FELIZ NAVIDAD!!

Everything is going pretty great here in New Jersey more or less. It's a little tougher being away from home around this time of year, but this is a great work, and has major importance.

Our calls this week can be up to 45 minutes, but probably preferably between 35 and 40. I really don't know our Christmas day schedule yet. There's a possibility that me and Elder Harringtons first baptism will be this Christmas. We'll see though. I'll be sure to call sometime in between 12:00 and 5:00 your time.

So this week has had it's ups and downs, just like life in general. Last Monday we went and sorta had an FHE with these people named Guille and Asuncion. Both of them are members, but their two kids aren't. The daughter is a maybe for baptism, but the son said no. The reason is, is that his real dad has a different religion, and I heard that he really likes our church but he likes his dads too, and he doesn't really want to dissappoint his dad by joining our church. Really good family though. Later that night we went and taught Fausta about Tithing and the Word of Wisdom. I love how there is such great member support here. We have been able to have a lot more member present lessons here in Dover. There are 2 awesome guys named Lucio, and Jacobo who really help us out with our lessons because me and Elder Harrington still don't have the language down where we can express ourselves the way we would want.

On Tuesday we had a good district meeting about the importance of involving members in our work. And how really the perfect formula for missionary work would be the Members to do the Finding, the Missionaries to do the Teaching, and the Members to do the Baptism. Unfortunately it doesn't always work like that, but member missionary work can be a huge asset to the missionaries.

Wednesday was a pretty great day, although we didn't have a lot of time to work because we had an All Mission Conference that lasted basically the whole day. We heard great talks from the Assistants about really focusing on our purpose. I really liked one analogy that one of them gave about how Jesus Christ told 2 apostles to follow him and he would make them fishers of men. Then they dropped their nets and followed. He then talked about how we still have some nets that we need to drop. It was definitely a great talk for me to hear, because I think there still may be some nets that I'm am having a hard time letting go.

Another one of the things I liked was when Elder Litzenberger shared a quote about worrying about girls back home. It was something like, "Every year we get a new batch of girls, and the new batch is just as good as the old one." That was a pretty good quote that I thought was useful. We heard about being more Charitable from Sister Bahr and then we must both Serve and Be Served.

After that we had an amazing lunch provided by the ward. The gym was set up really nice with little bags of candy at each seat, and some christmas trees up on the stage. After eating we took an all mission picture on the stage. It was definitely difficult to get all set up because of the hundreds of missionaries that were there, but I'll get a copy of the picture sometime and you'll see it I'm sure. We then heard a musical number from a lady and from another guy who plays the part of Hyrum Smith in the Joseph Smith movie at Temple Square. It was an excellent number for sure.

After that we got to hear the testimony and story of Billie Johnson who is an African Pioneer I guess you would call it. It told us of all these amazing experiences he had, and visions he had. It was an excellent talk. Later that night our zones got different christmas songs, and it was our job to come up with new lyrics that applied to the mission. We got "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth." It was pretty tough to work with and our song wasn't super awesome, but some of the other missionaries did really well, and were way funny.

Later that night we went and had a lesson with Albero (the one guy that was almost baptized but had some issues with the temple). It was a pretty good lesson, but Albero is a pretty intelligent guy and he's pretty set on his ways. He likes our church though, and respects what we do, but I guess the temple thing gets a little confusing. On our next lesson we are going to bring a member who is a temple sealer in Manhattan. That should help out a lot.

On Thursday we had an awesome planning session. It was also our walking day too which is always a little tougher, especially since it get really cold here in New Jersey. It must be the humidity, but it can be pretty brutal especially when it's windy. It makes me all the more grateful though that we have a car. So usually I have my coat, beanie, 2 pairs of gloves, and by neck wrap on and covering most of my face. So sometimes I look like a ninja walking around, but you've gotta stay warm somehow right? We had another lesson with Fausta that night about the Plan of Salvation, but only did a part of it. The plan of salvation can definitely be a lot to take in.

Friday was a really rough day for us. Alot of things were falling through, and we had to get our oil changed in the car. We eventually got a lesson in with Edwin that night, but we didn't get much else accomplished.

Saturday was a pretty great day though. We had sorta a finding miracle. We were going to go check out some formers or potentials on a certain road. We went and knocked one house but got no answer. Then we walked back over the street where our car was to talk to a guy setting up his christmas light stuff. Originally we went over just to ask him if any of his neighbors spoke spanish, but to my suprise at least, he told us that he speaks spanish. We found out his name is Patricio. We taught him the first lesson outside and he seemed pretty interested. We both bore our testimonies, and Patricio was telling us how he was a Catholic by birth but that he isn't really happy with his religion. We ended with a prayer and then he went back inside. As we were in the car he came back out and knocked on our car door. He offered us some bread that they had just made. Unfortunately we had to go, but I think that's a good sign. We'll see what happens with him. Later we went to the ward Christmas party and the missionaries were suppose to give a musical number. There were 4 of us, but Elder Holmes was part of some nativity story so then it was just us 3. We sang a spanish hymn acapella style which was definitely something I had never done before. It was alright, but still a good experience.

Yesterday was a really good day as well. We went to our PEC meeting in the morning, and then at church me and Elder Harrington got some gifts from the Young Women's and another family in the ward. I got a pretty cool tie as well. The Branch is really nice here, and hopefully we can make it become a ward pretty soon.

After church we had the opportunity to go to a baptism. It was of an 8 year old, but he was living in a less active family. His dad did the baptism which was awesome. I could really feel the spirit at the baptism and it has been awhile since I've been to a baptism, so I really enjoyed watching it. It just helps you think of your purpose more, and helps you see what your goal is for your investigators. We had one guy who Elder Harrington and Elder Walch (His former comp) used to teach come to Church and come to the baptism which is a really great sign. He lives with members which I think helps. His name is Freddy and he's probably in his 40's. Hopefully we can start teaching him again and help him come unto Christ. We watched the Church Christmas movie and it was pretty great.

Later we went to go see Carlos who was a referral that lived really far away. Suprisingly, he was already a member that got baptized in August. He was a way nice guy though, and we are going to try and help him be more active. The problem I think with retention around here, is that lot's of people have to work on Sundays.

After seeing Carlos we went and saw Fausta again and reviewed Joseph Smith with her. She had her baptism set for the 26th of this month, but we got bad news. She has to work next Sunday, even though her boss told her that she could have Sundays off after christmas. I guess Satan works to keep people from getting baptized. We learned that Fausta's co-worker is in the hospital and so they need Fausta's help and that's why she has to work. But... Hopefully we can still have the baptism this week. When she found out that we could do the baptism a different day this week, and even on Christmas when she didn't have work, she seemed pretty happy. It's not exactly set for Christmas day, but we're hoping that we can do it then. That would be a pretty great Christmas, to have our first baptism, and to change someone's life. We were going to have Christmas Dinner with the branch president that night.

Tonight we have a FHE planned which should be pretty great and this week will be a good week. We are probably going to go to the temple on Wednesday, but that takes from our next P-day, so I don't know when the next time is that I'll be writing.

I'm excited to hear from you all, but it will be hard after the call to have 6 months before I call again. It's ok though because this is the place to be. I'm learning how to make decisions, how to plan, how to help people. how to truly love people, how to listen to people (which I definitely have had a problem with in the past), how to take care of myself and not call home everyday. I'm continually trying to put down my nets and get both feet in the mission field. I've noticed that as I'm doing that, I'm a lot happier. It gets hard for me to not think about home or life after or before my mission. But I know that I can be happier here as I truly focus on the work and serve with all my heart, might, mind and strength.

Our zone goal has been about becoming a more consecrated missionary, and I think the things I'm learning in studies and stuff are helping me do that. There is a lot more of myself that I need to put on the Alter of Sacrifice to truly become a consecrated missionary. I'm working towards staying more focused, and not letting myself think of home and family. It's been tough, but I know with the Lord I can do it. One talk we were reading said that we need to be as thoroughbred horses with blinders where all we see is track and the finish. I know I have weaknesses as a missionary, but as Ether 12:27 talks about, with the Lord our weaknesses can be made strong.

