunday we had a few People come to church we had a guy named Samuel who me and Elder Stevens met in Bita and he came and he even bore his testimony saying that he liked this church so it was pretty cool for his first time being there to bear his testimony. Also Samuel his wife Rose came, but we were unable to teach them because they were busy after church so it is kind of hard because Sundays are the only days that he is free and Esther wasn't there to translate for us their language because they speak K Swahili. Which wasn't the language I learned at the MTC at all haha. They are great people though and still have a strong desire to come unto Christ.  Also Emmanuel came to church only for an hour but Charles was very far away so he missed which was sad but he had work he had to do. I was just glad to see Emmanuel he came for a short hour because he knew it was something he needed to do. He also had to leave to work so I was grateful he came the little he could. Also Ronnie man that guy is awesome and he said he knows what we are saying is true and that he is willing to do whatever he can to be baptized and I can see his desire. Even though he had to go to Kampala to help his brother he understood that he needed to come to church so he came and he is just such an amazing guy and he knows how important our message is. It is hard though because he can't be baptized which is sad well not until he gets married to his wife so I hope that everything works out. I know I probably wont be here when he get baptized, but the day he does I will rejoice because he is such a great guy and wants to do everything he can to follow the Savior. The same goes for Brian who is trying so hard and wants so badly to be baptized but is waiting to be married. I will be so happy the day I get the email from him saying he has been baptized these guys are truly amazing people and I am grateful and blessed to serve here with these wonderful children of our Heavenly Father. I know that there is nothing better than what I am doing now the gospel must go forth and be spread to the world. I know that this church is true and is run by a loving all knowing Heavenly Father. I am enjoying mission because I am bringing joy to these wonderful people here in Africa who are willing to listen to the message we have for them.
  So I got a package from home this week it was awesome I loved it so much! The pictures were awesome! the presents I have opened two but one not yet. Elder Shinga was so excited to get that memory card you should have seen his face. Also he loved the presents. Thank you so much and Moms candy was as great as ever! Thank you so very much. I loved getting the letters from you guys it was so awesome! I also gave some of moms candy to some of the people here and they said thanks you very much and that it was awesome.
  So in the Family Home Evening with the Balyjusa family brother Dan Balyjusa was giving a talk on how instead of going to all these members houses to eat that his mission president told him to be with the less fortunate and be with them. One thing came to my mind I remembered that one time we did that 12 days of Christmas and how we went to this one families house yes I remember the name just not mentioning it ha. I remember how at first I was not really wanting to do it and even wondering why and then after the 12 day were over and it was fast Sunday I will always remember the testimony he gave and how much it touched me and how grateful I was then for doing what we did. I know that giving is so much better then receiving and how on every Christmas we should be willing to give even the little we have. We must remember as king Benjamin says it is not ours in the first place it is all the Lords. I am so grateful I get a chance to be doing the best thing I can this Christmas and that is to serve these people and give them the greatest of Gods gifts which is eternal life to all those who accept this gospel.
I love you guys and I miss you! Cant wait to hear from you all. Well tell next week have a great week!
Love Elder Hildreth

Thanksgiving week

Thanksgiving week was good it was just another day here in Uganda though, but it was really good. Things are going very well. I truly feel blessed of the Lord to be here and to be serving a mission. The weather is very rainy good thing it didn't rain yesterday ha. The most interesting food I have eaten lately is Nsenenay I think is how you spell it. It is a grasshopper just fried and it was pretty weird I am not going to complain though it was very interesting not as bad as I thought it would be. No packages yet, they may have come, but I dont think they did. I will find out Wednesday when we have Zone Conference. So we have been finding some new investigators. There were some guys we found Saturday who were pretty powerful, but they all were unable to come to church because of previous agreements that they would go elsewhere. Mainly the best news we had this Sunday is we have been teaching this guy named Ronnie and I don't know if I told you about him but he is truly a blessing to me and Elder Shinga because he encourages us as missionaries and he talks to us and he is like I know how tough missionary work is and I know what you guys are teaching is true. He really has loved our message and has a strong desire to become a member in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So we took him to church and when we got there we already had seven investigators there even before we were and we were there about 30 min early so it was crazy! Emmanuel and Charles looked at their watch and they were like your late ha. It was really cool and man do those guys have a strong desire to learn. They love I mean love the gospel principles book they pretty much begged brother Balyjusa for one this Sunday after church. Also we had the referrals from Esther  that came, they are a wonderful family, Rose, Samuel and their one daughter. The daughter truly gets along well with the girls here age and that family has a strong desire to be baptized just as Concy did when she was baptized and it has just been truly inspiring to me to watch the Lord do his work. I know that these wonderful people were prepared of the Lord and not us. The Lord has truly blessed us with wonderful people to teach. They are growing so much in the gospel it is wonderful. Esther also gave us another referral yesterday and it was her sisters son who is 15 and he has been coming to church.  He loves church also and has made some friends. I think it is crazy most of our referrals have come from Esther who is a convert herself and she has helped the ward grow so much. I know that missionary work is very important and I have seen how much the church can grow if you just get but one soul because Sister Esther has given many referrals to us and we are teaching a families that are super prepared. Enock is still coming to church, but no luck on his wife she is a locked door and wants nothing to do with changing religions again. Brian it is hard for him because his wife lives all the way in Kabala they are very far from each other and they can only talk on the phone and it is hard for them to talk I guess. They did talk and she told him that they will get married as soon as konjula is paid which is payment to the wife's father so they can be good. So we must be patient it is all according to the Lords time. It has been a great week though with lots of great times. I know how amazing it is to be a missionary its lots of work and full of lots of growing experiences I know how important it is to teach the gospel to these people. I know I have been called by a Prophet and set apart to serve as a missionary here.
 I know how it is to work so hard at something and come up short, but one thing I have learned is it is all the Lords will because we know not what the lord thinks and he knows our needs. So I know that there is something good coming up for Boyd as long as he looks at it with faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. Things happen for a reason and I know through these trials the lord will bless us and help make us who we are to truly become. The Church is true and I know this is the fullness of the Everlasting gospel. I know the Book of Mormon is a true book of God and I am truly grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ who Atoned for our sins so we can live again.  I am grateful for my family and friends.  I love you guys very much and miss you
Love Elder Hildreth

