(letter dated April 25, 2011)
Hello Family!!
It's good to hear that you all had a wonderful Easter.
Julia and Steve, your news about being member missionaries brings me so much Joy. I'm so proud of you guys for being awesome and trying to be examples to your neighbors. I hope after my mission I can continue doing missionary work.
So...
Unfortunately Hector did not get baptized this week. We went and visited him a few times, and he would never really say a specific day, just that there was something he needed to "fix". We went and watched part of the Joseph Smith movie with him, which he really liked. Elder High shared a scripture about not procrastinating your day of repentance, and we talked to Hector about how he was ready. We tried setting a baptismal goal with him, and we got some horrible news. He told us that he's hoping it can be before, but probably won't be until after his trip to Ecuador. We asked when that trip was going to be, and he said... December. I was like," Wo, Um..." haha or something like that. So we were a little discouraged for sure. He said he wanted to talk with the bishop. So yesterday right after sacrament meeting, he met with the Bishop, and when he came out, him and the bishop told us that he was going to be baptized next Sunday! What a relief! So yeah, that's pretty exciting for Hector. We actually went by earlier in the week to visit, and I asked him if he's received an answer about the church being true, and kinda gave me a response of, "What a dumb question, of course" so that's good news I guess too.
This week I also got to conduct my first companion exchange with Elder Hunt. Elder Hunt just got to the mission but isn't really a new missionary as he served for 2 months in Bolivia, but now he is here in New Jersey. I got a chance to show him some of the ropes of Union City. Unfortunately we didn't see too much that day that we were together, but I hope I was able to learn something from the exchange. He's a really good missionary though, and really taught me to better look on the positive side of things, and to not give up.
This week we went and saw our investigator Jennifer who has been to church a number of times and her husband (they aren't really married though) is a member. It was a super disorganized lesson as we talked about Adam and Eve with the original sin, a little from the Restoration, the purpose of this life, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. It all came back to having her just read in the Book of Mormon. Elder High made a little thing for her to sign, saying that she would read the introduction to the Book of Mormon before watching TV, and she signed it. We don't know how it went though because they didn't come to church. Sadly they are going to be moving in just a few weeks to Florida, but hopefully she can talk to missionaries once she gets there.
This week we worked with a few less actives as well. We were able to get one to Sacrament meeting who hadn't been in about a year, and the other one didn't make it to church, but both of them are going to come on team ups with us this week which should be pretty great.
We met these cool people this week named Irene and Cheryl, who were contacts from about a week ago. We went and taught them and they had been to the church and taken lessons before, but couldn't progress much further because of the Husband. He's Jewish I guess, but a Lutheran. We'll hope to start teaching him as well.
Christian and Trixi: We have still not had the chance to visit Christian and Trixi yet, as it seems that Christian is on a new work schedule and doesn't seem to be able to meet with us at the same times as before. Hopefully we can hold onto them though, because they are super awesome investigators.
Oh, one or two things, last night the mouse finally got trapped that was in our house, and I guess up in the west New York apartment, they had one trap catch 3 mice at the exact same time. Crazy right? My comp took a picture of it, it's pretty interesting and I'm not quite sure how it happened. Bad news is, is that we might have bed bugs in our house, but I guess that's just what happens here in the East.
This week we also had the great opportunity to have Zone conference. It was a lot about doing things by the Spirit. We were supposed to write a two minute talk on how our "20 minute lessons" have been going, and I actually got called on to give my talk which was pretty scary, but I think it went alright. At the end of zone conference we watched a talk by Elder Holland that he gave in the MTC. He was talking about how after Christ's death the apostles went back to fishing. We've heard it a lot here about dropping our nets while here on our missions. Dropping all the things that are holding us back from serving the Lord with our all. At times we may come home from our missions and begin to pick up those nets again, or become distracted from continuing to fulfill our call as missionaries. The Lord asks 3 times, Do you love me? If so, "Feed my Sheep." Do we love the Lord? Then we must feed his sheep and continue taking the gospel to all the world. The Lord commanded us to drop our nets. Not just for a time but forever. Just as He did the apostles. I know that missionary work continues after the mission, and that there is so much joy in sharing the gospel. I liked the talk a lot, and it really was a great Zone Conference.
That's about it though. It was a great week, and a great Easter. I know the Gospel is True! Thanks for all your support, and sure do love you. Can you believe I'm at 8 months today? Time flies I guess. I'm super excited in some ways to call in 2 weeks, but in other ways I think calling home is harder. So if we could try keeping the crying to a minimum, that would be awesome, and I'll try not to cry either.
Love You!
Love Elder Hicks!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
East Coastin'
(letter dated April 18, 2011)
Hello Hello from the East Coast!
