Sept 9

Dear Mom,

Thank you so much for your e-mail. I love receiving an email form you each week. This week has been so good. Thank you for your words of encouragement, I have already wrote so many times about 6 or 7 my goals for after my mission and president Ayre is helping each missionary set goals for the end of their missions and who you want to be. Also I am so proud of dad. I really need to see a picture of him and his 6 pack. 

The new family in the Ward sounds so great, And is so true how the mission is going to shape my life... I never thought it would change me so much, But it is like I started life over when I started the mission and now the lord is shaping me into who I need to be with the talents that I have. I have no idea how to explain it, but it is a miracle what is he is doing. Because I never thought I could be so happy, waling around for 4 hours looking for less actives that don’t want to go to church. This week we look for 4 hours for less active families, and either they didn’t want the gospel anymore or they didn’t live in the same house... IT is sad to see that they don’t want the gospel. I know it will help them. 

It is good to hear all my friends are doing great, I think about them a lot and I hope they are having success. 

To start out this week we made tacos with the family Caceres, our investigators.

I’m not sure if I have told you about them yet, but they are a family of 4. The dad is named Sergio and the mom is named Roxana and they just lost a baby and the have 2 sons named Jonas and Juan Lucas. The story of how we found them is amazing. Last week when we were in the bus going home to our apartment, Roxana started talking to us and she asked us to come to her home and bless it. So the next day we went to her home and we blessed the home and started talking about the book of Mormon and the restoration. After we introduced the restoration and the book of Mormon she told us something super great. She told us that 2 days ago she saw us and she saw that we were getting along so well and she wanted to have the happiness that we had in her life. And she told us she had a huge urge to talk to us but she just couldn’t... After she got of the bus she said she felt so bad for not talking to us and she promised herself if she saw us again she would talk to us. Then, the next day she saw us again and she started talking to. I know god works in miracles and I know god wants us to talk to this family. They are going to have their baptism on the 21st of September. We are so excited for them and we love them so much. 

Also this we are still continuing to work with another investigator named Celia. She is going to be baptized this week. When we were talking with her after a lesson one day we asked her if she needed any help with anything, and she told us, what do you mean, what kind of help.  Like I might need a little bit of food... then she said oh no never mind... and mom it is so much different how these people live. Especially for Celia right now, Her boyfriend just left her and she barely found a job and she has nothing. So what we did was after we left we sent her a text and asked her if she really needed anything, and she said some noodles and some bread... so we went to the store and bought her the things that she needed and some other things that would help her. I thought about what we do during Christmas to help other families have a good Christmas. I am so grateful for your example to me to help other when they are in need.

 Also Elva came to church this week the ward is also asking how she is doing and visiting her, she has such a strong testimony. But Elsa no, she had a family emergency. Niels and Branco did not come to church this week, they couldn’t go...

But I love all of our investigators so much and the converts so much.

Also this week on Saturday it started raining so hard and all my stuff got wet. Except for my scriptures. Luckily they were in a case in my backpack. The umbrella helped a little bit:) 

This week has been so good and I love you all so much we are going to baptize Celia and I will tell you how it goes and send you some pictures.

The family Caceres!!!! Sergio is papa and Roxana is mama

I Love you all so much and I am so glad you are doing great mom, 

Love,

Elder Hicks