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
Monday, November 22, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
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
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
Monday, November 1, 2010
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!
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