It's good to hear that you are all doing well, and that you had fun at disneyland. I sure do miss that place, but it will be there when I get home.
Things here are going pretty great. I had the opportunity to conduct my first District Meeting on Wednesday which was a pretty good experience, and then we've just been working to find more people this week.
As for an update....
Hector: Hector is doing pretty awesome. He had his second baptismal interview this week with President Allongo and he passed it! I think the interview was really good for him, and helped him feel a lot better. He wanted to be baptized this Sunday, but... we had some more problems come up, as his mom wasn't willing to sign the baptismal sheet. I'm not sure exactly why not, especially because she had a baptismal date a few weeks ago as well, but it just so conveniently happens that Hector turns 18 next Sunday and therefore won't need permission. We'll see though because I think he still wants his mom to be supportive of his decision before he actually gets baptized. He's an awesome kid though for sure, and seems to be really happy and likes the church a lot. I don't think he has missed a Sunday since we have started teaching him. I think he's been to church/General Conference like 6 times which is pretty awesome. His Grandma wants to get baptized as well, but I'm not sure exactly when that will happen. We taught Hector and Yolanda the law of Tithing, and the law of Fasting, and they both agreed to it, and Hector said he was going to fast on Sunday. So we'll see how things go with them, and we'll just keep trying to support them. Hector's little sister got to come to church for her first time yesterday which was pretty cool as well.
Maria: I just figured I'll update you on Maria. So after Elder Sopena left, me and Elder Hannah didn't really get a chance to teach Maria. We tried and taught her husband a few times, but never her. I called her last week trying to set something up, and it seemed like it was always "No" when I asked if we could come over. I called again, and she said no not today. Then I figured I might as well ask... something like this "Maria, do you really have interest in hearing us again" and she said no, so unfortunately we got dropped. Maybe someday though she will get baptized.
Christian and Trixi: Didn't get to teach this week, but I think they are still doing pretty awesome, been busy with baby stuff and all I guess.
Jennifer: Jennifer is an "On/Off" again investigator whose spouse is a member. She has come to church the past two weeks though. The only problem is, she hasn't read in the Book of Mormon, and gives a lot of excuses for why she can't read. So we'll just have to read with her I guess, but hopefully we can set her with a baptismal date this week too.
Katherine: We found this awesome new girl named Katherine this week. On Thursday we were going to look up a potential that we had contacted two transfers ago but had never made much contact with her other than a phone call. It was a nice warm day, and we headed to her apartment, where the first basement door happened to be open (which is usually locked) because one of the tenants was outside enjoying the weather. He allowed us to go into the basement, and we knocked the door. A girl of about 23 years of age answered and told us that the person we were looking for (Rosa) wasn't home and wouldn't be for a week. Elder High asked if we could teach her, and she let us into her house. We taught her about the restoration, and our good buddy Norbert, who goes out on team-ups with us a lot, bore testimony of the message. I think the testimony really touched her, and she basically described it as beautiful. Elder High explained that as being the Holy Ghost and soft committed her to baptism. She accepted and we invited her to church. She came to church yesterday and stayed for all 3 hours, and wants to start going to institute. Things are going pretty awesome, and hopefully we can set her with a date tomorrow.
Well that's mostly an update on our investigators. Working with Diana has still been pretty tough. We went by last night and talked to her and she was saying how she was like never home, and she's pretty busy with stuff, and she doesn't know if she'll be able to come to church next week. I think we are gonna kinda stop going by to try and see her for awhile, but it's just hard when she isn't going to church, but I guess there is only so much you can do, right?
Things are still going well, although there are some things we need to improve on to make better use of our time. I get the opportunity to do my first baptismal interviews this week which should be pretty great. Two in Spanish, and one in English. It will be a great opportunity, but I'm a little nervous about how I'll know whether or not they are ready for baptism, but I guess I'll just have to really go by the spirit. I know I can be a better missionary, and I think sometimes my shyness or discouragement can get the better of me. Sometimes it just get's stressful when people don't follow through, or when people give you false information, but I guess it all just comes back to... "Come what may and love it." I really do love my mission, and I'm gaining so many new and wonderful experiences.
Welp, that's about it for this week, I guess I'll just include a funny moment or two. This week we went to Ruth's house and we were watching or trying to watch "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration." Her son Miguel-Angel was there too, and he was opening up some bags of toys to play with. He was just playing around, and then he beckoned, or called me to attention. I looked at what he was holding in his hand, and thought for a second that it was a toy mouse, or not... Yeah it was pretty disgusting, this little kid was holding a dead mouse in his hands that must have been in one of the toy bags. We were trying to call Ruth's attention to the matter, and when she saw it she was telling Miguel to drop it, and yeah it was pretty nuts, and kinda gross. That was a pretty funny experience though.