Hey. Happy Thanksgiving!! 11-21-11

It has been another great week! It's always a good week here in Entebbe, Uganda as we get to go and spread the gospel there is nothing better we can do. This week went good we are now in finding mode so it makes it a little tougher and slower, but I know that through the Lords will we can find those that are interested in the gospel. We are still waiting on Brian and his wife to be married. Also there are some others Like Esau and Jennifer, Charles and his wife. They are all interested but they may take time, it will come on the Lords time when he is ready. This week we have just been trying to find those that are interested in learning about the gospel. Some of the people we found weren't able to make it to church so that's always a downer, but there's always hope for next week. We found this guy named Joesph and he really likes the gospel and we have been able to teach him and he liked what we had to say but he wasn't able to come to church because he was going to be gone. He seems nice though and sincere about learning so we will see where that goes. Also there is a guy named Godfry he owns this Orphan school here called "New Hope" and he is a pretty smart guy and he liked what we had to say but once again he is busy on Sundays. He takes the Orphans around to go see their Grandparents which is a great thing to do, but doesn't leave time for church, so far anyway. We did have some powerful people come to church such as Rose and her husband Samuel and a few of their kids and they all seem very interested in the gospel. They came to church really loving it and have made some good friends. The daughter has made some good friends too so it was pretty powerful. We also got a referral named Benon from Penny Balyjusa and we were able to talk to him about the gospel he said he liked it but would need some time and more sharing in order to believe us. All in all it was a good week and we have been doing what we can to find those that are truly ready for the gospel in their lives. I know that this gospel is true and that Jesus lives and that he died for us and for that I am truly thankful that he would do something like that for us who are not perfect and are sinners. I am thankful for a Father in Heaven who loves us and is willing to help us in times of need. I am so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ who through him we can all be cleansed from our sins if we choose to repent of what we did wrong. I am thankful for the restored gospel in my life and how it has impacted my life and many others. I am thankful for my family who have been there with me always through the good and the bad. I am so thankful to be on mission to be in the service of my fellow beings and in the service of my God. I am thankful for all of you and those that have helped me become a better person especially for my loving earthly parents who have helped me to know right from wrong and have taught me to choose the right and warned me of the dangers of the world. A little bit about life here, we eat at home most of the time and it's mainly bread rice or eggs. If we go out to eat it is usually at this four seasons place that is pretty good. I may need some money in my account, but I am not sure we will see. I am not sure about the Christmas traditions here in Uganda and I am excited to see how it goes. Another Balyjusa kid just got home so that is number 6 that has left on mission and returned honorably so that was pretty cool. I am glad everyone is doing good and I hope it continues to go that way. I miss you guys and love you all hope this week continues to go great! Love you all and miss you! Have a great Thanksgiving! Love Elder Hildreth

Uganda is doing good

Hey So Uganda is doing good so far at least I think it is. Entebbe is wonderful and it's pretty much my home away from home I've known it for a while now and I know my way around some places pretty good. I know it better then Butte now ha. There is only one ward here and actually it is about to go back down to a branch because no one is paying tithing.There are a lot of lost people who don't pay tithing and we don't even know where to start to find these people who are members but don't come, they don't have good records of where they are located. I don't know how many people live here, but it seems like a lot. I did get a new pair of shoes but they are fake and they are already starting to wear, but they should last at least a year I hope, I do wear out shoes it seems like. So my Investigators are doing good. John was indeed able to receive the Holy Ghost and he said he was for sure not going to miss going to church and he didn't it was really good. We have been able to find some new investigators and when I went on splits with Elder Mogadima we were able to find a powerful family that was so ready for the gospel they even said they saw us pass by a lot and were waiting for us to talk with them and that they really wanted to know what we had to say the sad thing is they didn't come to church, but they were in Kampala which was kind of sad. Also we met these two brothers Charles and Emmanuel and they both came to church ready to learn and when they were done with class they were like were can we get those gospel principles books they teach so much. I know they liked coming to church and that they felt it was true it was really cool and I cant wait to go back and talk with them this Tuesday. They are actually middle aged twenties for Emmanuel and early thirties for Charles who is married and they were ready for the gospel in their lives it was really cool. I feel like my area is ready the only problem is is that 90% of the Ugandans aren't legally married so they cant get baptized until they get married. Two people we have had this problem with is Brian and Enock they come to church they want to be baptized they know its the right and true church they just cant. Brians wife lives far away and is hard to get a hold of. Enocks wife just doesn't want to get married right now so we will have to be patient with them as they want to but they cant. It is difficult but I know the Lord can provide and do all things. We also have been teaching another family I dont know if I told you about them last week but they are a referals from sister Esther and Rose was wanting to change her life to Christ so she came to Esther wondering what changed her for the better so she told her and then we started to teach her through Esther because Rose can only speak K Swahili. So she has a family of seven and her husband is a soldier. Her husband doesn't get paid much and he hardly ever gets to see his family which is sad but we were able to meet with him and a few of their kids this Saturday and they seem to be a very powerful family and I am so grateful that I got the chance to meet them. Also Samuel kedi we saw him this Sunday not at church but earlier in the week and he didn't want to be baptized twice, he had already been baptized in another church. He missed church so we decided to go talk to him again and earlier in the week I got a feeling in my heart for Samuel Kedi and I asked Elder Shinga have we taught him about receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost Elder Shinga thinks for a little bit and is like no I don't think so. So decided to focus on that the next time we saw him, so this Sunday we saw him and taught him about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and he was like ok now I see why I need baptism and the Holy Ghost and it was just such a cool feeling to hear him say that because he has been a little shaky at wanting to be baptized but after we taught him that he understood and I am grateful he did. The Lord helps and guides us every day, I know that to be true. That's pretty much the week, we will continue to work hard and do the best that we can even when we are tired or down the Lord is on our side and will not suffer us to fall or give up if we will allow him to pick us up and carry us. I know that this is the true church on the Earth today and I am grateful to be able to teach it to these wonderful people here in Uganda. I love you all and I am glad you are all doing well Keep up the good work continue to have fun and enjoy your time. I miss you and to all a good week. Love Elder Hildreth

Hey 11-7-11

Hi everyone I hope all everyone is having a great day. You can send pictures over the email, I will get them. We will see when that packages come the mail is always really strange here. Our investigators are doing well. It rained hard this week so some investigators that we wanted to show up to church didn't show but I guess it shows the ones that aren't as dedicated to learn yet. We did have some investigators show like Johns brother Bryan and Enock their neighbor who we have been teaching and man they are so powerful it is always a treat to hear from those guys and hear what they have to say. Concy was able to receive the Holy Ghost which was great, but John showed up a little to late so that was to bad. We will wait until next week for him to receive the Holy Ghost. John was a little bummed about it too. John has been studying so much we gave him a gospel principles book and he has been studying it a lot and soon he will know more than me. He is always studying he is so powerful which is awesome. We have been teaching Samuel Kedi, but he was unable to come to church because he went to a village very far away to pay for school fees so hopefully we will be able to see him this week. We are teaching several people but not many people are progressing. But as we teach the people we are able to separate those that are willing to listen and those that are not so ready for the gospel. We did a lot of walking and trying to find those that are ready for the gospel, some of the youth that seem so ready have parents that don't want them to join the church. Humphrey has parents super far away so it is hard for us to talk with his parents. He wont be able to pay for school either without his parents so we just asked him to talk to his parents about it and tell them what he knows. There is a man named Collin that really wants to learn more about the gospel we are planning to talk with his parents as soon as we can so hopefully all goes well there. It rained this Sunday all day and not many Ugandans like to walk in the rain so not many investigators, but it went well because the people who did come are the ones we know will stay in the church like John, Concy, Bryan, Enock, and a friend of Rodgers came so that was pretty good. Last p- day we cleaned went and emailed and played some pool, Elder Shinga really likes pool. This week we went to Kololo for soccer which was fun and I had to figure out what my Net ID is it was crazy.
This church is such an awesome church. It is the plan of Happiness, we know we can be happy and that when trials and tribulations come our way we are able to overcome them through the Love of our Savior. What a blessing it is to know that! When it seems like all is going wrong or is hard we can go to our Heavenly Father and he will answer us and comfort us in our time of need. I love prayer so much and all the tools the Lord has given us to comfort us and to help us. One thing I found that has really helped me is when I find myself down I try to lift someone else up and I find by doing this the Lord will also help me feel up. I know this is Christs church and that it is ran by him through a Prophet of God who leads us and guides us.
I love you all and I hope all continue to do well and enjoy. Love you and miss you
Love Elder Hildreth