I love the Gospel, and I love all the new things and insights I gain during personal study. I love this holiday when we can truly focus on the life of Jesus Christ. Just think how happy we would be all year, if we took our focus of Jesus Christ during the Holiday Season, into the other 11 months. Christmas doesn't have to be 1 day of the year, but can, and probably should be 365 days a year. When we continually think of Christ and the example he set for us. When we think about the impact his gospel has had on our lives and the happiness we receive from the knowledge of the plan of salvation, and the knowledge of the atonement and repentence. I know this is an important work and can truly bless those I serve, and can make me into the person I am to become. I just have to do what's necessary to let this mission make that transformation in me. The Gospel is true and I'm thankful for all of you and your support.

Have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!!
Love all of you!!!

Talk to you on Saturday!

I've been transferred to . .

Alright, so now I'm working in Dover New Jersey. It's so different from Jersey City. It's a lot more residential, sorta like a place in between Lehi and Provo. So it reminds me a little more of home and is a little more normal which is pretty great. My new companions name is Elder Harrington, and we are one of the youngest companionships in the mission. Our New Address is 309 Washington Ave O - 10, Dover, NJ, 07801.

They did something pretty crazy this last transfer. They made 3 companionships utilizing people from our zone in the MTC, so we are all really close in age. There is me and Elder Harrington who is just 1 transfer ahead of me. Then Elder Buess and Elder Stuki. Elder Buess is one transfer ahead and Elder Stuki came with me, and then there is Elder Maughn and Elder Boyes who were companions in the MTC and now they are back together. It's pretty crazy, but this is a really great learning opportunity. Neither of us have our trainers to rely on anymore, so now we have to really push our Spanish and everything. It should be a pretty great transfer.

So on Tuesday I said goodbye to Elder Yates and took some cool pics by graffitti, and then we went off to transfer conference. I was called as the Junior companion and the "Driver". Yep, we are in a driving area, and I got chosen to be the driver. I was pretty scared when I heard that because I haven't driven in awhile and I didn't know what Dover was gonna be like, but it's not that hard to drive around here. I'm just happy we have a car, because it has been really cold lately.

On Wednesday we had our first zone meeting here which was awesome. One of our goals is to really consecrate ourselves to the work, and so now we are reading different things for personal study to really better consecrate ourselves. After that we went to fudruckers which was pretty good, but also pretty pricy. We talked to some pretty cool people, and we have this nice guy named Edwin that comes out with us as well.

On Thursday was our car fast and also weekly planning. After planning for the week, we had to go hike this big hill like over logs and leaves and everything because Elder Harrington said it would take like 20 minutes off our walking time. It was pretty cold out there but we talked to one guy on the street who said he was really close to getting baptized but then he got offended when he couldn't go through the temple with his son, so we'll have to try and meet with him and help him solve some problems.

It's really different here. It's a lot easier to find hispanics, and it's a lot easier to knock doors. And the people are a lot nicer too.

On Friday we went and did service for a man named Uruguay, who was actually from... Uruguay. After we did some service he had us come in and we shared a message and ate this way good hot chocolate with a bunch of cookies. We taught a pretty good amount of lessons, and went to one of our investigators named Fausta. We taught her about the 10 commandments and had Jacobo (a member) there with us to help us out. We had to change her baptismal date to the 26th of Dec because she has work on the 19, but she said that after that, she won't have to work on sundays anymore, which is pretty amazing.

Saturday was a pretty rough day for us because a lot of things were falling through. We talked to some good people and did some good knocking though. On Saturday I also wrote a Christmas Talk for Sunday, which I didn't end up having to give which is a bummer. But it's pretty cool how it's so diverse here. I've like talked to 3 Uruguayans and there is a lot of Colombians here.

Without our trainers, me and Elder Harrington have really had to get better at Spanish, and I feel like mine is improving a little bit each day. I still need to be diligent and learn a lot more. But Sunday was a pretty good day. We had church in our building. Yeah it's just a building because we are only a branch right now, but are 4 members away from making it into a ward. Once we get that, they can start building the chapel. So it's something to work toward for sure. Anyway, in church we had the Primary program which was pretty great. Our Branch President knows Spanish but his daughter doesn't so there has to be a translator each week talking into a little headset and then they can hear it on their headphones. I got to do that for a little while yesterday and translate for her, but I missed a lot of words and sometimes I just said a word and paused until I understood something else they said, so it probably sounded really funny, but it was a good experience for sure.

Then Last night we had our Christmas devotional in Union City. It was a far drive, but it was great for sure. It was a wonderful spiritual devotional.

Everything is good here. The transfer was definitely different and I'm still trying to get used to the change. I like it here in Dover though and hopefully we can have a lot of good success.

The gospel is true. This week I have been reading more about God's love for us, and it has been pretty great. God really does love us so much and wants to bless us, and it's so important that we love God. I was also reading this talk today from Elder Bednar that talked about how we need to pray, not only with the intent to express, but to act. Our prayers shouldn't just be checklists of things we want, but we should have the intent to act to try and make those things happen. He said we also need to persevere after the trial of our faith, and then conform our will to God's will in blessings.

I'm learning a lot here, and I'm excited to talk to you soon.
Love you all!!

Goodbye Jersey City!

Yep, I'm am leaving Jersey City this week. Elder Yates and I got a call from the assistants on Saturday saying that we were being doubled out of the area. Meaning that both of us are leaving Jersey City. I don't know if they are going to combine our Journal Square Area with The Heights area or what will happen, but yesterday we worked on the area book and wrote things down about the area that will help the next missionaries know what is going on and who has the greatest potential. So... I guess I gotta start packing today and I have no idea where my future destination will be. Elder Yates has been an awesome trainer and companion, but I'm excited to have some change and learn to grow more.

This week has been a pretty good week for sure. Last P-day we played some Baskeball which I always love and then had pizza. We've also been playing soccer a lot of the mornings which has been pretty fun, but it's starting to get really cold outside.

On Wednesday Elder Yates made me the senior companion and I was in charge of planning the night before of what we were going to do the next day, and then carrying out those plans. Planning is harder than I thought it was cause you need to try and schedule people in at times where they are close to other people so that we aren't walking all over the place. Wednesday it was crazy stormy. We left the house and it was super rainy and windy. There was a bunch of broken umbrellas on the ground and in trash cans. We walked to Rauls and by the time I got there I was pretty much soaked. Silly me I didn't wear my rain coat.

It's all good though cause as the day went on we found some great new investigators. We had decided to check up on some formers at the same building as Oscar lived at (Which we still haven't talked to him since) but somebody let us into the building and we went an knocked the door. Leonal answered and we talked to him a bit. Missionaries had been over before but I guess had stopped because they weren't keeping the committments.

At the door Elder Yates asked Leonal some questions and it turns out that Leonal believes the Book of Mormon is true, and the Joseph Smith is a true prophet. Then Elder Yates started talking about how Jesus Christ was baptized and asked Leonal if he thought he should be baptized or something like that. Leonal said yeah, and then Elder Yates asked what church it should be in, and then he said our church. Then Leonal invited us in and invited his friends to come up and listen. We couldn't really have a lesson cause they were all laughing really hard and joking around, but I'm glad that we got to meet them.

On Thursday we had detox day and weekly planning. So we were home for most of the day but it was good to clean up and get more organized. We moved the beds around and stuff, and I organized my study area to make it more efficient and then we set up the Christmas tree that we had up in one of the closets. It's a white christmas tree so it's a little different, but it's better than no christmas tree. And it looks pretty cool with the colored lights shining off the white pine needles.



Later we went to the Garcia Family's and watched By Small and Simple Things. I can really feel the spirit while watching that movie. Then I had the opportunity to give one of their daughters a blessing. It was in English, but still a great opportunity.

On Friday we got to go to Leonals again, and this time his sister Patricia was there and two other friends. We taught them the first lesson and taught them all how to pray. We took turns trying to pray going around in a circle, and it was a pretty good lesson except that they were still laughing a lot and joking around. Patricia asked us if we had girlfriends and then was saying that she wanted to marry a missionary. She told Elder Yates to call her after his mission. Then later she asked if she could touch my hair. It was kinda weird.

