T Day

(Letter November 21, 2011)

 Elder Guinto departing New Jersey. He was in my first apartmentship, and he was also my "street pops" for the fear buster. One of the first missionaries I met here in New Jersey.
Also possibly a future roommate at BYU.

It's so great to hear from all of you again. It's too bad I'll have to be away for another thanksgiving, but it just leaves more food for you! Sadly, (although we are in the land of plenty, Passaic) we haven't gotten any Thanksgiving dinner invites from anyone. It's very strange, but I'm sure something will happen between now and Thursday. I mean, what are we supposed to do, ask the member, or just sit and wait? Guess PB and J would be just as good on thanksgiving as any other day right? Haha, that probably won't be the case.

Anyway, things are going pretty great here in Passaic. It's true, we are still learning how to run the area right, and we haven't had our area explode yet (not literally), things are still going well. Guillermo and Gerardo are doing really well. They are both set to get baptized this coming Sunday which will be amazing. Guillermo has been good about doing his reading, and well, Gerardo, he's got some work to do, but they both came to church yesterday, and they said that their mom was ok with them getting baptized. Tonight we are going to have an FHE at the Bello's house with Guillermo, Gerardo, and their parents who we have never met before. So keep you prayers up for Guillermo and Gerardo.

Meri, well, yeah we haven't seen a ton from her. She didn't make it to church again this week, but we did talk to her on the phone yesterday, and she seems to be doing pretty well. This past week during leadership training, President talked to us about how we shouldn't always just only focus on baptism, but that the Gospel of Jesus Christ entails 5 principles. Our purpose is to help people develop faith, and then faith unto repentance. All that comes before baptism, and that's one thing I haven't been very good about on my mission. I worry so much about helping people qualify for baptism, that I don't focus enough on the first principles. That could be one reason why a lot of the recent converts I had, aren't very active in the church. So taking that to heart, along with other things, we had lessons with both Guillermo, and Meri, specifically teaching them what repentance is, and how we do it. The lessons went very well, and Meri and Guillermo both said they felt a lot better after they did it.

   

Leadership training was the highlight of the week though. It was great practicing, training, and receiving counsel on how we can improve. Our training that we did about the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion went pretty well, and it was nice to be one of the first companionships to go, so that we could relax for the next day and a half. It was great being around old friends again, meeting new missionaries, and getting a spirit booster for the upcoming weeks. In between the 2 days of leadership training, we received a new companion for the night that was too far away from his area to drive back just for the night. Elder Packer went out for the night, and he is a super amazing missionary. Missionaries are way better trained these days than at least I was when I came out. He had really great Spanish, and I think the training programs in the MTC are just going to get better.

   

Farewell Elder Jarrett!!

Hmmm, que mas? Well we had our Ward Thanksgiving party this past week which was super good. The food was pretty delicious, although I don't think hispanics make stuffing... que lastima.... But the rice wasn't too bad of an addition to the classic Thanksgiving meal. I got to eat turkey, ham, rice, and mashed potatoes (sort of). We'll see what kind of food Thurday holds for us. I'm really excited for Thursday though. It's our upcoming annual Turkey Bowl! Zone 1 vs Zone 2! It should be a pretty fun day, including a duo-zone breakfast, football, and then later eating more food (we hope).

This week should go by pretty quick including an exchange tomorrow, Dermatologist on Wednesday (Hopefully the Hives are gone for good), Thanksgiving on Thursday, Zone Leader Council on Friday, and then it's almost Monday again. The weeks are just getting faster and faster.

I'm so grateful to be out here though. The Lord has blessed me a lot! It was just a few years ago that I was afraid to leave home for a day or 2, and now look, 15 months later! I'm so grateful to be on a mission, preaching the Gospel, Learning Spanish, meeting amazing people, seeing people's lives change, meeting new friends, learning new things everyday, and working and facing situations everyday that test me in so many ways to add to my growth as a person. There are so many experiences you have here, that you wouldn't have anywhere else. It get's hard, and sometimes bad things happen, but those bad moments and experiences fade away pretty quick as you lose yourself in the work. I need to keep improving as a missionary, and I need to be sure that I do everything my Heavenly Father wants me to do here. 

I'm grateful for a wonderful family that supports me on my mission. I'm grateful that my family has grown so much while I've been away. I'm grateful for President and Sister Jeppson who make me feel really important, and help me whenever I have any problems. I'm thankful for my companion Elder Erikson. And I'm thankful for the knowledge of the gospel, that allows me to have hope for the future, and to receive peace and comfort through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is True!

I love you all so much!

 

Love,

Elder Hicks