I Love the mission

I received this message from our bishop today. I just left Belgrano and now I am in a place called Lopez Carmelo!! Also I recieved a message from Elder Steve Dyson. an Elder that taught Dad! Thanks for tracking him down Mom!

Gracias por servir en Belgrano

Obispo Ferreyra

Translation:

"Thank you for your service in Belgrano

Bishop Ferreyra"

Dear Family,

This week has been super great, I am not sure if you received the photos from our bishop but I am so glad to be on the mission. Also Mom thank you so much for sending me the information of the Elders that baptized Dad. I never understood how much they really did for Dad... Until Now... Wow, They really did a lot and were great missionaries!!

      This week for me I have now left my beloved Belgrano. I felt like in part I was leaving my home, saying goodbye to everyone... I can't believe I was there for so long and that I had the opportunity ot make life long friendships while I was there. Everday is worth the while.

Right now I am in a place called Lopez Camelo and I am with my new companion named Elder Molina!! He is from Chile but HE totally acts like a chill guy form California! hah I am not sure how to explain. He also says a joke to me where he flexes his muscles and Says "Hi I'm Troy Hicks" and then gives me this ladies man smile. jaja ..But now that I have left Capital No one Speaks english and We are back to walking in the dirt everyday!! yaya!!! jaj As long as we are able to talk to the people and we are able to help them It's okay with me. 

    Elder Molina and I are Zone leaders of the Litoral Zone. I really hope that the Lord can help us to grow this Zone. We are going to see. I certainly Love the mission.

    Also I am going to write Steve Dyson. I can't belive that He wrote me. It is so great to be able talk with a missionary that helped Dad. I was thinking about it the other day.. Wow wouldn't it be cool to know how the kids of my converts are doing!! 

     We had 4 people come to the church in Belgrano and Elder Jewett is going to take over, I am going to miss that place so much.

Dad, President told me about your letter. He says their are some rules about Dads being companions and he is going to try to see what he can do. But it is pretty strict the rule. But it still will be fun when you come down. He says he is going to respond to you when he can. 

I love my Savior and I know he carries us and that He helps us everyday in each moment. I know it without a doubt and that also are Father in Heaven is also looking of ways to help us grow. If I trust in him he will raise me up. If you trust in him he will also take us to places that we never knew we could go to!! I know we are going to be an eternal family, without a doubt...  I still feel we will be an eternal family and I know it won't be easy for you, but He is raising us up together as a family. I love all the quotes you send me Mom. Thank you for your support each week I look forward to your letter.!)

Makenna, I look forward to seeing your letter. Please keep telling me how your life is going I hope you know how inportant you are to me. You are SO Important to me and to our Heavenly Father also. Please remember if we are obedient in our youth all of the life is easier. Makenna can you read Alma 36 and 37. Alma is talking to one of his sons. I love oyu so much. I want to hear how it goes, And what you learned from what you read!! please tell me what you think!

I love you all so much,

Elder Hicks!

Wow, Did that just really happen?

This week is probably my last week in my beloved Belgrano... I am not sure how i want to react, thinking about it this area has been my favorite area, this last transfer with Elder jewett we ahve so much more success. I really can not believe the miracles that are happening and the poeple that are changing.

       Yesterday at church we had 4 investigators there, Diana showed up, also Susana showed up, and another guy named Juan that we invited ot the church during the week. Last of all, a part member family came to church and the ward is working with them! This week has been super great.

     Also during chuirch after gospel principles class another family came to church who came to the by being invited by a family member from Las Vegas. One of her first questions for us was: Umm... WHere do we pay Tithing???  After we got that question we did not really know what to say!! well... umm.... we sais ¨we never have gotten that as a question before its something people usually do after baptism... then the mom siad well, how long does it take to be baptized... haha me and my companion were so surprised. we invited to come to the church next week and we have an appointment with the on thrusday to be able to explain the things in a better way. We told her she could pay tithing right now, but i wasn´t really sure i wanted her to pay it without understanding why??? 

        Also, last week we had the ward activity!! We played a game where the members and the investigators put oroes on there forheads and had to eat it without using their hands ( i know you are all familiar with this game) and the first ones to do it were a bunch of little kids! While they were trying the parents got so excited and it seemed like the little kids did not know how to do it. some of them just stick their tongue out waiting for it to get into their mouths and others tried ot throw it off their heads into the mouth but their were some who really tried by being patient and by trying surely but slowly to put it into their mouth, they were the only ones to actually be able to do it with success.  This ativity really made me think about how I ac tin the missionary work. Some times i just wanted investigators and people to teach now! like 3 months ago... we did not have many. But now after much patience and a lot of work and diligence we are recieving many fruits. This ward is exploding! we are having success like never before. and even the sister missionaries that are in the ward are having so much success. I am going to miss it a lot after transfers. 