Saturday was another one of those days where you wonder what you're going to eat cause you don't have a ton, and then boom the Lord just provides.

We started the morning off by going to the Flores Family's and they fed us some Tomales and some way good Mexican Hot Chocolate or something like that. It was pretty spicy food though. After that we went to Union City because Elder Yates had to have a meeting with the other Distric Leader and the Zone Leaders.
When we returned from that meeting we went to Glisseds house. (Oh yeah, earlier in the week we went to Glisseds to talk and she wasn't there, but there was a guy next door that came to the door and got really angry at us, and wasn't a fan of us.) So when we returned later in the week we told Glissed and she had us come inside so the guy wouldn't get mad at us again. There was a problem though because we aren't supposed to go into houses with a women and no other guy so as we sat in there she gave us food and we had to eat really fast and then try to get out as quick as we could.
After that, Dave took us to get pizza and by this point I was really stuffed.

Later we went to Leonal's again and they were going to make us Mangu, which I wasn't super excited for because I had already eaten so much throughout the day, but luckily Patricia was gone and so we didn't end up making it. We got to their apartment and Leonal and Patricia were gone, but Jonathen (one of the friends) was there and we taught him a part of the plan of salvation and about the questions of where we came from and why we're here.. He seems a lot more mature than the others and takes it a lot more seriously I think. Later though, Leonal and his cousin came in, and they just started laughing and joking and stuff so it was hard to keep having a good lesson. But Elder Yates gave some homework and Leonal started reading like right on the spot. I think he has a lot of great potential, and I think Jonathen does too.

Then that night we went to a reception at the church building. It was kinda a weird place to be because they were playing loud music (some of the Backstreet Boys, and Hannah Montana) We did get to talk to this one friend of the brides though and got to give him a Book of Mormon which was great. His name was Liem and he seems like a really awesome guy and sings in churches a lot. When we were about to leave they gave me a plate of food and thus my day of being fed a lot was over. It was a good day for sure.



Sunday was a good day! I played the opening hymn again in Sacrament and it wasn't a great experience. There was just some confusion. So I played the Intro and then started the first verse but nobody was singing except for Elder Yates and maybe some other people, so I played the first verse and I think people thought it was just the intro, and then we started. At the end I wasn't sure if we had sung all the verses or not and then yeah, it was just kinda confusing.

Later we went to go see Hermana Aranda with Elder De La Cruz and Elder Flake. It was great having all of us there and we shared spiritual thoughts, she was given the sacrament, we sang, and then we took some pictures.



Then we went home and worked on the area book and then went to an appointment at Hermana Dolores. She made us fish and this other shrimp stuff. We took some pictures with them and then went off to the fireside.



I met a lot of great people here in Jersey City that I'm going to miss. We found a lot of great people here near the end, and hopefully the next missionaries can work with them and truly invite them to come closer to Christ. I've learned better how to love the people I'm serving, and although I'll miss them, I'm excited to move onto something new. And who knows, I could possibly return to Jersey City in a few months or a year. It has been a great opportunity to serve in Jersey City though.

The Gospel is true, and I know my Heavenly Father loves me and loves all of his children. I know that if we are obedient, he truly will bless us. I know the power of prayer is real, and it is the way we can truly communicate with our Father in Heaven. I know that the Gospel can make us better people and that it can help us get through times of adversity. I know that through the Atonement we can receive remission of our sins and feel clean again, and truly become better people. I know this is a great work, and there is a lot of work to be done. I love the Gospel and I know that President Monson and the Apostles are called of God. I'm grateful for the plan of salvation and the knowledge it gives us about the purpose of life.

Thank you for your love and support.
I Love You All,
Love Elder Hicks

Thanksgiving over and on to Christmas!

Letter: November 29, 2010



So last Monday we were supposed to go and do a family home evening with this lady who stopped us in the street who was a member. When we got over to her house she wasn't there and didn't answer her phone. Oh yeah, ok so you remember that Jon guy I told you about who we contacted and he said that he was wanting to make a change and this was it? Well yeah, so I asked the English Elders about him, and guess what? Fake Number? I had some real hopes for him, but I guess those things just happen sometimes.
But we did get to go to the Correa Family that night and have an FHE with them. We watched the Special Witnesses DVD where it has all the Apostles and Prophet bear testimony of the Gospel. I loved watching it, and you could really feel the spirit.


I had a really great learning experience this week. So Elder Yates went on Exchanges last Tuesday and left me to run our Area with an English Elder that is just a transfer ahead of me. So really we were just two greenies basically and I was the only one who knew Spanish. So it was kinda my first experience as senior companion in the field. So we went to our scheduled appointments, and a lot of the time and just had to shake my head and say yeah when the people would talk to me. I could understand some of what they were saying but not all of it. It was also a good opportunity to learn my area, because usually I just follow Elder Yates everywhere, but now I had to look on the map of where we needed to go, and try to find certain streets.

We went to Hermana Arranda's and we decided to sing an opening song like always. But Elder Yates is the one who has the voice in the Companionship. So we sang but Elder Tadd (My English Comp for the day) couldn't really see the words and so he was just kinda mumbling... and yeah, let's just say it wasn't the best performance ever. Later during finding time we contacted some good people and looked up some former investigators. We were walking and we saw this one guy but just kept walking. We decided to walk back and started talking to him about the Book of Mormon in Spanish. I read parts of the introduction with him and then gave him the copy that I had with me. We said a closing prayer and he said that we could maybe try back sometime in December because he is a really busy guy.

We also had a lesson with Moises and we taught from the talk of President Uchtdorfs talk about Simplifying your Life. We talked about developing 4 key relationships 1. with God 2. With our family 3. With our Fellowman 4. With ourselves. It was a really great lesson and I could feel the spirit. This was also a good day for me to test and work on my Spanish. Definitely a good growing experience.

We went and talked to Joseph again this week and talked to him about now that he had received an answer he knew what he had to do. We talked about baptism, but we didn't push it too hard, because I think that was his problem last time, is that the other missionaries were pushing it too much. Elder Yates invited him to pray that night and ask Heavenly Father, "What do I do now?" and then wait for an answer. We haven't gotten to talk to him about it yet, but I sure hope he got a sincere answer.



Thanksgiving was pretty great this year. Sure it wasn't home, but it was still pretty fun. That day marked exactly 3 months since I've been on my mission. Pretty crazy huh? Ok so it's only 3 months but whatever. Anyway, so we had an awesome turkey bowl with zone 1 vs zone 2. We went and played at some highschool field with 2 different games going at the beginning and then 1 game with the whole field later. It was a lot of fun to play football again. We were there for like 3 hours. Later we went to Daves house. The Dave that took us grocery shopping at the beginning of the Transfer. He made turkey and stuffing and all this delicious food. I filled myself up for sure. Sadly Dave had to go to work so he cooked the food and then bounced, but we stayed and talked with one of his roommates Timmy, and one of Timmy's friends.

This week we got to go see a guy named Hermano Juan. He got baptized like 6 months ago or something and doesn't have very good hearing but he is such an awesome guy. We taught him a few times this week, and one of the times as we were leaving Elder Yates told him that I wanted to give him a hug. He seemed pretty happy and then gave me a hug. Really cool guy. Later we went to go see Moises again and I was on an exchange with Elder Calderoni because Elder Guinto and Elder Yates had to go do interviews, but after looking and looking up and down Laidlaw Ave, we finally found Moises's house. We got to meet his daughter which was pretty cool. We taught about helping Moises get to the point where he could baptize his daughter. It was a really great lesson, and Elder Calderoni really inspired me to be a better missionary. He also gave me some tips on learning spanish because he had to learn English and so he just told me some of the things he did, like doing personal study Book of Mormon in Spanish. I've been doing that lately with my English out at the same time, and I think it has helped out.

