Another Week!

(pre-mission picture with BYU freshman roommates all out now on missions except one who isn't 19 yet)


Wow, it seems like this past week went by pretty fast. But at the same time kinda slow. So I don't know exactly what to put in these letters, but I guess i'll just try and review the week to let you know what i've been up to.

First of all, thank you everyone for the packages and for the letters. I will try to get back to all of you as soon as I can. I have a lot of letters that I have to write today, but I'll do my best. So... last Friday me and elder clark had our first teaching experience in the TRC. We started off the TRC by having to contact at doors and get to know people in spanish. Then after our last spanish contact we had to go to a room for a few minutes to make some last minute preparations to our lesson that we were going to teach. Luckily we got to teach in English, but the lesson went so much better than expected. Normally me and Elder Clark wouldn't really be teaching in unity and we sorta just went through the first lesson trying to get all the info in. But last Friday we truly taught with the spirit, we taught in unity, and we taught to the investigators needs. We didn't even get to the restoration, we spent the whole time talking about how "God is our Loving Heavenly Father" and then we talked a lot about the Atonement. I bought a pretty cool picture book that can help me in my lessons to give people a better image of what's going on. So that lesson went great and me and elder clark were pretty happy about it. I feel that I can express my feelings really well and teach the gospel pretty well in English, so it's kinda hard to think about how i'm ever going to be able to do it in spanish, but I still have a lot of time to learn the language, and the spirit will help me learn the language and say what needs to be said.

I will not lie, it is hard not to get distracted while here at the MTC. Maybe it's cause I grew up here and I went to BYU and all, but sometimes I'll be thinking about life before the mission or life after the mission, or wondering what other people are doing right now. Last Saturday we had gym time in the evening. There had been some talk about the football game, but going outside was the hardest part. Walking out to the volleyball fields we could hear the crowd going wild at times and it was just pretty strange to hear all the noises and not be able to know what was going on. I'm trying to stay more focused and to not think so much about before or after the mission but sometimes it can get pretty tricky.

Sunday was a pretty great day. I love sunday's here just cause it seems like you get a lot more time for personal study and you're not always going to class. I wrote my first talk in spanish that I can use in the field, although i'm sure when I get into the field and read it to myself, I'll laugh pretty hard at it because it probably doesn't make a lot of sense. Anyway, we had our first fast and testimony meeting last sunday, and I had the opportunity to bear my testimony in spanish. It was sorta weird speaking spanish up there because I'm not really used to it yet, and it's hard to say exactly what I'm feeling because most of the parts of my testimony are just phrases that i've memorized. I'm sure I'll be able to truly testify and bear my testimony from my heart pretty soon. On sunday we had devotional and then we watched the movie Legacy. It was pretty good, but for some strange reason the movie seemed to be sped up so it made the movie look kinda weird and made all of us laugh at times.

We've been working on doing more spanish stuff this week and tonight in the TRC we have to get to know people and share a message with them about families in spanish. Me and Elder Clark have been doing some contacting lately trying to accomplish the same objectives, so it probably won't be too bad. We also have to teach the message of the restoration again tonight, so hopefully we can have a lesson that goes as well as last weeks went.

On tuesday we had a devotional with Elder Snow from the 2nd quorum of the 70 I believe. His wife started out and talked about her experience when missionaries came to teach her. She said that she didn't really understand a lot about being a mormon after they talked to her, but the feeling that was in her house while the missionaries were there was such a great feeling, that she wanted that feeling there all the time. This applies great to us as language learners. Sometimes we will have to go to investigators homes and they may not understand a lot of what we are saying, but if we can teach with the spirit, the spirit can testify to them about what we are trying to say is true and it will leave a good feeling with them that they might want us to come back. Elder Snow talked about choices, and how the choices we make, reveal who we are. It asked us some deep questions that we had to think about. They were questions like "What have you learned from all of the choices you have made?" It was a pretty great talk, and I'm still working on making all the right choices to be a better person and be a better missionary.

We watched a video this week on a talk from Elder Bednar. He talked about "Becoming a Missionary." Just because I'm living a missionary life doesn't really make me a missionary. I truly need to learn why I am out here, and do my best to bring others unto Christ. When I go home I shouldn't just change back to the person I was before I left, I should be a different person, a missionary. Elder Bednar talked about how you can go home after your labors, but you should never leave the field. Just because the mission is over doesn't mean I should stop doing missionary work. It was a pretty great talk and I am trying to truly become a missionary.

I saw Elder Loveless this week. He just barely got here on Wednesday so that will be pretty cool to see him around. I'm pretty sure Elder Bastian is gone though which is kinda sad but it's cool that he's out of the MTC and in the field. The MTC choir is going to get to sing in priesthood session of general conference this year. That would be neat if I got to go and sing there but I'm not sure I have enough experience. They make you fill out this paper telling about how there isn't a lot of time to practice so you need years of experience and stuff. I knew I didn't have that, but I filled one out anyway and said that I sang in choir in 8th or 7th grade, and I sang in a ward choir for a little bit. Hopefully I'll get to go, but I probably shouldn't plan on it.

The b-ball court opens up this week, so I'm pretty excited. Volleyball has been fun, but this is the longest time in a long time that I haven't played basketball, so I'm ready to get back on the court.

Don't worry mom, I'm probably gonna gain a lot of weight here at the MTC. I've realized that I eat so much. I always get so much food, and my breakfasts are pretty huge too. The food isn't too bad here, it's not as good as home, but I just have to deal with it I guess haha.

I love you
the gospel is true
Elder Hicks