Then I had another really short one while contacting. We were walking and I saw this guy on his phone but kept walking. I thought to myself, that looks like a good guy, so I turned around to go and contact him. I was following him and as he was about to walk into a store I was like "Hermano!" but he didn't hear me cause he was on his phone and all. I reached to tap him on his shoulder, and I think he thought I was going to jump him or something, because he turned around quickly with his hands in defensive fighting position. I was like, "Wo, it's OK, I just want to give you a card" and so he took it. But obviously I'm sure that contact had a negative affect more than a positive one, so I guess I learned my lesson to never tap on peoples shoulders, but I guess that's just one of my awkward things.
I had another one a few weeks ago, where I saw a lady who looked pretty good to contact so I started walking a little faster. It was night time, and I'm a big tall person with a black coat on, so I think she could tell I was coming up fast, and then she crossed the street. I guess I just gotta take it easy with the whole creepy contacter thing huh? Well I guess it's just trial and error of what works best.
But yeah, that's my week basically. This week should be pretty great though, and we will just keep being diligent and trying to find with the Spirit, and teach with the spirit to truly fulfill our purpose as missionaries.
Just to end with my testimony. I know the Church is true, and I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that everything that we experience in this life is for our good, and that the lord qualifies him who he calleth. Sometimes we may receive calls or duties that seem overwhelming or that we are not fit to do it, but the Lord knows our capabilities and will not make us do it alone. Sometimes we may receive callings in order to become qualified, not because we were qualified beforehand. We learn so many new things, and it's through the pushing and learning, that we can become more like the divine son's and daughters that our Heavenly Father would have us be.
Love you all, and thanks so much for your support!!
Love, Elder Hicks
Hello Hello from the East Coast!
It's good to hear that you are all doing well, and that you had fun at disneyland. I sure do miss that place, but it will be there when I get home.
Things here are going pretty great. I had the opportunity to conduct my first District Meeting on Wednesday which was a pretty good experience, and then we've just been working to find more people this week.
As for an update....
Hector: Hector is doing pretty awesome. He had his second baptismal interview this week with President Allongo and he passed it! I think the interview was really good for him, and helped him feel a lot better. He wanted to be baptized this Sunday, but... we had some more problems come up, as his mom wasn't willing to sign the baptismal sheet. I'm not sure exactly why not, especially because she had a baptismal date a few weeks ago as well, but it just so conveniently happens that Hector turns 18 next Sunday and therefore won't need permission. We'll see though because I think he still wants his mom to be supportive of his decision before he actually gets baptized. He's an awesome kid though for sure, and seems to be really happy and likes the church a lot. I don't think he has missed a Sunday since we have started teaching him. I think he's been to church/General Conference like 6 times which is pretty awesome. His Grandma wants to get baptized as well, but I'm not sure exactly when that will happen. We taught Hector and Yolanda the law of Tithing, and the law of Fasting, and they both agreed to it, and Hector said he was going to fast on Sunday. So we'll see how things go with them, and we'll just keep trying to support them. Hector's little sister got to come to church for her first time yesterday which was pretty cool as well.
Maria: I just figured I'll update you on Maria. So after Elder Sopena left, me and Elder Hannah didn't really get a chance to teach Maria. We tried and taught her husband a few times, but never her. I called her last week trying to set something up, and it seemed like it was always "No" when I asked if we could come over. I called again, and she said no not today. Then I figured I might as well ask... something like this "Maria, do you really have interest in hearing us again" and she said no, so unfortunately we got dropped. Maybe someday though she will get baptized.
Christian and Trixi: Didn't get to teach this week, but I think they are still doing pretty awesome, been busy with baby stuff and all I guess.
Jennifer: Jennifer is an "On/Off" again investigator whose spouse is a member. She has come to church the past two weeks though. The only problem is, she hasn't read in the Book of Mormon, and gives a lot of excuses for why she can't read. So we'll just have to read with her I guess, but hopefully we can set her with a baptismal date this week too.
Katherine: We found this awesome new girl named Katherine this week. On Thursday we were going to look up a potential that we had contacted two transfers ago but had never made much contact with her other than a phone call. It was a nice warm day, and we headed to her apartment, where the first basement door happened to be open (which is usually locked) because one of the tenants was outside enjoying the weather. He allowed us to go into the basement, and we knocked the door. A girl of about 23 years of age answered and told us that the person we were looking for (Rosa) wasn't home and wouldn't be for a week. Elder High asked if we could teach her, and she let us into her house. We taught her about the restoration, and our good buddy Norbert, who goes out on team-ups with us a lot, bore testimony of the message. I think the testimony really touched her, and she basically described it as beautiful. Elder High explained that as being the Holy Ghost and soft committed her to baptism. She accepted and we invited her to church. She came to church yesterday and stayed for all 3 hours, and wants to start going to institute. Things are going pretty awesome, and hopefully we can set her with a date tomorrow.