We had another good Sunday yesterday. I made pancakes for my first time, they were ok, but not even close to as good as moms. We went to church and I was playing some prelude and then played the opening song for Sacrament. It was an epic fail for me. I just get nervous playing in front of people. I was playing from the simplified hymns too, but I just kept messing up and played like 1 note at a time. I definitely need more practice, but I didn't play anymore after that. We also had a primary program yesterday which was fun to see.

Yesterday we went and taught Hermana Aranda and while going there we met this guy named Luis. He speaks spanish and English and he seems like a genuine guy. He told us that he would love for us to come over or something like that, and that before our appointment next Sunday that we should just call him on Friday to make sure that he's going to be around. Later last night we went to Moises's again. Moises's mom has been inactive for awhile and she usually doesn't stay around when we teach. Most of the time she only stays for a few minutes and then walks to the back room. But lately she been staying longer and longer. She and Elder Yates really get along well. But yesterday Elder Yates actually got her to open up a little and we got to talk about gospel things with her. She left after awhile, but I think it is definite progress and Elder Yates told her what his goals were with them as a missionary. It was a great lesson for sure.

The Gospel is True. I heard Elder Yates talking about with a contact that we always say that the Gospel is going to bless peoples lives, but we never say really how. But he told him that the gospel will allow him to make the changes to really have a better life and be a better person. I think that's really true. The gospel does change us and wants to make us do better. And as we strive to be better, I think we find that we are a lot happier. And the Gospel truly can bring us happiness in those ways. And when we are obedient to the commandments, God truly will bless us.
Thank you all, I'm thankful for all of you and your support.

Love You!
Happy Christmas!
Talk to you in about a Month!!

Love Elder Hicks!

Happy Thanksgiving from New Jersey

Hello Family, how are you all doing? I hope all is going well and you are all getting pumped for the Holiday season!




This Thanksgiving I don't really know what we're doing. We've got some possible invitations but nothing really for sure. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

So as I told you last week, we were going to go play soccer at a field with a great few of New York City. Anyway, we had a really fun soccer game there with an awesome view of New York City. The field was like right on the Hudson. And this week we are going to have a Turkey Bowl Zone 1 vs Zone 2 at that park on Thursday which should definitely be a blast.



So this week I had the opportunity to do an Exchange with one of the Zone Leaders Elder Guinto, because Elder Yates was on one with Elder Calderoni. But it was a pretty great experience. It was kinda weird to spend the day in the English Program, but it sure is easier for me to express myself in English. So we went to this apartment and we rang the bell but nobody answered. We were about to leave but I looked in Elder Calderoni's planner (which I had for the day) and he had a different apartment number written. So we went and checked that apartment, and it was the wrong person, but the guy let us in to share a message anyway. His name was Kareem I'm pretty sure. He was a really nice guy, and he was baptist. He had talked to missionaries before I believe, but I'm happy he was willing to let us in. We taught him the first lesson and he seems like he has a lot of potential. He really knows his Bible, but he just had a problem with the need for prophets today. He was using scriptures about how the Holy Ghost would be our guide, and that what would the point of the Holy Ghost be if we had prophets. I'll probably never see him again, but I think Elder Guinto and Elder Calderoni will be able to help him understand the need for a prophet.

Later that night we contacted this guy who sorta believed that God is really just made by man, Like an Idea or something like that. Or that God is inside of all of us, and is eternal as he is passed down through posterity. Not really Ideas I had heard of before but he wasn't a bad guy.

We didn't spend a ton of time out and about this week because on wednesday, thursday and friday, we had leadership training with all the zone leaders, district leaders, trainers, and trainees. I was grateful for the opportunity to go and learn more about being a good missionary. While at this training we learned more about Committing people, Planning, and just a whole lot of different stuff. We got to practice by doing roleplays, and I got good feedback and got to give feedback with the different people I worked with. It was a really great experience, and hopefully I can be a better missionary because of it.

I have not had a lot of luck with cars since I've been here. I told you about that car that scraped us last week. Well this week I was walking at night time with Elder Yates and we crossed the cross walk while the car there was stopped. As I was walking I waved to the passenger and all of a sudden the car started pulling forward. First it was like a prank that you're friend would do to just mess with you, but they just went a little farther than a friend would. Then for a second I thought it was like a hate crime against missionaries or something like that, so I kinda got hit, or bumped by a car this week. The car basically just clipped my legs a little bit, but luckily the guy stopped. As I kept walking he opened the door and asked if I was ok, and that he didn't see me. I'm fine though, it's all good.

So we went to Hermana Dolores's this week and we got the opportunity to talk to her grandson Joseph who has been to church quite a few times and has had some baptismal dates I believe, but he never ended up being baptized. We went over and Elder Yates was teaching more about the Book of Mormon. Joseph talked about how he was really happy and felt peace when he found out he was going to get to move on to be a sophmore. Elder Yates used a really awesome analogy. He just said that lets pretent freshmen year is being alive, and then sophmore year is after you die. He then asked Joseph about how he would feel if he died, and realized that he didn't pass. Then he said that that is why we were there. Really to help him pass. Me typing it probably doesn't sound as good as I thought it was, but you can sorta see it I guess. Then Elder Yates invited Joseph to truly read and pray to find out if the Book of Mormon is true. He said that he would. The next day we called him up and Elder Yates talked to him about how he felt after he read and prayed. He said he felt goosebumps, and Elder Yates asked him what that means. Joseph said, "that it's real" (the Book of Mormon), and then he asked him what that means about the church, and he said something like "It's real too", and then he asked him what that means he needs to do, and Joseph said "come to church", and Elder Yates said that that's a start. We were happy to hear that he received an answer to his prayer, and this Sunday he came to church. We'll see how he progresses, and I think we're going to try and commit him to baptism this week.




This week we also met someone really cool named Josepha (I think that's how you spell it). But originally we were just walking and either she waved at us or we waved at her, I don't really remember, but she waved for a little bit longer than usual I guess and Elder Yates asked if we should go over and talk to her. We decided to and she ended up being a really cool lady. She was taught a little bit about the Book of Mormon and a few other things, and we just had a lesson right there in front of her house. We commited her to read from the introduction and then we left. We had a return appointment with her the next day. We went over, and she gave us some snacks and we started teaching her more about the book of mormon cause she wasn't able to read from the introduction. We read some of the paragraphs with her and then we explained a little bit about what they mean. Elder Yates asked her the if she comes to know if these things are true, if she would be baptized. She said Yes, but when we tried setting a date, she said she wasn't ready to set a date at the time. But that's still really exciting and hopefully she continues progressing. Elder Yates was telling me that she was also saying that the Book of Mormon is true, but I don't think she's prayed about it, she just knows it is which is really great.

So this week was pretty great indeed.

The Gospel is True! I love all of you, and I'll talk to you soon!


Love,
Elder Hicks

Feliz Dia De Accion De Gracias!!

Ok so it's not thanksgiving yet, but it sure is getting pretty close. It will be sad to miss out on the family Thanksgiving festivities, but it's all good. I'm in the Jersey City 1st ward.

So I decided last week that my letters were pretty boring that I sent home. I basically just gave you the run down of every day and thats probably a waste of time for all of us, so I mainly will just point out the interesting parts of the week. Well last Monday was a pretty busy p-day trying to fit in choir practice and basketball and all. Me and Elder Yates were stuck in Union city outside of the apartment of some other Elder's for awhile, but thankfully Elder Guinto and Calderoni came.

We had a great zone meeting this week and have a bunch of great goals set. As of now we are going to start doing 20 contacts a day talking about the Book of Mormon. This has definitely been a little challenging for me because of my shyness and all. It's just really awkward for me to like stop people and start talking to them. So I always get a little shaky and say um alot, but I'm sure I'll build up more and more confidence. Our zone goal is to have 4,019 lives impacted through contacts by the end of the month. You may ask... why 4019 and not just 4000. Well the 19 is there because we also want this contacting to be an impact on us as 19 missionaries in the zone.