I know this spirit that we feel each day as people and even as missionaries does not come from one thing but i believe it comes from a daily effort to be obedient and to change little by little. 

I can never thank the Lod enough for these little things he as given me! He is always giving me more! I don{t understand why?? haha I love you all so much and I love the missionary work. Please pray for Diana, Juan, Jorge, Guadalupe, Susana, Liliana, and The Romero Family, They are all posibilities to be baptized within 3 weeks!! This week we are focusing on Diana and Susana. I love these people so much. Also I love this mission!! 

Dad, Mom and Makenna thank you for writing me.  I can also see a lot better, I got new glasses that I am going to take a lot better of them. Also I hope you know how much I love you.

One last thing Mom, I am going to take out some money to be able to keep eating until the end of the month, also to buy a matero, its what they use for the Mate here. At the begininng of the month i used the money to buy some diaries for notes and a bag for the mission. I hope you don{t think they were bad buys. I know I need to learn how to take better care of my mission money. towards the end of the mission it gets a little harder. 

I want you to know that I love everyday here in Belgrano, and I loe very moment that we have as missionaries. Elder Jewett is such a great missionary, also this ward is the bomb. 

One more thing, Dad, About your letter , I would love to go to China to work after the mission in a couple summers. I have really been thinking about what i want to do after my mission, I know the Lord wants me to have a plan but I am not sure what he wants yet... But i know after the mission I want to keep busy. Thanks Dad Love you so much. HAve ypou been talking with the offices about coming down after the mission? thanks!)

I want you to know that I am so gald that we are going to live together as a family. I would like to write the missionaries that helped dad get baptized. Mom and Dad I don´t know if you would have that information hidden somewhere. Or even the bishop that helped get Dad bapitized.. I want to be able to write them. 

What a blessing it is to be able to live as a family forever and have so many treasures already stored in heaven.

Love you,

Elder Hicks

 A beatuful church named ¨La Redonda¨

Aug 11-Keep the Grandma's coming

Dear Family,

        Well now after the Baptsims of Liliana and Suana We have been on the lookout for more investigators. We have Diana, and we also found more people this week. I am not really sure how but we found another older woman who wants to listen to us. She lives in the same building where Susana lives and her name is Susana also. I don´t understnad but we have always been teaching older woman, I think they are slightly attracted to my companion Elder Jewett. But I am not really sure. Well... We started talking to her while we were visiting Susana the other day and she passed by outside the building and then she turned around and said... ¨where are you boys from?¨so we told her we were from the United States and we started talking to her about the Gospel. (This was on Saturday) then on Sunday she came to the church with us. SHe really loved the churhc and tongith we are going to teach her in a family home evening with a family from utah. After We set up the family home evening last night, we called her and she told us something qutie special. SHe said ¨i have seen you boys talking wiht Susana and I have never thought anyhting weird of it. But yesterday while you were talking i felt something to tell me to go and talk to you... so I went and i talked to you. I am not really sure what it was.¨ I am constetly reminded as a missionary that this is not my work but it is truly of the saviour and that he is on are right hand and on our left and he always goes in front of us and behind us. He prepares the hearts here of the people that we teach. Also I ahve learned something from the scripture in Moroni 7: 33-34 it says And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. ¨And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.¨ The word espedient has really called my attention this week, in spanish it says convinent... and as a missionary i thinking I have been trying to force options to share the gospel, but really when it is are desire to share the gospel the Lord will put in our path convenient ways to share the Gospel. It is not like i planned ot talk to Susana that way... no, but the Lord did!  and it seemed convinent or expedient to him. I think as people we can apply this to many aspects in our life. In our family we desire happiness. SO we set up or plan to set up happiness, for being obedient or for planning activities or eating together. And then the Lord will put waya, without forcing it, to be able to experience this happiness we are looking for. Also It goes as member after the mission by sharing the gospel we will find ways each day to be able to share the gospel if we DESIRE to de it. And we are not alone because the Lord is always there, he made the commision and the invitation for us to share the Gospel as members. and I know we can do it. In a short time I won´t be this missionary anymore but i will be a member and i pray A lot that i will still be able to share the Gospel. 

         Liliana is doing great, Yesterday we talked with her and SHE WAS CONFIRMED a member of the church,. her smile was so big. 

         i LOVE THE MISSION!!!!!!! And even iuf we are teaching a bunch of old woman I wouldn´t want to be in any other place because i LOVE those old woman and I so glad to be a servant of the Lord.