Well that's mostly an update on our investigators. Working with Diana has still been pretty tough. We went by last night and talked to her and she was saying how she was like never home, and she's pretty busy with stuff, and she doesn't know if she'll be able to come to church next week. I think we are gonna kinda stop going by to try and see her for awhile, but it's just hard when she isn't going to church, but I guess there is only so much you can do, right?
Things are still going well, although there are some things we need to improve on to make better use of our time. I get the opportunity to do my first baptismal interviews this week which should be pretty great. Two in Spanish, and one in English. It will be a great opportunity, but I'm a little nervous about how I'll know whether or not they are ready for baptism, but I guess I'll just have to really go by the spirit. I know I can be a better missionary, and I think sometimes my shyness or discouragement can get the better of me. Sometimes it just get's stressful when people don't follow through, or when people give you false information, but I guess it all just comes back to... "Come what may and love it." I really do love my mission, and I'm gaining so many new and wonderful experiences.
Welp, that's about it for this week, I guess I'll just include a funny moment or two. This week we went to Ruth's house and we were watching or trying to watch "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration." Her son Miguel-Angel was there too, and he was opening up some bags of toys to play with. He was just playing around, and then he beckoned, or called me to attention. I looked at what he was holding in his hand, and thought for a second that it was a toy mouse, or not... Yeah it was pretty disgusting, this little kid was holding a dead mouse in his hands that must have been in one of the toy bags. We were trying to call Ruth's attention to the matter, and when she saw it she was telling Miguel to drop it, and yeah it was pretty nuts, and kinda gross. That was a pretty funny experience though.
Then I had another really short one while contacting. We were walking and I saw this guy on his phone but kept walking. I thought to myself, that looks like a good guy, so I turned around to go and contact him. I was following him and as he was about to walk into a store I was like "Hermano!" but he didn't hear me cause he was on his phone and all. I reached to tap him on his shoulder, and I think he thought I was going to jump him or something, because he turned around quickly with his hands in defensive fighting position. I was like, "Wo, it's OK, I just want to give you a card" and so he took it. But obviously I'm sure that contact had a negative affect more than a positive one, so I guess I learned my lesson to never tap on peoples shoulders, but I guess that's just one of my awkward things.
I had another one a few weeks ago, where I saw a lady who looked pretty good to contact so I started walking a little faster. It was night time, and I'm a big tall person with a black coat on, so I think she could tell I was coming up fast, and then she crossed the street. I guess I just gotta take it easy with the whole creepy contacter thing huh? Well I guess it's just trial and error of what works best.
But yeah, that's my week basically. This week should be pretty great though, and we will just keep being diligent and trying to find with the Spirit, and teach with the spirit to truly fulfill our purpose as missionaries.
Just to end with my testimony. I know the Church is true, and I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that everything that we experience in this life is for our good, and that the lord qualifies him who he calleth. Sometimes we may receive calls or duties that seem overwhelming or that we are not fit to do it, but the Lord knows our capabilities and will not make us do it alone. Sometimes we may receive callings in order to become qualified, not because we were qualified beforehand. We learn so many new things, and it's through the pushing and learning, that we can become more like the divine son's and daughters that our Heavenly Father would have us be.
Love you all, and thanks so much for your support!!
Love, Elder Hicks
Sunday, April 17, 2011
CHANGES!
(Letter dated April 11, 2011)
No worries, I'm not being transferred, but this week is the week of transfers, and Elder High AND I are still going to be companions. It should be a great transfer, and we will see a lot of good success together. Last night I got a call from one of the assistants, and he asked me to be the next District Leader! I'm so excited for this opportunity to be District Leader and to better help the missionaries and serve those in the District. It will also be pretty cool to conduct baptismal interviews for the investigators of the other missionaries. I guess I better start working more on my Spanish. It's a really great opportunity and priviledge and a time for me to learn and grow even more. Two of the people in our former district are leaving, and one of the people in the district is going to be training so it will be cool having a new greenie around to help out. But that's basically the big news of the week, the rest of the week hasn't been quite so good.