Hey 10-31-11

Hello everyone, Happy Halloween. They don't celebrate Halloween down here it's probably a good thing they don't too ha. I have had some great experiences this week. When John when he was being interviewed for baptism by Elder Mogadima he said that John was the most prepared person he had ever seen which is awesome! Florence is really trying but she just needs the courage to stand up for herself, she hasn't been able to get the answer and I asked her what she is expecting and she said that she was expecting a vision. We told her how the spirit works that it doesn't necessarily come in visions or dreams, but in the feelings we get and receive so she said she would keep praying and listen for the answer. Johns brother Brian is doing amazing, he has shown a wonderful interest in the gospel and wants to be baptized which is also wonderful. Yesterday, for church, we went to a place in Kawmpala to listen to Elder Rasband and Elder Cook of the seventies speak to us which was super powerful. I loved to listen to them the spirit was so strong. When it was over people sat there for like 5 minuet es just waiting to hear more of what they they had to say! Nothing happened so they got up and we got ready to leave.The father of the Ballyjusa family stated to me yesterday "When they were speaking it felt like I was in the Temple it was so spiritual!" We had several people come on the bus too, we probably had over ninety people come to listen to them from Entebbe and out of those ninety Elder Shinga and I had ten investigators come to watch which was great! Another spiritual thing that happened this week it was when we got to see John and Concy be baptized it was so awesome. We were going to perform the baptisms at the church, but the night before we turned on the water at the font and the next day nothing was filled up the water didn’t work so we decided to go to the lake and it was such a spiritual experience. Everyone who came felt a wonderful spirit. I asked Brian how he felt and he said "I felt like I needed to go in myself and do the same thing". It was so cool and such a wonderful experience you could feel the spirit. This week has been full of filling the spirit it has been amazing and we have been finding some wonderful people. Yesterday we came home and there is a home close to where our apartment is and we haven't been there so we decided to go and see if the people were interested and when I talked with them they said they never heard of what we had to say, but were always interested in knowing because they saw us go by all the time. It is a huge family and so tomorrow we are going by there to teach them the gospel so I hope it all goes well. Samuel Kadi is doing great he came to church and is continuing to want to know more yesterday for the conference he took notes and everything he is super powerful.

It was such a good week, Elder Shinga and I are continuing to work hard and we are seeing the fruits of our labor. More of the ward member missionaries are wanting to join us in the search for bringing people to Christ it feels as if we have brought a new excitement to the ward for missionary work.

I love it so much here in Uganda I know that the spirit is real and that it guides us in what we say and what we do I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and I’m glad I have this time to share it and I will always want to share this gospel because I know it will bring much joy into peoples lives. I know God lives and loves us and created us and that he sent his son Jesus Christ to Atone and die for us and I am so grateful for that. Many people here in Uganda recognize how much the Savior loves them these people truly do love Christ and I hope that they will accept the gospel into their lives. I know this is the true church on the face of the earth and that it was restored through a Prophet of God and that we once again have a living prophet on the earth that leads and guides us. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true!

Thanks for all you have done I hope you have a great week and enjoy the pictures and the email. This week was a great week one that can't be truly described, but felt. I love you and miss you guys!

Love Elder Hildreth

Hello 10-24-11

The week has been wonderful! I have been so greatly blessed of the Lord this week. As we have worked hard to find those ready for the gospel. This week we have met with a guy named John Maneza I am not sure if I have told you about him, but he is truly one of a kind. He has read everything we have gave him to read plus he reads more. He is very smart and understands most of the things that we have to say. The things he doesn’t understand we tell him and he gets it. Like the Articles of Faith we showed him and he had a question on the tenth one and I just said do you believe Joesph Smith is a Prophet of God and he said he did so right away when I said that he believed it so it was really awesome to see. He has been super powerful and I realize that these are the people that make mission worth it. We start the day by going there and we can feel the spirit so strong so it gives a great start to the day and going throughout the rest of the day is really fun. The Lord has truly blessed us with some prepared people. We have been teaching a lady along with John her name is Florence and she is kind of older and has a kid. She is scared to leave her church which is the only problem. We went once and this pastor guy totally freaked on her saying you either go to hell or heaven by this choice and we were like so how do you feel when we talk to you compared to the way they do. She said she feels good when we talk, but scared when they do. I told her about feelings of the spirit and I know she has felt them but is scared to join because of the other members of her church and even John is trying to help her. Yesterday we got the chance to teach Johns brother and they are both super powerful. The only thing is that John wants to be baptized this week and is totally ready which is awesome and his brother we just started to teach so hopefully that will go well. We also have a guy named Samuel and his sister is the only member of the family and we contacted him just a few weeks back when I was with Elder Cook and now he is coming to church. He came last week too and Elder Shinga said he paid more attention to the sacrament talks then he did ha, but that’s awesome that the Lord has blessed us with these wonderful people that actually understand how important the gospel is! They actually have a testimony that it is true and want to be part of this church! Concy has been to church several times and is friends with Esther the only problem we haven’t been able to go teach her which is not good,. but it is because we haven’t had another responsible adult with us. Hopefully this week we will get some people to come visit her with us. This Sunday was another great Sunday we had eight investigators and there was a total of 96 people at sacrament so it seems to be getting better. I know that is only through the Lord that we get these blessings and I am so grateful for them!
I love this gospel so much and I am so grateful for this time to be able to share it with the people here in Uganda at this time they are all amazing. I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book of God and that it was translated by a prophet of God. I know that Joesph Smith restored Christs church back on the earth. I know we have a living prophet that guides and directs us. I know Christ lives and loves me and I am so grateful for his Atoning sacrifice for us so that we can one day live again. I know God sends us down in families to have joy and happiness and also to learn from one another and I am so grateful for my family and I know that he sent me to this family for a reason and I love them all so very much and am grateful for all they do. I am also so grateful for the friends he has put in my path that have helped me! I am glad I get this chance to spread this wonderful gospel message to all those that are willing to listen.