So later we went out contacting and we met this big guy named Frank James Dupree. He said he had talked to missionaries before and seemed interested in hearing more, but when we gave our referral to the English missionaries and they went to check him out the Address and the Phone number were fake. As Julia would say... "Why I Oughta" After that we had another cool experience. I saw this guy just sitting there and we were about to cross the street but we decided to go back and talk to him. We taught him about the Gospel a little bit and what we do and how the Book of Mormon can help him change. As we got to the end of the contact he was like "You know guys, I'm not going to lie (And I was thinking he was gonna shaft us) but then he said something like, "I really think this is the time for me to change and I think this is it." We were way happy to hear it and I guess we'll just see what happens when the English missionaries get in touch with him again.

We also had some basic training in Morristown this week with all the trainers and trainees. It was awesome to see my Old MTC district again. It felt like it had been awhile since we had seen them, but really it had only been 2 weeks. At the meeting we learned the importance of planning and heard a bunch of different things from the assistants and President and Sister Bahr. Also President and Sister Bahr told us more about their family and showed us family pictures. 15 kids, that's definitely a lot of people in that family.



Later we went contacting again, and we talked to this homeless guy named Melvin. He seemed like a good guy but we weren't able to bring him a copy of the Book of Mormon because he doesn't really have a specific dwelling place. Later I went and tried contacting this guy, and with my nervousness, I just kept talking and talking and then his bus came and I wasn't able to leave him anything. I just gotta keep practicing I guess. That night we had a great lesson with Moises and he said he was gonna start coming to church again which was awesome to hear. Unfortunately he didn't make it yesterday but we'll keep working with him. We also contacted this one guy from Ireland that was pretty interesting. He was trying to give us tips and stuff, but he was a pretty nice guy, I don't think he'll have much interest at the moment.

We weren't able to see Jonathen this week but we did visit and teach his mom about the importance of sharing the Gospel. It's really hard to get appointments to not fall through. Alot of people just aren't there. We also went and visited Hermana Arranda again and while we were waiting there was this old lady that was talking to us and asked Elder Yates if he was married. Of course he said no, but then she said, "I want to marry you." It was pretty funny and Elder Yates was just like "Let's do it".

Also a new commandment for the mission is to get 20 minutes of cardio outside 6 days a week. So we've been playing basketball and some soccer and I think today we're going to go play soccer on a turf field. Supposedly it has a really good view of New York so I'll be sure to get some good pictures.

Anyway to finish out the week, we went out contacting again and there was one guy that when I started walking towards him was yelling "No, No" and then he just said a bunch of stuff but said that he respects what we do. As we were contacting into the night we came up to these two hispanic guys and one of them saw us and he was like "The police", and he got on his bike and rode away. Then we ended up having a pretty good contact with his friend. A few minutes later we were walking down the block and there was this guy chillin on the stoop with his hood on. First he asked if we had some change, and then he started talking about how he wanted to make a change in his life. We talked to him for a good while and he talked to us about some pretty crazy stuff that's happened to him. His girlfriend was also out there with him. Later that night we had a lesson with Raul, and I had the opportunity to lead the lesson. My spanish is starting to get a little better but there is still a ton that I need to work on.

On Saturday as we were leaving the park for the morning we backed up to pull out of our spot, and then all of a sudden we got side swiped by another car. It wasn't that bad of a crash, but car crashes are never fun. None of us got hurt and I think it was hard for the other people to really see us because of the way the sun was. Later that day we went on a blitz in Bayonne. Which is where all of us in the zone go to one area and just contact and knock. My first house where I was to contact went pretty well. I didn't know till after the contact that the guy was Jewish. Which is interesting because when I pulled out a pass a long card to give him I meant to give him a Book of Mormon card, but I accidentally pulled out a card about receiving the "Finding Faith in Jesus Christ" card which I guess in this situation was really the best card for him. Elder Yates had to go do a baptismal interview so I was on an exchange with Elder De Leon Blanco. All of a sudden it was like I was the Senior Companion because we were working in mine and Elder Yates area. It was a good experience for me to decide on where to go, and and one apartment I had a good Spanish contact with a little help of course. It's cool how I'm starting to be able to understand native a little bit better.

Yesterday was a great day at church and I had the opportunity to give my first Sacrament talk of the mission. I don't really know if the people understood me, but it seemed like reading was a lot harder than just talking and bearing testimony. My talk was on the importance of prayer and repentance in my life. Later we did some more contacting and it's interesting the diversity of the people. We contacted this teenager and his brother and sister from Egypt. And we hear people speaking Arabic sometimes too. We have also contacted a guy or two that only speak Vietnamese. And last night we had another contact with a guy from the Phillipines. They come from all over here and it's just pretty cool to hear where different people are from.

Well that's basically my week, and this week should go really well. I have an exchange with Elder Guinto tomorrow and that will be cool to see his missionaries insights and everything. There is also a lot of leadership trainings this week that the trainees are going to as well so I'm sure I'll learn a lot.

Thanks again for all the support and it's good to hear from all you. As the saying I've heard goes, "The Church is True, and the Book is Blue" and I won't finish the rest of it. But that's really what it's all about. The Gospel is true and I'm glad I get to try and bring the happiness that the gospel has given me, and share it with others. I also know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and we can receive so much counsel and comfort in reading it. I know that we can all become better people through the Atonement and that each day we can start new to try and be more and more perfect. Although missionary work gets hard I'm glad to be here and I'm learning a lot. I still have a lot to learn to become a really good missionary, but I'm learning and it will come through time. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love all of you!
Sincerely, Elder Hicks

IT'S STARTING TO FEEL LIKE THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Hello Family,
Thanks for your letters and your support. It's good to hear from all of you.

There are 4 of us in the apartment. Me and Elder Yates. And then Elder Guinto (my Newark Street Popps) and Elder Calderoni (From Brazil) Both of them are English speaking missionaries though.

I bought a CD player at Wal-mart today, now I just need some CD's. So Elder Guinto said that we just have to listen to hymns and they can't be like super upbeat, so I don't know if it's only MoTab or if it can be other bands that sing church music. If you could maybe check out CDs from these two bands that would be great cause I've heard some of there songs here and I like them. (Eclipse, and Voicemail).

Some of my roommates know how to cook, or I'll eat cereal or PB and J. We have also gotten a couple good meals from members. I'm probably not eating as much as I should, but we're living on a budget now so I'll just have to learn to eat less.

Anyway I guess I'll just cap off my week as I read through my journal.

Well we made it through Halloween and I'm pretty happy it's over. We had to be in pretty early those night but it was nice to get back on a normal schedule.



11/1 - We went to this apartment place called the Resurrection and as we were waiting outside the security guard came down and let us in. His name was Oscar from Puerto Rico but he also speaks English. We started talking to him, and then Elder Yates taught him the first lesson and gave him a Spanish Book of Mormon. It seemed to be a really great 1st lesson, but he wanted to have a Book of Mormon in English as well. After that we went to Moises's and taught him a lesson about the Spirit & the Liahona.

11/2- We went back to see Oscar and right when we saw him, he was like ,"You have my book" which was a good sign, but he was eating so we weren't able to teach him. Our appointments were falling through but we found this awesome guy named Ovideo who seemed like he could be interested. We also had district meeting and I was able to teach a little bit about seeking personal revelation. In it I talked about how it's not only about prayer, but it's about Asking, Seeking, and Knocking. Or Searching, Pondering, and Praying. So we should seek answers to our questions in life throught reading the scriptures and other general authority talks, and then we should ponder on our questions and the things that we've read, and then pray. All the steps are really important in seeking personal revelation.

11/3- We were having more appointments fall through, but I guess I just gotta start getting used to it. We met w/ Hermano Blanco (Member, Less active) and watched "By Small & Simple Things" which was a pretty great video. Hno Blanco is out of work now and will be able to come to church on Sundays again. We also met w/ Hermana Aranda again and she seems to be doing a little better. During the hours of 5-7 each day we have "finding time" where we are suposed to find new people to teach. So we were out walking and we went to this one house and nobody answered, we kept waiting and then this women walked by. Elder Yates took the opportunity and went down and talked to her. She seemed like she would be interested if we could catch her at a time when she wasn't so busy.