This week it seemed like a lot of not so good things were happening. Everything seemed to be going well with Hector, and then on Thursday he told us that there was some stuff he needed to clear up in Ecuador before he could get baptized. He still had his baptismal interview, and it came out that he is going to need a second interview. He has that interview tomorrow and I asked Elder Davies (The District Leader last transfer) if after this interview he was going to be able to be baptized, and Elder Davies sounded in the affirmative so maybe Hector will be able to be baptized in the next couple of weeks. This week we also got to go and help their family move, and I think it really helped us earn I guess you would say "brownie points" with Hector's Grandpa. Hopefully he will one day give permission to Yolanda to be baptized, and then her and Hectors mom Wendy can be baptized as well. Hector is an awesome kid though and told us that he still wants to be baptized and that he knows the church is true. He went to the YSA activity this week and is planning on going to mutual tomorrow, so it seems like he is continuing to grow in the church and is making more friends.
Christian and Trixi gave us some bad news this week as well. They still want to be baptized and everything, but we also found out that they aren't married, and that Trixie is still married to her former "esposo". So it could be a pretty lengthy process, but they will eventually be baptized. It was actually pretty cool this week. Trixi has been like super pregnant, and on friday or something like that I called her and got no answer, She called me back later and I asked how everything was going. It was like 10:15 or something like that, and she told me that she had just had her baby like about an hour ago. I congratulated her and was really happy for her. Yesterday we were able to find her a ride home from the hospital, and then we got to go and visit them. We taught them about "Where we were before this life" because they just had a baby and all, and then we told them they wouldn't be able to get baptized on the 24th because they haven't been to church yet and they have to deal with all this divorce stuff, but we invited them to pray about their own date in which they could reasonably be baptized. So we'll follow up on that a little more on Wednesday. I was pretty suprised that she was back only two days after, and she was pretty weak during the lesson, but they still let us come over which was pretty awesome. They also gave us a lot of details about the child birth which was definitely pretty interesting especially in Spanish, and it sounded like a pretty dramatic experience for sure, but hey, I guess they trust us enough to give us so many details about their new baby Angel (That's his name).
As for church attendance. Ay ay ay, yesterday definitely wasn't a good day of church attendance for our recent converts. A lot of them were missing and Fiorella and Samantha weren't able to make it either to be confirmed, but the good news is... Christian came and was able to be confirmed again. I got to do the confirmation which was pretty cool, but kinda hard in Spanish, especially cause as a missionary you basically only use the Usted form (Formal) while in blessings you use the Tu form (Less-formal) and so the confirmation had a mix of both, but hey, practice makes perfect right? Hector came and enjoyed it. Christian's mom came as well, and she isn't a member. And we had another investigator named Jennifer come whose spouse is a member. So we are going to try and work more with her, especially cause they are moving to Florida in like a month.
Elder High has been doing a lot better with learning the Area and seems to be getting to know the ward really well. Tuesday was his birthday, and some of the ward members went and got him a cake and sang to him and stuff while we were in the church during YM/YW. Other that that, things are still going pretty well. We definitely need to improve continually having some struggles in our area this week, especially with finding new people, but I guess it's always a good time to learn, and continually be diligent. I feel like my Spanish has been improving a lot this week with the changes and me being able to talk a little more in Spanish to members and the investigators. It's been a good week though and we'll keep working with the recent converts, members and investigators.
When Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy came to visit us, he talked to us about how sometimes in missionary work, or I guess a lot of the time, things just don't work out as planned and things fall through. He was saying how this provides another opportunity, that whenever one door closes, one more door opens. It's our job to find that open door of opportunity. That principle is probably the same with every situation, inside and outside of missionary work. I really know that everything happens to us for a reason. Sicknesses, adversities, and all the sorts, because it is truly necessary for our growth. But we will only really grow and learn from it, when we act and respond in the way that we should. With patience and with faith, and with diligence, we can grow and develop more Christ-like attributes.
Love you all!
Love, Elder Hicks
No worries, I'm not being transferred, but this week is the week of transfers, and Elder High AND I are still going to be companions. It should be a great transfer, and we will see a lot of good success together. Last night I got a call from one of the assistants, and he asked me to be the next District Leader! I'm so excited for this opportunity to be District Leader and to better help the missionaries and serve those in the District. It will also be pretty cool to conduct baptismal interviews for the investigators of the other missionaries. I guess I better start working more on my Spanish. It's a really great opportunity and priviledge and a time for me to learn and grow even more. Two of the people in our former district are leaving, and one of the people in the district is going to be training so it will be cool having a new greenie around to help out. But that's basically the big news of the week, the rest of the week hasn't been quite so good.