Well until next week. I love you and miss you!
Love Elder Hildreth

Everything is going great in the wonderful city of Entebbe

Hey Everyone! 10-17-11
Everything is going great in the wonderful city of Entebbe. My new companion is Elder Shinga he is from Zimbabwe and he is one of a kind he has an amazing spirit with him I feel honored to be his companion for the next 3 months, yes you heard me right they are doing this new thing for trainers that when they train they will be with them for two transfers so I will be in Entebbe for awhile. I love Entebbe though so there is no problem with that I am just so glad I can be here for another few transfers. Well we didn't really get much of a chance to work this week because of trainings for the new missionaries and for the trainers and we were gone from our area for three days. When we watched conference it was awesome I felt the spirit so strong as I watched and listened to them. One that was good for me was by Carl B Cook on looking up if you remember that talk, however, all the talks really touched me and at the end I was sad because they were over and I loved the spirit it had brought. On Saturday we didn't have anyone come to conference, but on Sunday we had seven people come and man just by looking at them after conference I could tell they were touched it was so powerful! Even before it began Elder Shinga was talking to a guy we contacted earlier and he said "so how do I become a member of this church?" It took Elder Shinga by surprise because he wasn't used to it. So we told him and even a few others there we talked to about the church and baptism. We have an investigator named John and we have a baptismal date with him and he wasn't so sure about our church at first, but when he listened to conference he knew it was true especially I think after he heard the talk on the Book of Mormon and whether it is good or bad no in between. He also liked hearing from the prophet. I know they felt the spirit I know everyone that was in that room felt it. On Sunday, we had 90 people there to watch the first session once the first session was over a lot of people left except like four of our investigators and a few members. The reason some of our investigators left was because they had to go to work. I am so excited for this week to work with Elder Shinga and I know we will work hard and have fun. He has a wonderful attitude and is such an amazing guy I know we will do good in working together to bring people to Christ and I am excited to do work with him. We have a few families and people to see this week. John for sure being one of them and also all those that came to that conference cant let them go I know they were able to feel the spirit.
I am glad to hear how everyone is doing. I am glad you guys are all doing good and enjoying. I am so grateful for this gospel and how much happiness it brings. I know that this gospel can bring so much happiness, it brings happiness to our spirit which will bring us physical happiness too.As we follow the Lords path for us we will be blessed. I know the Lord loves me and all of his children. I know Jesus Christ died for us and that he paid for our sins, I know he lives and he showed us that we will live again. I want to spread this message with everyone and I know all of us are Gods family and we are brothers and sisters.
I love you all and I miss all you very much. Thanks for Everything!
Love Elder Hildreth

Hey! 10-10-11

I am doing great! I got the package and I think everything was in it. The cookies were great! You can send some more treats and snacks or homemade food. Also maybe some socks haha. I will give the CTR rings out I think that will be fun and also the pamphlets. I loved the package it made my day and thanks for the letter in them that was very nice love getting those even if they are just short little thoughts!
Well for this week it went really well we have been able to continue teaching humble families they are so great, Enoch, he has a wife and a kid and is super humble and willing to learn the gospel he accepts it very well. Another ones name is John, he is very smart, I have been unable to meet with his wife and kids but he understands things very well. He wants to be baptized and so does Enoch which is wonderful. Not many people were able to come to church mainly because it rained super hard! We did have two come though one was Rodgers friend Samuel and he is super interested in coming to church and becoming a member. Also Emmanuel he called me like ten times trying to find the church ha but he really liked it and wants to be baptized which is awesome and is liking the message we have given them. Another family I just met this week is this guy named Dennis he has like 6 kids and is a great guy he knows the Bishop because he works with him and he also likes the gospel. We have been getting some amazing people and I know it is only through Gods power that we can find these people. Transfer news came and I am staying in Entebbe and I am going to be training and I am really excited for the chance I have to be able to train someone! Elder Cook is heading to Seete and he is excited about that. Elder Munkondya is heading to Ethiopia where he has been wanting to go forever! Elder Call is staying here and an Elder Mogadima will be the District leader with him. It was a pretty exciting yet sad transfer. I will miss learning from Elder Cook yet I know I will learn many things from the new Elder I get to be with. I am excited to do the Lords work and I know that he will bless us according to our obedience to listening to his promptings and that we must always follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Also yesterday Habibu came back from Iganga and he was telling us some wonderful stories about how he the mission was going over there! It sounds like the Uganda mission is doing great! I love the mission so far and I know that it is difficult sometimes, but through prayer and the lord we can overcome all obstacles. I am so grateful to be here in Uganda with these wonderful people for this short of time. Even though they may seem poor of the world they are high in spirit and I know they are great people and as they find there faith in Christ they will be blessed just as other places have been blessed as they have accepted the gospel. I know that this is the true church and that it was restored back to it's original fullness when Christ was on the earth by a Prophet Joesph Smith. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that it has helped me through some difficult times. I know that as we study the gospel the Lord will bless us and answer our questions. I know we have a prophet that leads and guides us today and I love to hear him and what he through revelation has to say. I know that Christ lived and suffered for each one of us individually so that we can if we accept him enter into the kingdom of God.
Well I am excited for this next week and all things I will get to learn with this training thing I will be doing they have this program where they take an extra hour of the day for studies for the missionaries and also they stay together for two transfers so I will be in Entebbe for awhile at least tell some part of January ha. I know I will learn so much and that I must always be seeking the spirit.
I am glad all is well back home thanks for all you do and have done for me I love you guys very much and miss you! Keep enjoying and having fun all is well and as long as we are doing what is right all will continue to go well.
Love Elder Hildreth 

Hey! 10-3-2011

My P-Day has been great! We had a zone activity and went to the zoo, I didn’t look at the animals I just played some touch Rugby and that’s actually a super fun game! Elder Cook taught us how to play. I finally got the package thanks so much. We don’t watch conference until October 15th and 16^th, sad I know.
This week was a really enjoyable week I loved it very much! We worked really hard this week and put in a lot of time we didn’t get home until late. We didn’t eat much and just gave our time to the Lord really working hard! We were able to find so many people so many strong people. At church this week we had twelve investigators! I don’t remember all the names of those that came to church. I know Walter and Francis, who we found this week, and the three friends of Rodgers Balyjusa that we taught last week. We went on exchanges this week and I went to Kabowa with are Zone Leader Elder Harword while Elder Cook was with Elder Cadzomba. It was really good to see a different place and see what Elder Harword did. It was really great being able to learn from him and to see how he did things. It was nice to see what it is like outside of Entebbe. I noticed how blessed I am to be here in Entebbe it is such a wonderful place the ward runs well and the members are all so awesome and it is a place ready for the gospel. I don’t know if I will stay here this coming transfer we will find out soon. This week truly flew though we were working so hard! We found so many people and at sacrament we had six people that have baptismal dates. I really know that the spirit is real and when we give a lot of efforts and trust in the Lord to help us He will guide us. It is so important to be humble and obedient. We can't do anything without the Lord because it is truly through Christ and our Heavenly Father that we are strengthened and helped. We must be obedient and follow his directions if we want the blessings that he is willing to give us. I talked with a pastor this week without being scared. I know this is the true church and only true church on the earth, I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book of God and was translated by a Prophet Joesph Smith. I know Christ Atoned for our sins and that he gave his life for us, as long as we remain worthy and do our best to follow Heavenly Fathers commandments we can be saved. I am so grateful to be born and raised in the church and I will always know it's true! I know when we trust in the Lord with all our hearts he will provide a way for us to accomplish the things he wants us to, and that even when we are being tried and tested he is helping us to become better people. I have been having a great week and it has been very spiritual and I know I need to work hard for the lord I am only here for a short period of time so I want to give my best.
It is very nice to hear from the family and it sounds like all is going well! I love hearing from everyone and I love you all and miss you all! Keep up the good work and keep enjoying :)
Love Elder Hildreth