Love,

Elder Hicks

P.S. Mom thank you so much for the game ideas! Seeing the pictures i almost forgot what the house looked like!! wowowowow! Also On our special day this week as a family i talked a lot more of the temple and I am going ot try a lot more ot preach about the temple! I love you all so much and I so happy that makenna is foing great!! 

       

At the capital

Elder Hicks, a member from Belgrano, and Elder Jewett, at the bus stop

Aug. 4

Dear Family and Friends,

Well this week has truly been one of the best weeks ever!! Susana was baptized

The Story of Susana:

SO Susana acts like our Grandma, the other day she bought us cinnamon rolls from starbucks here in Belgrano. Also the day before her baptism, ( if you remember how we talked about tithing) she decided that she was going to pay tithing. That's what God wants is much more important the earthly needs. Also yesterday Susana was confirmed a memebr of the chruch! This week as we were talking to her she said she wanted to help Liliana be baptized, so she went on a visit with us... Susana also told us one day ¨i just want to convert everyone to the church!¨ jaja she is 68 years old and she acts like she is just a young girl! haha she is so great! 

The story of Liliana: 

Liliana was baptized yesterday! She was a contact from the sister missionaries in a town north of us called Nuñez. But she said she wanted to be baptized the first week we met her. On saturday night we went to her house with Eliana, SUsana, And another convert named Carlos Borjas and we watched the restoration. The spirit was so strong, After we watched the restoration she got really excited for her baptism and started to bear her testimony how she knew the church was true! Yesterday she got baptized and after she came out of the water she looked at me and sighed a huge sigh... she cried in the bathroom with Susana. 

Liliana and Susana are so great! really they are super great. Susana is so converted and everytime we arrive at the home of Liliana she has already read all of the reading and has all the Book of Mormon marked up. the mission is so amazing!!

Let´s just say the Lord is blessing Belgrano so much right now! 

Also some good news, I have lost a bunch of weight... I finally don´t have baby cheeks any more... jaja but really mom... i remember your comment that you made me on skype.. ´Wow Troy there is more of you...¨haha It stuck with me just so you know!)

We are also teaching another friend of Sister Sar right now form Columbia named Diana. She lives with Eliana and on saturday night they both went to bed at 4 in the morning... because they were watching the movie about joseph smith. When we heard about that i started to laugh for Joy! 

This place in Belgrano is going to explode with more baptisms in the coming months! Our mission leader named hermano Abad works in the MTC of Argentina and now we are going to put in a ward mission plan!! Also on the 15th we are going to have a ward activity where elder Jewett and I are going ot help the members do minute to win it... ANy fun ideas for Argentines??? also we are going to do a relay race with the members and they have to dress like us!! hopefully everyone can fit into my misssionary pants... haha 

I hope I explained will enough the stories of Susana and Liliana... they are so great mom. Susana already wants to do more visits with us and acts like our grandma and is always smiling. she is really good friends with Elanan and the family Sar. Liliana is so great also, she has a lot of problems with her family but always says with God he will help me. It stinks that the front yard is going to be torn up.... I love what you said that the material things don´t matter. Also I want you to know something... I LOVE YOU

Family: 

I am absolutly so greatful for this week that we were able to be sealed! WoooHOO we are truly going to be sealed for all eternity and well... forever! ha thanks to our Jesus Christ our saviour, and to the sealing power. This morning i was reading a little bit in my handy dandy preach my gospel about how families can live togehter forever. It hit me how blessed we are, That the Lord has blessed us with a family with loved ones, fathers and mothers brothers and sister,, with people that we care for and with people that care for us more than themselves... I make a promise right now to the lord, (even though i have made it before) that i will do everything possible to see us together in the celestial kingdom together. I know it is there with all my heart and soul, I KNOW!

I love each one of you and I am so greatful for our saviour, I know Jesus Christ Loves. I also know that the book of mormon is true and that by the priesthood and authority of God we will and can live together. I am ready to share this message with the whole world!! 

Love,

Elder Hicks

1. WELL I think it expliains itself

2. Rio del Plata! its like an ocean, but its a river!!

3. technopolis we went there last p day! it is a plave of science and technology! way cool, Argentina is going to keep growing

 Susana

Elder Hicks, Liliana, Susana, Elder Jewett

*Mom, i hope you thought my letter was a little funnier today.. I can´t compete with Trevor McClaws... and Jackson Sellers... ahah love you*