11/4- I've been reading in Alma and reading over the Strippling Warrior chapters, and it's really helpful to read about there different qualities. After studying we did and Apartmentship study and we shared thoughts and did roleplays which I think will help us be better teachers. Elder Guinto made it to his 1 year mark which was exciting too. Later we started planning and organizing our area book. We split our area into 7 different zones, and I think if we can be more organized we can be more successful and effective, cause a lot of time is wasted when we spend it walking to get to each place. We went by Oscars but he didn't answer his phone, so I think we're gonna give him some space for awhile. Later that night we went to a Dinner appointment w/ Hermana Dolores (Member, Relatively Recent Convert). She made us a really delicious meal and we watched The Testaments w/ her. Elder Yates told her that I was Russian and only knew Russian and some Spanish. He did this so that she wouldn't try talking to me in English and would just try talking to me in Spanish. I don't know if she knew I'm an American or not now, I hope she does. Later that night we walked home and I got my first experience with the East Coast Mist. It was like rain, but it was just like super misty outside and getting my face all wet and everything.

11/5- Elder Yates had to go to like a zone meeting so I had the opportunity to do exchanges. I went out with Elder Flake and Elder De La Cruz. First we went to this really cool guy named Carlo house. His room is super small, and we sat on overturned buckets during our lesson. It was a great lesson and we testified about how the Gospel blesses our lives. After that we went to the Diez Family's. This is again where I see the scripture apply that we should take no thought beforehand of what shall we eat. This was the moment I guess I had been training for from eating so much in the MTC. So the meal starts off with her giving us some (Arroz con Leche) or Rice and Milk. It was pretty good, and was a little filling. Next we had some tamale's which were kinda weird but yeah it's food, and so then we're sitting there and out comes this huge plate of food just for me. It had a bunch of rice, beans, 2 eggs (Like the runny kind with the pocket of yoke in the middle) and 3 hotdogs. Then she brought out a huge stack of home made corn tortillas. After a prayer and some work I was able to get it all down. I was super full, but it was actually a really delicious meal. Later we went and taught a lesson to Francesca (Member?) about the Plan of Salvation. It was great to testify about the Plan of Salvation and really how perfect the plan is. We had another lesson w/ Moises and shared our experiences about how we came to know the Book of Mormon is true.





11/6 - We went out and it seemed like our appointments were starting to fall through, but we finally got going and went and taught at Herman Bureaus (Member). After Lunch we taught at the Ramos family's where the Mom is a member but the Father is not. It was a pretty good lesson and they want to have us over for dinner next week. We went and saw Hermana Arranda again, and then we had our last lesson of the day w/ Jonathen (Investigator). We taught him lesson 1, and I was sorta struggling with my Spanish, but it all worked out in the end. He said he would read and pray to know if the book was true. After all our lessons we went to the ward party which was for the "El Dia de Hispanidad"> They had some pretty amazing food there. I mostly stayed at the Honduras Station though. That night was pretty great because we got that extra hour from DST. Gotta love it.

11/7- Today was a good Sunday. We had a good day at church and I was starting to understand people a little bit more. Hmno Blanco came to church today for his first time in a long time which is really great for him. We went and saw hermana Aranda and then went and talked to this guy named Raul. It was a really long lesson, and I guess we'll see if he progresses or not. We went by Jonathan's but unfortunately he wasn't there. I hope we see him again sometime soon and see how his Book of Mormon reading went. Later we went to Hermana Dolores's and she fed us this way good basically Garlic Sirloin with rice and beans. Then we went and taught Moises and talked to him about how through repentance he can be made new and start over. He said that's already happened and things are starting to go the way that they should.

Well family, the time is almost up for this letter. I sure do miss all of you and it's kinda weird being so far away from Utah. But I'm happy to be here and I'm learning a lot. I'm able to do some great studying and really strengthen my testimony. I'm still having a hard time with Spanish but I'm learning, and I think I will continue learning more as I hear natives talk. I just have to be diligent about studying it and one day it will come. I guess I just sometimes get impatient with learning it.

I'm glad to hear you're all doing well. This month of Thanksgiving I am going to try being grateful for everything and really just loving everything that comes my way.

If you got any other cool stories or good mission tips for me, I would love to hear them.

Well, I guess I'll just end by saying that the Gospel is True and it all makes sense. It can bring us so much happiness in this life, and we can learn our greatest lessons from adversities. I know Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to make the right decisions to enable us to be happy here, and enable us to live with him again one day. I know that the Savior knows all that we are going through, and we can receive comfort in all our afflictions. I know that the power of the Atonement is real and that it's never too late. Just as Alma the Younger was one of the most wicked people, he became a prophet and a great missionary. I know that we can receive so many blessings by being obedient, and we can be so much happier in this life if we keep the commandments. Just as President Monson said I think, "It's easier to be obedient 100 percent of the time than 99%." I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Love all of you!!!
Love, Elder Hicks

Well to do - Looks like we're not in Utah anymore!

Hello Everyone! Greeting from New Jersey.
I've been here on the east coast for about a week now and everything is going pretty well.

First to start off, Sorry if any of you sent anything to the mission home lately. I won't get it for about 5 weeks until the next transfer conference. But you can send mail directly to my apartment which the address is:

496 Pavonia Av. #1A
Jersey City, NJ 07306.

And there you go, that's where I have been assigned to serve for I don't even know how long. Jersey City is a pretty cool place. In some parts of it you can see NYC which is pretty awesome. In December we'll get to go to NYC and go to the temple and hang around there for a P-day.

October 25 Departure Day:
Well these past 24 hours have been crazy for sure. Last night we had a great devotional and a great district testimony meeting. I woke up at 4:10 AM and finished packing and getting ready for the day, and then it was out to the bus. Farewell MTC. We went to the airport where we just kinda waited awhile cause our flight was delayed. Then we got on our plane and it was farewell Utah for 22 months. The flight was pretty good. I mostly just tried sleeping and we didn't sit by someone who wasn't a member so I didn't get that contacting opportunity, although who knows if I would have taken it had it been a nonmember. It was a little strange being back in the real world with everyone on their cell phones and computers, and the sound of music and TV's, but I guess you just gotta get used to it.






After our flight we met the mission president and took a big group picture. Then he gave us some snacks and told one of the Assistants to take us to Newark and then to the Mission home. That's right, the time for the Fear Buster was here. I had heard of it before, but now it was real. We drove to the center of Newark where it's kinda a metropolitan area, but there's just a lot of people chillin out in the streets. I'll admit I was definitely a little scared. I got out of the car and Elder Guinto was like, "Elder Hicks!" and then he picked me up or something. I guess he had heard that I was coming to New Jersey from one of my BYU friends Miranda. So he was my companion for the Fear Buster. A whole bunch of missionaries gathered in a circle and started singing Called to Serve really loud, then all of a sudden we just scattered and starting contacting a bunch of people all over the place. We talked to different people and I got to see what kinda beliefs they had, and a lot of them looked like they would maybe be accepting of the Gospel. We handed out pass a long cards and I guess if they're interested they can call the number. It was a good experience to do the Fear Buster though for sure.




We went back to the church building and ate some great food, had some interviews, and then later went to bed. The next day was the day I was supposed to get my new companion. We went to transfer conference and they assigned me with.... Elder Yates! My Trainer/Father of my mission. He's an awesome companion. His spanish is was good and he's pretty hilarious. He kinda reminds me of Cousin Jared and Brian Regan sometimes. We get along really well. When we go out teaching he does most of the talking though because I can't really understand what the people we talk to are saying.

In our Area, It is a walking area, so we don't have a car as of now, but maybe one day when I get transferred. The next day we went to the Garcia's and taught them and they gave us some pretty delicious food. It was like rice and ham but yeah... Our first 2 days here were like really warm and humid, and then after those... Boom... it just got pretty cold. The wind makes it way colder.