This week it seemed like a lot of not so good things were happening. Everything seemed to be going well with Hector, and then on Thursday he told us that there was some stuff he needed to clear up in Ecuador before he could get baptized. He still had his baptismal interview, and it came out that he is going to need a second interview. He has that interview tomorrow and I asked Elder Davies (The District Leader last transfer) if after this interview he was going to be able to be baptized, and Elder Davies sounded in the affirmative so maybe Hector will be able to be baptized in the next couple of weeks. This week we also got to go and help their family move, and I think it really helped us earn I guess you would say "brownie points" with Hector's Grandpa. Hopefully he will one day give permission to Yolanda to be baptized, and then her and Hectors mom Wendy can be baptized as well. Hector is an awesome kid though and told us that he still wants to be baptized and that he knows the church is true. He went to the YSA activity this week and is planning on going to mutual tomorrow, so it seems like he is continuing to grow in the church and is making more friends.
Christian and Trixi gave us some bad news this week as well. They still want to be baptized and everything, but we also found out that they aren't married, and that Trixie is still married to her former "esposo". So it could be a pretty lengthy process, but they will eventually be baptized. It was actually pretty cool this week. Trixi has been like super pregnant, and on friday or something like that I called her and got no answer, She called me back later and I asked how everything was going. It was like 10:15 or something like that, and she told me that she had just had her baby like about an hour ago. I congratulated her and was really happy for her. Yesterday we were able to find her a ride home from the hospital, and then we got to go and visit them. We taught them about "Where we were before this life" because they just had a baby and all, and then we told them they wouldn't be able to get baptized on the 24th because they haven't been to church yet and they have to deal with all this divorce stuff, but we invited them to pray about their own date in which they could reasonably be baptized. So we'll follow up on that a little more on Wednesday. I was pretty suprised that she was back only two days after, and she was pretty weak during the lesson, but they still let us come over which was pretty awesome. They also gave us a lot of details about the child birth which was definitely pretty interesting especially in Spanish, and it sounded like a pretty dramatic experience for sure, but hey, I guess they trust us enough to give us so many details about their new baby Angel (That's his name).
As for church attendance. Ay ay ay, yesterday definitely wasn't a good day of church attendance for our recent converts. A lot of them were missing and Fiorella and Samantha weren't able to make it either to be confirmed, but the good news is... Christian came and was able to be confirmed again. I got to do the confirmation which was pretty cool, but kinda hard in Spanish, especially cause as a missionary you basically only use the Usted form (Formal) while in blessings you use the Tu form (Less-formal) and so the confirmation had a mix of both, but hey, practice makes perfect right? Hector came and enjoyed it. Christian's mom came as well, and she isn't a member. And we had another investigator named Jennifer come whose spouse is a member. So we are going to try and work more with her, especially cause they are moving to Florida in like a month.
Elder High has been doing a lot better with learning the Area and seems to be getting to know the ward really well. Tuesday was his birthday, and some of the ward members went and got him a cake and sang to him and stuff while we were in the church during YM/YW. Other that that, things are still going pretty well. We definitely need to improve continually having some struggles in our area this week, especially with finding new people, but I guess it's always a good time to learn, and continually be diligent. I feel like my Spanish has been improving a lot this week with the changes and me being able to talk a little more in Spanish to members and the investigators. It's been a good week though and we'll keep working with the recent converts, members and investigators.
When Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy came to visit us, he talked to us about how sometimes in missionary work, or I guess a lot of the time, things just don't work out as planned and things fall through. He was saying how this provides another opportunity, that whenever one door closes, one more door opens. It's our job to find that open door of opportunity. That principle is probably the same with every situation, inside and outside of missionary work. I really know that everything happens to us for a reason. Sicknesses, adversities, and all the sorts, because it is truly necessary for our growth. But we will only really grow and learn from it, when we act and respond in the way that we should. With patience and with faith, and with diligence, we can grow and develop more Christ-like attributes.
Love you all!
Love, Elder Hicks
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Amazing Conference Weekend!
Let me just say how much I love conference these days. Maybe it's just because I'm a missionary and so I try to apply it more, but hopefully upon returning home, I can keep that same enthusiasm about conference. I didn't end up watching any of the sessions in Spanish, mostly just watched them in English with the other missionaries in the ward.