Hey 9-26-11

Everything is going great here. It's been a good week we have found some really strong potential investigators. This Sunday one guy I just contacted came and throughout the week he was calling me and was like church on Sunday right and I was like yeah! He is a awesome and he really wanted to learn more about the Book of Mormon which is awesome so I gave him a Book of Mormon and some things to read and he seems really excited! I was way excited when he came to church because he was one out of the few investigators we had there and I know if we can get him baptized he will be a strong member. Also another cool thing that happened this Sunday isdo you remember Kennedy and Geofry, well they got the Aaronic Priesthood and Kennedy ordained Geofry and Geofry ordained this one guy named Rodgers! It was a really good day. We also did lots of work on Sunday we went on splits so I could visit some people and so Elder Cook could visit a pastor from another church and I guess the pastor is a pretty nice guy so we are going to take the Bishop to see him next Sunday. I visited this guy named Robert again and he is still is a little cautious on whether or not he should leave his other church because he has just joined one and he is praying to find out if our church is true. This week we also met a powerful guy his name was Micheal and he is super cool and he asks so many questions. He didn't make it to church though which was sad. I expected him to come so I will have to see what happened there. He seems really interested in the church though and learning more. Steven still hasn't come back to church yet. I was able to talk with him Saturday and he said he would be coming but has yet to come which is sad I was hoping he would come back to church and enjoy. We still go visit the less actives and recent converts so we can strengthen them. Kennedy, Geofry and Esther and her son Morro are still staying super strong in the church which is great and I think Esther finally got a calling and as I told you Kennedy and Geofry just received the Priesthood. We are still trying to find families now that would love to hear about the church and I know we can. We are looking for the ones that are honest and faithful and I know that through much prayer and fasting we will be able to teach and find those that are ready to hear the gospel!
Before I left McDonald's burnt down so that is cool that it is opened up again and it's crazy to think that the road is almost finished in Butte boy how time flies. Sounds like everything is going great and canning sounds like its going to be a blast. Sounds like everything is going good back home and I am glad to hear that I hope it continues to go well.
Uganda is still doing great nothing really crazy going on I guess some elections are coming up but nothing much more than that. I guess things here are just normal to me now so I don't know exactly what to say except it's amazing and beautiful and the people are great yes the street people do try to rip Mazunguz (whites) off but we usually have another African there to help us. It is such a blessing to be here at this time the field is truly white and ready to harvest and we will find those that are willing. The rain comes and when it comes it pours. This Saturday it poured and Elder Cooks shoes were filled my shoes are pretty torn up so they just went through the holes. Speaking of shoes the ones I have well I have Two pairs the one we bought at Herbergers are fine but the other pair is pretty torn up so I may need some money to buy new ones so I can throw these ones away. All the walking took a toll on them ha. Everything is going great and I love it so much. I know there is nothing better I could be doing and that the Lord will bless those that are willing to follow him and do their best. If there is anything else you would like to know please ask. Oh and by the way there is this one guy that makes some really cool African wood statues. I'll take a picture of the one I have and I was wondering if you would like one too. I met this guy at Stake Conference in Kololo last week and he makes a really cool wood engraving its like Africa then you put the name and he puts some cool animals on it anywho. I really love mission and am so excited to be here and I don't want to miss a minuet of it. I love you guys and I miss you. Thanks for all you do Love ya
Love Elder Hildreth

Hey 9-19-11

So super mouse has disappeared so that’s good. The filter for our water tap is still out of the picture as of now but we should be getting one soon so we are still boiling water. Here in Uganda there are only two seasons; dry season and wet season. Wet season is during the time when there is a lot rain and dry season is during the time when there is no rain. It stays around the same temperature most of the time. It is so beautiful here I bet if you saw it you would love it so much. It is always green I do miss the fall season and feeling of the change of the season though but it's all good I can see that again in a few years. I may not come back here to Uganda so I will enjoy this while I can and do the best I can and just take the time to enjoy what God has given me to enjoy. I haven’t really seen any interesting animals oh except this one snake thing! It had two heads and it was going in one direction and then we scared it and the other head took off it was so weird I don’t really know how to describe it. We saw it when we were helping build someones house which was also an experience in itself haha.

  This week has been a good week, Elder Cook wants me to take over so I can become a great missionary. He is going to pretend to be an extreme greenie and help me grow. I know I need this because sometimes I depend on him too much. Through this I know I will be able to grow more than ever before. It was super irritating at first, but I must be humble and ready to grow and be my best. This last week we have been helping a family build a house. We spent two hours for two days and it's really weird how they build houses here in Uganda. They get some bricks and then they get two types of dirt and mix it with water and then they build. We have been helping by tossing bricks so they are closer and also by getting the sand closer and ready to mix we also get water in a cool way I will send you some pictures Habib took. It was a fun experience we will be going there again tomorrow.

Yesterday was Stake conference my first one in Uganda and it was cool and very good however, I missed a lot because we gave up our seats for some others, so I didn’t hear too much. Saturday we finally saw Steven again! He said he has been super busy and will be coming back to church again which is great! I was very happy to see him. He is doing good and we taught him the power of the Atonement in his life. It was a good lesson. What else was cool was to see Kennedy, Geofry, Esther and Concy at Stake conference which was a great sacrifice for them and it was so great to see them there. I know that they had a spiritual experience. Yesterday we didn’t have the Ballyjusa Family Home Evening so what we did was we went and found some people and I think the spirit 

really led us where we needed to go because the people I wanted to see weren’t there, so we went to this house and there was this lady and she really wanted to know what we taught and especially wanted to learn about prayer. She was a Muslim but is now turning Christian so she wanted to know how to pray so we taught her. Then we saw this man name Aggero and he has three kids and a wife and was super interested in the Book of Mormon. Then we met this guy named Robert and we taught him about the priesthood and He really liked what we said but he said he would need some time to decide if it's what he wanted. Earlier this week Tuesday I think we were bounced by Noah and Ceprian some less actives they told us to come back later. When I was with Elder Call, 

Elder Munkondyas companion, I got a feeling to knock on a house but was to scared to do it because it was a super rich home but I got the feeling to go again and so I did and we found this super awesome family they have 5 kids I think 3 in boarding school one stays home because he isn’t strong enough and needs prayers and the other is a baby. They were so awesome and we talked with them for awhile and told them about the Book of Mormon and about prayer it was great. They want us to keep going back on Saturdays when they are free! It has been a good spiritual week and I am so grateful for prayers and the spirit that will lead us a guide us where we need to go. I am also grateful for the Atonement and that Christ would lay down His life for me if I am willing to follow what he says and do what he asks me to do. I am so grateful for all He has done for me and all that He will do for me! I know He truly died for all of us and wants us to return to live with Him again He lived so we could live He died so we can live again! I know this is true I know this church is true! Habibu our helper is now gone to serve a local mission it was sad but we know the lord needs him and we are grateful for his service.

It is great to hear that you all are doing well and having fun I will miss peeling/eating pears haha I know you guys will have fun. I love you guys very much and miss you but I know that this work is important and it is the most important thing I can be doing!