Our first day we went to Hermana Arranda's (I think from Ecuador) to teach. She's a member, and she's in a care center. She is really like one of the nicest old ladies. I got the opportunity to share a scripture with her and talk a little bit about it. I think later that day we went to another place with this guy from the D.R. WOW!!!! Dominican Republic spanish is so hard to understand. I can't even really pick up anything they are saying, and somehow Elder Yates picks up almost all of it. I guess it will just come with time. Later that night we went to some other members to teach and I had a dilemma because they gave me Pepsi to drink and I was kinda lost. I drank a little of it and then when we got outside gave the rest to Elder Yates.

We went and knocked some doors and when it was my time to knock, nobody answered. We went to another house and rang the bell, but the lady said she had her own religion or something and just started shutting the door while Elder Yates was trying to ask her about the people who lived upstairs. We went and met a guy named Jonathon who I think has interest in the church. We haven't taught him yet, but I'll let you know what happens there. Later on Friday night we went and taught Moises (member) in English about "The Family: A Proclamation to the world" and it was a really great lesson.

Saturday and Sunday we had to be in our apartments by around 6, or the time it was getting dark because Halloween in NJ isn't really safe and the night before Halloween is mischief night. Lot's of our appointments were falling through on these days so they weren't our most successful days but we'll do better this week.

On Saturday a man named Dave came. Dave really likes the missionaries and likes to buy them food. So we went to BJ's (It's kinda like Costco) and he bought us a whole bunch of food which was way cool of him. After that we went to his house and helped him make some chili for the ward party. We went to some other houses but things weren't working the way they're supposed to and those appointments just fell through.

On Saturday someone asked if me and Elder Yates were twins, but not because we were dressed the same and both missionaries. We don't look alike at all but I guess we just look odd cause it's two big white people standing at about 6'4", so we might look weird to a lot of people. One lady that we met (Who thought we were trick or treaters) while walking (but is English so we don't teach her) actually seems to have interest in the Church and hopefully she decides to come unto Christ and have a better life.



Yesterday we went to church and that was a different experience. It was kinda hard to understand the talks, but I guess that will just change over time, and through diligence. We went to Hermana Arrandas again and talked with her and then we called it a night cause it was Halloween.

But, Yeah, Jersey City is a good area. It's a new experience for sure.

Just a thought, last night Elder Yates asked me about why people are sent to Antarctica where they can't proselyte unless asked to teach by members. I wasn't really sure, and Elder Yates gave me the scripture in Matthew 10:39. This is one of the reasons why we're here. We are called to invite others to come unto Christ and help them receive the restored gospel. But in this scripture I can learn that on my mission and can find my life. Just as has been said about how much I will learn, I am truly learning things here that will make me the person I'm supposed to one day become. As in the scripture, he that loses his life for (the Lords or the Gospels) shall find it. I thought it was an interesting way to look at that scripture for sure.

The Gospel is true! The Lord will direct the work in the way he wants it to go!
I know that the gospel can bring us so much happiness and hope is this life.
I love you all, and thanks for your support.

Love Elder Hicks!

We made it!

I made it here safely to New Jersey. The flight wasn't too bad. It was pretty cool to see the Empire State building and other famous sights as we were landing. They don't mess around here.

Right after we got picked up at the airport we had to do what was called the "FEAR BUSTER". They took us to the center of Newark which was definitely a lot different than Provo and did contacting. It was a little scary at first, but I enjoyed hearing other peoples thoughts, and seeing what kind of testimonies these people have. You also just want to help them be happier and have better lives. I'm happy to be here.

President and Sister Bahr are nice people, and the other missionaries here are nice too. I still don't know quite what to expect, but I'm sure I'll get more and more used to it day by day.

Thanks for everything and all you've done to prepare me to be here. This is going to be a life changing experience for sure, not only for myself, but hopefully for the other people I get the opportunity to teach.

Love to all.
Sincerely,
Elder Hicks

Delta Flight 1260

I'm on my way!

How to Survive the MTC

Bishop Smith asked me to give some tips to the Priests in our home ward on how to survive the MTC and how to prepare for a mission.

The MTC is a great place and you can really learn a lot. It's nice not to have so many distractions and to just be able to focus on the Gospel. It gets pretty strenuous at times, but it really helps you grow and prepares you better for a mission.

Here are some tips for BEFORE you get there:

1. Read the Book of Mormon. I know you've heard this a lot but you are going to be telling people to read it and pray about it so it's of major importance.

2. Continue gaining a testimony, because your testimony is going to be one of the greatest tools you have if you can bear it with the Spirit. That is how you can help others feel the Spirit.

3. Try reading the New Testament and from the Missionary Library before you come. Read Preach My Gospel!! Study from it! It will help you be a better missionary for sure! These contain more great things for you to use when teaching, and can help us learn more and more about the Gospel.

4. Try to get somewhat used to going to bed at 10:30 and waking up at 6:30. I wasn't very good about this, but your day can be so productive when you wake up early and go to bed early.

5. Learn to live on a schedule and to make good goals.

6. Learn how to better talk to people. Face to Face.

7. If you are going to learn a language, try to study some of that language before you get to the MTC.


Tips for while you are AT the MTC:

1. Love your companion. You and your companion may have many differences, but realize that you both have things you can teach and learn from each other. You can learn something from every companion.

2. If you are learning a language, take good notes. Get help from your teachers, read in the language. Write in the Language, and of course speak it as much as you can. The more you speak it the faster you'll be able to learn it. Just try saying as much as you can in that language and say the rest in English. Later you can look up those words that you didn't know.

3. Respect your teachers. They can help you learn so much, and can truly prepare you for the field.

4. Love your Branch President. He can help you in so many ways.

5. Study Diligently! This may be the only time where you can focus completely on the Gospel, make good use of the time and try to learn as much as you can.

6. Contact tons of people! This will get you used to talking to people and will give you good practice sharing a brief message about the Gospel (and will help you better learn the language).

7. Have a positive attitude about everything. Although it may be hard for some things, having a positive attitude will truly help you have a better experience.

8. Learn to teach to the investigators needs, and what you think would help them the most.

9. Sign up for lots of teaching times to better improve your teaching skills. Also sign up to have progressing investigators to work with while you're at the MTC. It's about as close to real as you can get at the MTC.

10. Learn to listen to the voice of the Spirit, and teach with the Spirit. The Spirit is what's going to bring others to Christ.

11. You'll hear this a lot but . . .BE OBEDIENT to all the mission rules. Yes, all of them. You can receive so many blessings through obedience, and if you break a rule or are disobedient , you lose the Spirit, and if you lose the Spirit you can't teach with the Spirit. Strive to be obedient and always have the Spirit with you.

Hope these will help you have a better experience in the MTC and on your mission. I'm definitely not perfect with all of these things, but I think they are all important.

Good Luck on your missions, everyone!
Thank you for all that you have taught me.
You'll do great out there.
The Gospel is True!

Sincerely,
Elder Hicks

Elder John Douglas Hicks

“We as a people have one supreme thing to do, and that is to call upon the world to repent of sin, to come to God. And it is our duty above all others to go forth and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the restoration again to the earth of the plan of life and salvation . . . . We have in very deed the pearl of great price. We have that which is of more value than all the wealth and the scientific information which the world possesses. We have the plan of life and salvation. . . . . The best way in the world to show our love for our neighbor is to go forth and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. . . .”
President Heber J. Grant
Conference Report, Apr. 1927, 175-76

Only a few more days-- Armies of Helaman

Hola Familia! Como Estan?

Everything is going pretty great here at the MTC, only about 3 more days left which is pretty crazy, but I'm excited to head to New Jersey. Thanks again for the packages and letters you all have sent, it's been fun receiving them, and now that I'm gonna be way far away I'm sure I won't see quite as many, but letters are always good too.




Friday: We received our Travel Itineraries which was pretty exciting. We are actually going to be leaving on Monday. We also got to teach our progressing investigator Gabriel as well, and me and Elder Clark taught the Law of Chastity in spanish for our first time (It was actually my first time in spanish or english). We also had a TRC that night with a guy named Juan (Not really I don't think). We taught him the plan of salvation and the word of wisdom in spanish. I notice on the Days when I do HSI, my spanish does really well and continues to improve, but when I don't try so hard, it's not very good. So maybe I should just stop speaking English? I don't know but I'm gonna try and speak spanish more and more, and now that I'm going to the field, I'll have the opportunity to hear more natives speak.