Well I have some kinda big news. So transfers are next week, but... I already have a new companion. Yeah it's pretty crazy but Elder Hannah got emergency transferred on Saturday, so now my new companion is Elder High. It was pretty weird actually. I was just upstairs filling out a progress record, and Elder Hannah calls up to me and says," Elder Hicks, there's a change of plans." and I say, "Which one's?" and he said, "All of them. I'm leaving Union City today." So it was definitely a big suprise. He got all packed up, we went to conference, he say goodbye to some people, we drove to Short Hills where the two other missionaries and President Bahr were waiting, and then made the switch. Now Elder Hannah is in New Brunswick, and I asked President Bahr if this is what our companionship was going to be for next transfer as well, and he said something like "I hope so." So it looks like we got an early transfer conference, but the good news is, I'm most likely staying in Union City for at least one more, but I'm sure I'll leave after this next transfer. Elder High is a good kid from Idaho. We seem to be getting a long pretty well. We haven't taught a lesson together yet, but I think we should see a lot of success together this transfer.
I did get the sweet roles today, thanks so much. They were delicious and luckily there were 5 other missionaries in the car when I opened them so that I could share them and not get too chubby. I think I'm getting a little to big for my black suit. I'm not sure exactly how much I weigh, but I'm probably like 10-15 pounds more than when I left on my mission. It's all good though because supposedly summer is pretty brutal here and so I'm sure I'll sweat it all off.
We have 3 baptismal dates set for this coming week for Hector, Wendy, and Yolanda, but I think it's really only going to be Hector that is baptized this week. This family is awesome and Hector is the man. I really hope he goes on a mission within the next couple of years, or maybe he could come live at BYU, but I guess he probably needs to learn English before he can do that. Hector came to a session of conference yesterday and liked it, and as they would say in "the district", "You can put your money on the prophet." But after the session I asked if he thought he was going to be baptized next week, and he looked like he was pretty sure of it. There is still a good amount we have to teach him though so hopefully we can meet with him enough this week so he is ready by Sunday. Now the best case scenario for him would be to be baptized this week, receive the priesthood a few weeks later, and then baptize his Mom and Grandma. So we'll see what we can do with that this transfer. Really good people though.
Christian and Trixi are doing awesome as well. Trixi is probably having her baby today which will make it a lot harder for them to come to church within the coming weeks, but they'll be baptized eventually. They are so good about reading, and always have so many questions and things to share. They are truly a prepared people.
Some good news would be that Diana came to a session of conference as well, so hopefully we can keep working with her, and help her understand more about the gospel.
Hmmm... Any funny things happen this week? I'm not really sure, it's just funny moments like I said, so it's hard to really remember things that happen. We knocked a door this week and I just had a Spanish fail which was really awkward and Elder Hannah had to help me out. Another one would be that Elder Hannah was calling up a recent convert named Jan to see if he could come out a work with us. He was just taking a nap, so he said he couldn't on the phone, and then I could hear yelling in the background (although Elder Hannah was the one that had the phone) and Elder Hannah later told me that Jan's mom said ," Porque no puede, Si Puede!!!) Or How come you can't, you can! but she was kinda scolding him basically making him come out and help the missionaries. I guess you would just have to be there. Oh yeah, another one this week was super super awkward. We were at this less actives house and he wanted me to give the prayer. I asked him his name right before I was to give it, but unfortunately I heard him say "Jehovah" (In Spanigh) instead of Eduardo. It was a hearing fail on my part, so I was a little confused and said back to him "Jehovah" and he just kinda looked at me, and Elder Hannah was like "Eduardo". I don't really know where "Jehovah" came from, but it was pretty awkward on my part.
Everything is going pretty well here in Union City. Changes are still kinda weird for me, but I think this will be a really good transfer with Elder High.
I really like conference a lot. They seemed to focus a lot on service and giving to the poor. I also really like Elder Bednar's talk, and I felt like that one was meant just for me, because I'm still trying to learn how to receive personal revelation, and I get worried when I don't have these huge spiritual experience's and things like it, but It's true that revelation comes line upon line, and precept upon precept, and that sometimes we may not really recognize that we are receiving personal revelation. I know that president Monson is a true Prophet, and that the apostoles are also called of God. I really liked the talk of Richard G. Scott as well. This conference talked a lot about marriage as well, and basically we were told that after the mission, marriage is the next priority. I really liked Richard G. Scott's talk and the special experiences he shared. I'm so grateful to be out on my mission learning the lessons I need to really return home with honor, and come home with the skills necessary to continue being a missionary after the mission, and to know how to raise a family and keep them strong in the gospel. I was saddened to hear this week of somebody I knew in the MTC who didn't make it out into the field, especially cause I know how truly special the mission is, and how much it changes the lives of others as well as ours as missionaries. Hopefully he can go back out one day. The Gospel is true!
Love You So Much!!
Love, Elder Hicks.