Love Elder Hildreth

Hey everyone! 9-12-11

Hey everyone! 9-12-11

I am doing so wonderful today! We didn't have the best week last week, but our motto this transfer is do better and no excuses so we will do better and not make excuses for what we do wrong and just try to improve ourselves and continue to grow from our mistakes and become better! We haven’t been able to see Steven in awhile and he hasn’t come to church for at least three weeks which is sad, but I still know he will turn around and want to come back to Christ. I talked with President about him and he said to get the family to help so he can have a firm foundation, We haven’t seen Steven in so long and we try to see him everyday but he is always gone. I know though that he will come back. We didn’t have too many investigators at sacrament we had one guy Damiono and a girl named Concy. Damiono has come before but he just comes every once in awhil. We haven’t really got the chance to teach him because he has no contact number so it is kind of hard. He has a friend that is a member so I talked with him and asked and he knows where he lives so we can talk with him. Also Concy is a referral from a returned missionary girl Sara. Concy seems interested in the gospel which is wonderful. This week we talked with Joesph I think I told you about him and he has stopped progressing and he is scared to leave his church to come to ours. He is also scared to read and pray about the Book of Mormon to find out if it is true. We are planning to take it away and give it to someone who will progress and will actually read and study the Book of Mormon and that will actually want to find out if its true. Our hope also by doing this is that Joesph will want to come back and that he will realize for himself he needs the true church. We are still trying to continue to strengthen our recent converts and also try to talk and bring back the less actives. Something interesting that happened this week is we had this guy come to change our water spout because it was broken and he put in a new spout and now the water filter doesn’t fit so we have to boil our water they are going to try to bring something else so that the filter can fit on it. Another funny thing that’s been happening is we have a pet mouse not on purpose but he just kinda came in one day and he is super quick so we cant kill him and he is just in our apartment and he enjoys some of our food so now we need to be careful with our food ha. This mouse is like superman he can jump super high open cupboards and is super fast so that’s an experience in itself ha. Don’t worry we have protected our food now and he cant do anything. Also the weather has been good not too rainy and its not too hot so that makes it nice. I got the chance to work with a ward missionary named Tom and he is super cool he is a convert and he told me his testimony of the gospel and how it changed his life and how he used to fight all the time and people called him Tyson because he loved to fight and now that he is in the gospel it changed his life and he is trying to help bring others unto Christ which is super cool he is a great guy. It wasn’t the missionaries who found him he decided himself he needed to change so he went to the church one Sunday and wanted to become better what a stud! Habibu is still amazing and he has been trying to put in his mission papers like ten times and the stake president keeps telling him he needs to do more and then the last time he went the Stake President told him he needs to fill out new papers that just came up so that’s been a trial for him yet he still works with the missionaries and he is so great and I am truly thankful that Habibu has been here to help us. This Entebbe ward is so wonderful and I am growing way more appreciation for those in this ward and how they have helped me. I know that this is where Heavenly Father wants me to be at this time and he knows this is where I can do the most good and where I can grow the most. Being a missionary isn’t the easiest thing ever, but I know it has helped me grow and that it will continue to help me become better. I know I will grow to be a better person and more Christlike I love being here and I know I am only here for a short time and I need to do my best and continue to grow and become a better person. If you have questions I will do my best to answer and tell you whats going on. Nothing too crazy its all pretty normal or what I think normal is now ha. I guess my spiritual thought of the week will be on excuses we shouldn’t let ourselves get caught up in giving excuses and telling them about what happened instead just learn from what we did wrong and know that we will do better next time. Excuses aren’t good and they never will be. Instead of giving excuses just know for yourself to do better and grow. I know I need to do better myself at not making silly excuses but to just grow and know I will do better. I really like our motto “Enjoy doing better no excuses”. We need to be humble and learn to grow from what we did wrong and just do our best. I am so grateful for this church which is ran by a true and living prophet and that he leads and guides the church through revelation! I know that Christ lives and that he suffered for all of our sins so that one day we can return to him as long as we do our part and I am so thankful that he would give his life to save me. I know this is the only true church upon the face of the earth.

Love Elder Hildreth

Hey everyone 8-29-11

This week has been good we got transfer news and I am staying and with Elder Cook. Elder Seabolt is leaving to Masaka and Elder Munkondya is staying to train so he will be having a son soon. Sometimes when it feels like the most good is happening some trials come and you just continue to push through with them. Just like this Sunday it rained so much as we were walking down our normal path it seemed like we were walking through a river my shoes and socks were so wet and muddy. I brought my rain jacket though so not that wet. It was so crazy I wanted to take a picture but I didn't want to wreck my camera. At church we didn't have many people there even one of the young men that was supposed to be baptized didn't come his name is Steven so that was pretty sad.
 Geofrey and Kennedy showed up to be baptized they are so powerful! They even bore powerful Testimonies. Joesph, the Father of this family came and he is a pretty great guy. He came even though he was sick which is pretty good. Lillian didn't come back to church again probably because the rain was so bad. This week we worked really hard and we are still trying to reactivate people and find those that are interested in the gospel. Habib has helped us a ton this week actually he helps us a ton all the time so that really cool of him. I don't really know the lifespan of people over here but most of them look pretty young. The gospel is true and I know that it is only through the trial of our faith that we will become stronger. I am so grateful for the blessings the Lord has given me like such a great companion a great district a great place like Entebbe to be for another six weeks. I love Entebbe and the people the ward is wonderful and I'm so thankful they have accepted me in and have helped me to grow and learn. This week we are planning to work hard and to find more of the honest people who are ready to receive the gospel and once we find those ones we hope to bring others through the honest. We are also planning to go work more in Bita where the Ballyjusas live because we haven't really been there yet and even taking a shortcut to the Ballyjusa house we saw many places that we had no clue that were even there so I guess that is our plan for this transfer. I know we can find those that are ready to accept the gospel as long as its what the Lord wants.

I am so grateful for our Loving Heavenly Father who gave me such a wonderful family to be in and that through his Son Jesus Christ we can be together forever someday and I know no matter what happens we will see each other again. I Know this is the loving plan of our Father in Heaven and He wants every family to know this and know that they can be together forever. Finding families is such a great thing and can be done. I love all of you guys and I am so grateful on how you have helped me. Each day I will continue to grow in the gospel we all learn line upon line precept on precept. It sounds as if all of you guys are doing good so that is great! Keep having fun!
Love Elder Hildreth

Hey Everyone!