Saturday: On saturday we taught the Law of Chastity again in the TE for more practice which went pretty well. Then our district practiced a little bit for our song we are singing this Sunday. The leaving districts sing the sunday before they leave, and so we are going to sing the "As Sister in Zion/ Army of Helamen EFY Melody" which will be pretty great. We had another lesson with Gabriel and he commited to be baptized and we set a date for him too. On this day I noticed that a lot of the up's and down's of the day are really based on your attitude. I think I've learned a good amount of having a good attitude since I've been here. I notice on the days when I try to have a postive attitute about everything, the days just goes better.




Sunday: I got to play one of the songs in priesthood, gotta love good old "Sweet Hour of Prayer". I am actually regretting now not sticking with Piano, and I know this happens to everyone when they get older, maybe I should of just listened. But maybe I'll try and pick it up again when I get home from my mission, or maybe I'll pick it up if I'm called to be the Ward Organist or somthing crazy in New Jersey haha.

We had choir practice which was awesome and then had a really good devotional w/ the Beesons. Sister Beeson gave a talk about the day in the life of a missionary at the MTC, but she did it all in song by using different portions of different hymns. It was actually really well done. After the fireside we watched the Testaments again. We set a lot of big goals for the week ahead which I thought weren't going to be attainable but they are looking pretty good. We had a goal to teach 15 lessons this week and 15 other contacts. I know that's not very much for the average missionary, but It seems like a lot when on the MTC schedule.





Monday: We had a really good large group meeting about finding those that will receive us. We also had a health and safety meeting and the guy who was teaching us was really hilarious. It was the most laughing I've done in awhile.

Tuesday: We taught a good amount of lessons and it made our goal for the week seem plausible. I got to sing in the Choir for devotional and the devotional was fantastic.

Russel M. Nelson came and gave us a bunch of good information about:
Being Alert,
Staying in contact w/ our investigators,
Greeting people with a smile,
Keeping our spiritual batteries charged,
and that we are
Teaching people not lessons.




Wednesday: Today we had some good class time and got to teach the class lessons about the spirit. Mine and Elder Clarks was about the Light of Christ & The Holy Ghost. We also taught a lesson in spanish about Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. At the end of the day we taught a lesson to Gabriel about the end of the plan of salvation and enduring to the end.




Thursday: Ok so we had a lesson in the TE and it wasn't my best day. We all have humbling experiences and I think this was one of them. My spanish just wasn't rolling as well off the Tongue, and there is still so much spanish I need to learn, and grammer principles that I need to review and perfect (ok maybe not perfect, but get close to it.) We had a great large group meeting about Studying our Language in the Field.

Later, while doing some contacting we talked to some guys who had been out in the field for 2 months and had come back to sign their visas so that they could go to Mexico. They gave us some good advice, and their spanish was way good. I'm excited for when I get to the point where I can speak spanish well.





Ok so everything is pretty great here. It's almost been 9 weeks, almost 2 months even. In some ways it has gone by fast, and in other ways it has gone by slow. It's gonna be pretty weird to leave my home state for 2 years, but I'm excited to preach the gospel and invite others to come unto Christ and maybe learn a little more about myself.

I know that without the Lord and the Spirit, this work would be impossible. The Spirit is essential in giving others the desire to change for the better. I think it would be hard to tell people to quit doing something they love, but if they have a testimony and have a desire to follow Christ, then they are willing to do it. But they can't get this testimony without the Spirit bearing witness of the truth. Elder Nelson also told us that when we don't know what to say it only takes 4 words in english... "We Follow Jesus Christ".

The gospel is true.
Thanks for all the examples you have been for me and helping get me to this point.
Love You!!!
Love,
Elder Hicks

ALMOST THERE!

Hola Familia! Como Estan?

Thanks for the packages and for the doughnuts. Gotta love the Dunfords.

Anyway, This week has been a pretty great week. Last Friday we had our P-day, and since we were still with Elder Boyes we had to go to the BYU Health Clinic with him for physical therapy. It was kinda weird walking away from MTC campus, that's for sure. Then we got there and the first people we saw, one of the boys was just staring at us. I wonder if a lot of people are going to stare at us in Joisey or not. So we were in the Health Clinic writing and letters and stuff, and for the first part of it the radio was on. It was sorta an odd situation, but I guess I have to start getting used to the outside world again sometime. After that we went to the TRC and me and Elder Clark taught Lesson 1 in spanish which was a pretty great experience. I think the spirit was really in the room and it was a great lesson.

Sunday was a great day for sure. We had all the normal meetings and I still haven't been called to give a talk yet, so I'm guess since our district is the oldest they'll be picking some of us out for these last two Sundays. But on Sunday I went to choir practice and I was so happy when I saw what song we were going to sing for Devotional on Tuesday. "Lead Kindly Light". I honestly think that is one of my favorite songs for sure so it was a great day to be in choir. That night we had a firside with Brother Heaton more about the principles of the gospel with the Atonement and Jesus Christ in the Middle. It was an excellent fireside, and then after that we stayed and watched the Joseph Smith movie again. Yeah I know we've already been like twice before, but it's just such a great movie. Oh yeah, I'm no longer the District Leader anymore, now it's Elder Clark, but it's no biggie, I learned a lot of things and learned better how to be a leader and I think that's one of the great things about leadership positions, is that you learn so much. I think President Shumway likes giving lots of people opportunities to be District leaders so they can grow more.





On Monday we woke up pretty early cause we had to take Elder Boyes to the travel office to get him to NJ, but we had some problems and luckily we got him on a later bus so that he could still make his flight. I think Elder Boyes taught us a good amount of stuff, and I think this week has been a lot better for mine and Elder Clarks companionship. We are only together for like 11 more days, so we gotta make them the best.

On Tuesday we had devotional and got to sing Lead Kindly Light for it which was a great experience of course. We've been practicing our teaching in spanish more and more, and we are starting to get better at asking more questions and teaching to peoples needs. Our teachers are working with us as different Progressing Investigators which is cool cause it gives us opportunities to teach different kind of people with different problems. Last night we taught a guy name Humberto (AKA Hermano Rivera) who had been meeting w/ the missionaries for 3 years but still needed more time before he would be baptized. Me and Elder Clark taught him a pretty good lesson about How the Gospel Strengthens Families, so that was a great experience for us for sure.





Oh yeah, I almost forgot! This week our district got to work as "New Missionary Hosts." So we got to be the people standing out on the curb taking the other missionaries to where they need to be. It was pretty fun, although it was kinda sad to see families cry and stuff, but it's all good.

Seems like everything is going pretty well at home then. You all are busy working and stuff, that's pretty good. Tell Grandpa and Grandma I say Hi. Thanks again for the Hicks Hotline newsletters, I enjoy them.

As for my spanish, earlier in the week I was feeling sorta bad because I didn't feel like I was learning very fast, but now I'm starting to do HSI more and it helps so much. When I speak spanish as much as I can, I can tell I'm improving, and I'm so excited to go to New Jersey and contact people that aren't missionaries. Yeah it will be kinda scary at first but I'll get the hang of it. Besides, I've heard that for the New Jersey missionaries, they have something call the "Fear Buster" where like in your first few days or something they take you to the Ghetto to do contacting and stuff. That should be Interesting, but maybe it will bust all my fears away of New Jersey. So I'll let you know how that goes in another 2 weeks from today. Wow isn't that crazy! Going to Jersey in about 11 days. I've almost been hear for 2 months and in some ways it has gone slow, but in other ways it has gone really fast. I'm excited to get out there and get going though!

I'm doing well here, just gotta keep pushing and studying hard to the end although sometimes I get a little trunky for the field which can be a distraction. But there is still a lot more Spanish I need to work on in these last few days, but as long as I'm obedient, Study hard, and just keep practicing, the Lord can help me.

Well not much time left. I love you all, and I hope all is going well.

The Gospel is True!!!!

Good Luck this week with everything!

Love, Elder Hicks