Well I have some kinda big news. So transfers are next week, but... I already have a new companion. Yeah it's pretty crazy but Elder Hannah got emergency transferred on Saturday, so now my new companion is Elder High. It was pretty weird actually. I was just upstairs filling out a progress record, and Elder Hannah calls up to me and says," Elder Hicks, there's a change of plans." and I say, "Which one's?" and he said, "All of them. I'm leaving Union City today." So it was definitely a big suprise. He got all packed up, we went to conference, he say goodbye to some people, we drove to Short Hills where the two other missionaries and President Bahr were waiting, and then made the switch. Now Elder Hannah is in New Brunswick, and I asked President Bahr if this is what our companionship was going to be for next transfer as well, and he said something like "I hope so." So it looks like we got an early transfer conference, but the good news is, I'm most likely staying in Union City for at least one more, but I'm sure I'll leave after this next transfer. Elder High is a good kid from Idaho. We seem to be getting a long pretty well. We haven't taught a lesson together yet, but I think we should see a lot of success together this transfer.
I did get the sweet roles today, thanks so much. They were delicious and luckily there were 5 other missionaries in the car when I opened them so that I could share them and not get too chubby. I think I'm getting a little to big for my black suit. I'm not sure exactly how much I weigh, but I'm probably like 10-15 pounds more than when I left on my mission. It's all good though because supposedly summer is pretty brutal here and so I'm sure I'll sweat it all off.
We have 3 baptismal dates set for this coming week for Hector, Wendy, and Yolanda, but I think it's really only going to be Hector that is baptized this week. This family is awesome and Hector is the man. I really hope he goes on a mission within the next couple of years, or maybe he could come live at BYU, but I guess he probably needs to learn English before he can do that. Hector came to a session of conference yesterday and liked it, and as they would say in "the district", "You can put your money on the prophet." But after the session I asked if he thought he was going to be baptized next week, and he looked like he was pretty sure of it. There is still a good amount we have to teach him though so hopefully we can meet with him enough this week so he is ready by Sunday. Now the best case scenario for him would be to be baptized this week, receive the priesthood a few weeks later, and then baptize his Mom and Grandma. So we'll see what we can do with that this transfer. Really good people though.
Christian and Trixi are doing awesome as well. Trixi is probably having her baby today which will make it a lot harder for them to come to church within the coming weeks, but they'll be baptized eventually. They are so good about reading, and always have so many questions and things to share. They are truly a prepared people.
Some good news would be that Diana came to a session of conference as well, so hopefully we can keep working with her, and help her understand more about the gospel.
Hmmm... Any funny things happen this week? I'm not really sure, it's just funny moments like I said, so it's hard to really remember things that happen. We knocked a door this week and I just had a Spanish fail which was really awkward and Elder Hannah had to help me out. Another one would be that Elder Hannah was calling up a recent convert named Jan to see if he could come out a work with us. He was just taking a nap, so he said he couldn't on the phone, and then I could hear yelling in the background (although Elder Hannah was the one that had the phone) and Elder Hannah later told me that Jan's mom said ," Porque no puede, Si Puede!!!) Or How come you can't, you can! but she was kinda scolding him basically making him come out and help the missionaries. I guess you would just have to be there. Oh yeah, another one this week was super super awkward. We were at this less actives house and he wanted me to give the prayer. I asked him his name right before I was to give it, but unfortunately I heard him say "Jehovah" (In Spanigh) instead of Eduardo. It was a hearing fail on my part, so I was a little confused and said back to him "Jehovah" and he just kinda looked at me, and Elder Hannah was like "Eduardo". I don't really know where "Jehovah" came from, but it was pretty awkward on my part.
Everything is going pretty well here in Union City. Changes are still kinda weird for me, but I think this will be a really good transfer with Elder High.
I really like conference a lot. They seemed to focus a lot on service and giving to the poor. I also really like Elder Bednar's talk, and I felt like that one was meant just for me, because I'm still trying to learn how to receive personal revelation, and I get worried when I don't have these huge spiritual experience's and things like it, but It's true that revelation comes line upon line, and precept upon precept, and that sometimes we may not really recognize that we are receiving personal revelation. I know that president Monson is a true Prophet, and that the apostoles are also called of God. I really liked the talk of Richard G. Scott as well. This conference talked a lot about marriage as well, and basically we were told that after the mission, marriage is the next priority. I really liked Richard G. Scott's talk and the special experiences he shared. I'm so grateful to be out on my mission learning the lessons I need to really return home with honor, and come home with the skills necessary to continue being a missionary after the mission, and to know how to raise a family and keep them strong in the gospel. I was saddened to hear this week of somebody I knew in the MTC who didn't make it out into the field, especially cause I know how truly special the mission is, and how much it changes the lives of others as well as ours as missionaries. Hopefully he can go back out one day. The Gospel is true!
Love You So Much!!
Love, Elder Hicks.
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