The first part of Russell's letter is about Justin Robbe who graduated with Russell, he died in a plane crash last Monday. Nick's Father, Richard Johnson, died in the crash too, Nic Johnson is a friend of Aaron's, he graduated with Aaron. Hey Everyone! 8-22-11 At first I would like to talk about Justin and Nick's families. I know what just happened is super sad and it makes me sad, but I know that right now that family needs the gospel in their lives and this could be just the thing that can bring them closer to Christ. I know that they can see each other again someday and that we have a life after death I only wish now that I would have shared the gospel with Justin but I know that is in the past and all we can do is go forward in the present. We only have a short while to live on this earth and this life is unpredictable. It makes me want to teach everyone the gospel so they can feel of Heavenly Fathers mercy and love for us. I know it is only because of Christ that our families can be together forever and that he loved each and every single one of us to Atone for us I feel so blessed to know this sand feel it is so important to share it? We have such a wonderful message that we should be willing to share to everyone to show the world. This week was another great week and we have been working hard and doing good. Our Zone training went well we did a role play on how the spirit can guide people. We set five stones out and told the missionaries that they were the steps to Christ: 1st rock was faith in Christ 2nd was repentance 3rd was for baptism 4th was for receiving the Holy Ghost and 5th was for enduring to the end. We had two missionaries come up and help us, one was acting as a missionary and the other as an investigator and the investigator was blindfolded. We had him start at the beginning and the first time we just had the missionary bring him to baptism tand was not blessed with the Holy Ghost the missionary came and held his hand . Then we said the missionary that baptized him got transferred testimony wasn't strong enough and he didn't have the spirit to help him stand on his own. The second time we had the missionary bless him with the Holy Ghost and extend commitments and I was acting as the spirit and guiding him until the point when the missionary was transferred he wouldn’t be led away by the devil. So I thought it went well and so did the rest of our training. Hearing what everyone had to say just made me want to go out and work and the message we had was about finding families is so important. So that was the training we had this week and it was great! This week we had one baptism with Moro, Steven wanted to wait for his dad to see him baptized so we decided to postpone his baptism so his dad could see him. Lillian came back to church after 7 years of not going so that was super cool. Now I'll just continue to pray that she keeps coming to church.. We have been teaching two boys Geofry who is 19 and Kennedy who is 20 and both have friends in the church and are super powerful they both want to serve missions and do what their friends are going to do! Those two will be baptized next week man I am excited for Steven, Geofry and Kennedy they are all amazing and are even bringing their friends to church and have started doing missionary work already! After Moros was baptised he bore his testimony and it was super powerful he is only 10 and he talked about how after the baptism he felt so clean and holy and perfect and it was the coolest thing ever and I felt so happy for him and I know that that kid will be amazing. He is Esthers son and he is really funny and really cool. Sunday before church something great happened we were walking and Elder Cook contacted this one guy so I decided I should contact someone as well so I contacted this guy who had a family and gave him the Family a Proclamation to the World pamphlet and told him a little about it. Well on our way to the Ballyjusa family that evening Elder Cook saw him and talked to him and he told him he really liked what the pamphlet said and that our church said this and he has been looking for a church like this and he wants to go to church next Sunday so that was super and it felt so great! I feel that we have been working hard and now the Lord is giving us blessings and guiding us to families that can be blessed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this is the true and everlasting gospel I love this mission and I am so grateful to be among such a great people and to be with such wonderful missionaries such as my companion Elder Cook and My district. We had Mormon Helping Hands this week which was super wonderful and I loved working with these guys we helped clean up Ktoro and it was really messy and it still has a ton of work but we swept shoveled and raked for like 5 hours and we had a pretty big group it was fun too and really tiring I got super tired for the rest of the day mostly I think because I forgot sunscreen that wasn’t a good idea but I'm all good and it was such a good experience. I am glad to hear the family is doing good and having fun I love you guys and am so grateful I was raised in the gospel by such loving parents and my brothers and sisters and grandparents aunts and uncles and friends that have helped me. You guys are all so wonderful and I love you guys very much. Everything is going great here! I am doing wonderful and I am trying to learn more and more about the gospel and how it can help me in my life and how I can bless others. Love Elder Hildreth

Live From Uganda

 So everything here is going great and I am so thankful for the Lord and his blessings and even his tender mercies which sometimes we don’t deserve but he still gives them to us to show us that he Loves us and that he cares for us. What a wonderful Father in Heaven we have I know that he loves all of his children and wants what is best for us all. He really knows all our needs even before we ask him and I know that to be true. I know that is why he sent his son because he loves us each and every single one of us and when we look at people we should see the child of God in every single person because we are all children of God and he love us. 

  So this week has been a good week, full of finding the lost and some we knew about such as Sevier Luma and Lillian but they don’t come to church and I have no idea why not. We are trying to become better friends with them so they want to come back to church and they haven’t been to church in forever so it is kind of sad not knowing why. Both of them even have lots of friends at church that come to visit them but yet they still don’t come and we as missionaries don’t know what to do at least I don’t. So hopefully the Lord will soften their hearts and bring them back to church.

  We also had a Zone District Meeting this week where we talked about sacrament and how we can get people to want to come to sacrament so that was good and I enjoyed listening to what our Zone Leaders had to say. Also this week Me and Elder Cook are giving a Training for Zone Conference on the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion. So we will see how that goes and I will be seeking for the spirit so we can edify those that come. I am excited and I hope it all goes well.

  So this Sunday was a really powerful Sunday because when I first got to church there was like 10 people there and there was like 5 minuets left tell it started so I said a little prayer that more people would come and little while later the chapel was pretty filled and there were a few less actives that came and also some people we have been teaching which brought friends and they all seem interested in the gospel which was so great! I am so glad that the Lord hears us and will give us blessings such as that. The Lord really does answer prayers if we ask him with a sincere heart. How wonderful it is to have prayer I love it. That’s not all though we went to the Ballyjusa family for FHE and they are such an incredible family with such powerful testimonies of the gospel and the Assistants want us to record their families testimonies and take a picture of them and they will make that a pass along card and for the movies for everyone to see! I am excited to see what it will look like. This week was just a trial run but this Saturday we will be doing the real thing and it will be powerful! Also Esther our recent convert has been teaching like 15 people our gospel which is amazing and they are for the other Elders but who cares she has asked for their help and says that most of them will most likely be baptized that is so cool!

We have two baptisms planned for next week one Esthers son Morro who is 10 and also Steven who is 19 and he brought two friends to church Derek and Stanley who are also interested so it was just a wonderful day and I feel so blessed.

  Today we wont be doing that much just clean the apartment, email and just hang out until Family Home Evening at the church with the single adults and then back to teaching people which will be good.

   I am loving mission and loving Uganda and the people here more and more. It is such an amazing experience I hope all young men strive to serve mission it is so amazing and I know as long as we do what is right we will grow through the Lord and our Faith will continue to grow stronger and stronger.

Thanks for the Email I am glad everyone is doing good! keep enjoying and having fun. I love you all and to all a good week until I hear from you again.

   Love Elder Hildreth

Elder Russell D. Hildreth
Uganda Kampala Mission
Nakawa House, Ground Floor
7 Portbell Road
Nakawa Kampala
Uganda  

Hey everyone! August 8, 2011

  Entebbe is doing good. It is actually raining here now and I had to run through some rain to get here and there was a lot of it too. I was even without the rain jacket. So that was really fun. I really like Entebbe the Ward is wonderful and so are the people. The week went pretty good we were focused on finding the recent converts that are lost and we have no clue who they are and also we are trying to get people to want to come to church it isn't very easy to get people to commit to do anything here. Today for Prep day we don't have much planned but it will be fun maybe we will make a cake or some burritos or something. Speaking of food Mom can you send me your recipe for cookies and for brownies if you could also frosting. That would be wonderful :) I really am loving it out here the people are great and one thing I also got to do was go on exchanges and I got to see what the other side of Entebbe was like with Elder Munkondya so that was pretty fun and interesting they have some pretty good prospects. It was also nice to see how he taught so I could learn from him. He is from Zambia and has almost been on mission for 6 months and the same is for Elder Seabolt so we are a young district. We are doing good though and working hard. I had an experience last week where I lost my wallet so my companion and I prayed so we could find it and I found it a few moments later and I lost it a few days back and had been praying to find it myself and I couldn't find it. So it just adds testimony to the more people you have in the prayer the more effective it can be. I feel so blessed for answered prayers what a blessing.  The Zone Leaders came this Saturday to interview Evelyn who was going to be baptized Sunday and she ended up being ready to be baptized and she wants me to baptize her so this will be my second baptism. Now we need to get her to endure and not become a lost sheep. It makes it hard on other missionaries when tnew members aren't taught to endure to the end because Elder Cook and I have a lot of work trying to find 40 some recent converts who just disappear ed. I know we can find them through prayer and that we will also find those ready for baptism. We also had about 6 investigators at church which is good and most of them seem interested lets hope they stay interested and continue to want to follow the path our Savior set for us. I know that the Lord will bless us for our obedience to him and as long as we are obedient we are more likely to receive the blessing that he will give us.

   I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ and that it has been restored back to its original form when Christ was on the Earth and how great is it to have a Prophet like Joesph Smith that was able to endure all those hardships to make sure this work continued to move on. What a great blessing is it to serve a mission? it is way great and even to bring one soul to the eyes of God will bring us much joy! I know that I am here to bring people to follow our Savior Jesus Christ and that we should all strive our best to serve him to what we are capable. I have seen what a great example of what we should be doing at home and to help the missionaries. The people here are usually willing to help the missionaries when they ask which is great so will I. I know that always being a missionary is super important.

  I am so grateful to the family I have and that they have helped me so much to become the person I am and even that you guys continue to encourage me and help me out! I am so thankful and I have much more to thank you guys for. I love you all. Thanks Mom for your Emails they are amazing and I am so grateful that you always write me and help me I love you.

 I love all of you.

Love Elder Hildreth

Hey! Well I hope everyone is going well. Thanks so much for what you said about prayer it seems like you had a wonderful Ed week. I know prayer is the one thing we can always go to in time of need and even when we think we shouldn’t pray that is also when we should for "the evil spirit teacheth a man not to pray and the good spirit teaches a man to pray". I know prayers can be answered and they will be answered by our Heavenly Father in his own due time.

This week was really good. We have been working pretty hard and have been teaching this girl named Evelyn. I don’t know if I told you about her but she was a referral from my brother Elder Bailey who is in Ethiopia now which is really cool. She is really amazing and really wants to be baptized hopefully this next week! Also this Saturday we had one of our Assistants come over to stay with us. His name is Elder Rennie and he is really nice and he is super spiritual and he loves to work and get things done. Also this Sunday we had one of our best Sacrament Meetrings we had nine investigators at church and most of them want to get baptized which is great. We have one guy Rodgers who we taught the Doctrine of Christ to four others, two of them are Esters little kids. Esther if you remember just got baptized and now she has a ten and eight year old that want to be baptized. We also had an older guy in his 40s. He came and they all want to be baptized and want to meet with us more which is absolutely wonderful and I am super excited for all these guys. We will try to see them as much as much as we possibly can. I'll try to keep you updated. The other missionaries also had a baptism which was great. His name is David and I got the chance to talk with him and he is super powerful.

Sorry it took me so long to email you guys today, we were in Kololo for pday for zone activities so I got to see the mission home. We went and played some basketball with our zone. There were also like two other zones there so it was really fun. After we went back to this shop right store and it is kinda like Three Bears. We also went to Mr Tasties and that was a really good restaurant. Also got some ties which was cool. So that is why I am late to email you.

I think it is a wonderful experience to be on mission and I am so grateful to be here and I love it so much. I love the Ward here, it is the strongest Ward in Uganda well that is what my companion Elder Cook says. The members are super nice and they are wonderful. The people are nice, a little to nice I guess, they say yes to every commitment you ask because they don’t want to offend the missionaries. I love it here in Uganda and I am definitely getting more used to how everything here. Like the warmth and I guess just everything when I first got here everything was strange but now I am kinda getting more and more used to everything.

I know this is the true church on earth today and I am so grateful to be here in Africa to serve the Lord for these two years. It really is an amazing experience and I know I have so much to learn and so much more faith to be gained. Another great experience I had this Sunday was there was a really sick little girl at church and Elder Cook and I gave her a blessing and even within an hour she was jumping up and down with excitement. How the Lord loves the children and we must all be like little children submissive meek humble and full of patience I don’t know if I was like that as a child ha but it is how we are to be and I will try to build those and build myself the best way I know how.

 Well that’s about all I have this week. I love you all and Ill talk to you next week.

Love Elder Hildreth 

We are trying to find some of Gods elect

Hey everybody! Everything is going good here in Entebe Uganda. This week was a great week we had many lessons and we are trying to find some of Gods elect. My testimony of prayer keeps getting stronger and stronger one day this week I forgot the day exactly but we got bounced by these two people we were supposed to teach so my companion told me to say a prayer so I did and within a few minuets they showed up. It was great and even the lessons went well. I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers if we are sincere and ask with real intent. So also one day this week we didn't really know what to do because we were bounced but we felt prompted to go to this house kind of nearby and we found out that there was a less active there and that her younger brother seemed really interested in the church also so that was really cool and a blessing from the Lord. So I think it was last week I found this guy named Fredrick and he is super cool and he came to church with us yesterday and he wants to be baptized which is wonderful and so now we need to teach him a few more things and maybe even he could be baptized next week which would be amazing! There is also this referral we got from actually one of my brothers Elder Bailey if you remember me telling you guys about him well any who they taught

this girl named Evelyn and she is super powerful and is already making friends with the ward members and she also wants to be baptized. She didn't come to church because of work so hopefully she can come next week or we will have to tell her the importance of the eternal matters and how that matters way more than worldly matters.Also this Saturday we did a service project even last Thursday and we do it for Sister Kilama the Bishops wife and what we do is clean the chicken place and last Thursday I only had my church clothes which wasn't good so this Saturday I made sure to bring other clothes so we cleaned the chicken poo and there are like two levels and both are pretty small so its difficult to clean. So we are working really hard and we are also having a fun time while doing it. I am so grateful to be on a mission.
   The houses here well its strange most houses are different I guess some are super small lets say we are in Boyd's room and you take out the closet area and you divide his room in half and that's what some people live in. I don't get to see really anyone's house past their living room so I don't see much of what is inside. Just the living room. Houses here are kinda hard to describe ha so ill just send pictures sometime. Its pretty hot here in Africa but one night I had no blankets so I got pretty cold which is crazy right? Nope I got cold and it was super weird so now I sleep with cover at least. The nights are warm but I think i am getting a little more used to the weather. If there is anything else you want to know ask.
   Thanks so much for the email and I love hearing how everyone is doing and it sounds like everyone is doing wonderful and that's great!  I love you all and I cant wait to hear from you.
   Love Elder Hildreth