I love you

Dear Family,

I don´t have a lot of time! But I want you to know that I love you all so much! WE are going to have an activity as a zone right now. I want you to know that Sabrina got baptized and that her husband is going to baptize the daughters it should be this weekend. It depends when his register arrives. !) I love this misison it really is so great. I love seeing that the people change and that they want to follow Christ. 

   Dad! I wanted to tell you happy Birthday! I am so grateful for you as my Father! I love you so much and I have learned so much from you.  I hope you enjoy it on the 4th and that you are able to eat a lot of german choclate cake. !) RIght now I don´t have a gift... but I want you to knwo that I am so glad that you are my Father. I couldn´t have been blessed more. Even thought as a kid when we went hunting I always cried for the cold I always wanted to be just like you but only with bangs and that saying still stands true today!) hopefully i will have my bangs one day. ha

   My new companions name is Elder Seda and he is also from mexico and he studied with Elder Bobadilla before the mission and lived in Monterray before the mission! I love having mexican companions!!

Love,

Elder Hicks

Christmas Time

I love you so much  will talk to you on Christmas day. I will have to confirm the time on thursday inthe morning. But i am thinking 7 will be perfect!!
Elder Hicks

Merry Christmas #sharethegift

Dear Mom, 

 I hope you know how much I love you . I am trying so hard to finish strong and help so many more families come unto Christ. we have seen so many miracles this past week. And next monday I am going to give 20 dollars to a family... well more like 200 pesos! I love you mom!

Makenna,

Hey I love you so much and i am so happy for what kind of decisions you are making in your life. You are an example for me. I know sometimes it is hard in thy youth... but lean on your older brother Christ and he will help you!

Love you

Dad, I hope you have enjoyed a great week and that your talk went well , i also hope Moms talk went well on the baptism. I love you so much, there is not one day I don`t think about our family!! 

love you 

  Our goal as a zone!

 Pictures, with Elder Bennett and his companion.

 Ward Members

Primary Kids

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been absolutly Great. As we are getting closer to CHristmas we are feeling the spirit a lot more. I do not know if I have told you but we are trying to baptize 4 people this month and we are doing everyhting we can to be able to find four souls and help them recieve a saving ordinance. We are doing everyhitng possible! 

   The other day we found a man who was baptized in the church 15 years ago and now has a wife and 2 kids. We invited all of them to go to the christmas dinner with us! They all went and loved the dinner!! Our ward is great! But he did nto come to the stake conference we had on Sunday! but they have such a huge desire to com eot churhc That this next week we are going to make better plans with him so they can go to church!

    Also somethign funny this week... Well this morning as i was getting ready to go running I fell off my chair and I was so tired that all i said to my compnaion is... That didn`t hurt and kept putting on my socks and I left... when I came back we realized how weird it was and my companion could not stop laughing!  

    This week we need lots of prayers for htis zone here in litoral... please we need to be able to help these people accept the gospel in tehir lifes... The families we are teaching are, Sotelo family, Escobar Family, and the colman family. 

    I love you all so much, and I hope you all have a great day, I attached a poem that I really loved.

Ladder of hope

I had been in that hole for a very long time In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime.The shaft was above me; I could see it quite clear But there's no way I ever could reach it from here. Nor could I remember the world way up there So I lost all my hope and gave in to despair. I knew nothing but darkness, the floor, and the walls Then off in the distance I heard someone call: "Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter. Take rocks and old sticks and build up a fine ladder." This had never occurred to me--had not crossed my mind.But I started to stack all the stones I could find. When I ran out of stones, then old sticks were my goal, For one way or another I'd get out of that hole. So I soon had a ladder that was sturdy and tall And I thought, "I'll soon leave this place once and for all." I climbed up my ladder. It was no easy chore, For from lifting those boulders, my shoulders were sore. I climbed on up the ladder, but soon had to stop For my ladder stopped short--some ten feet from the top.I climbed back down my ladder and started to cry I'd done all I could do. I gave my best try. And in spite of my work, in this hole I must die. And all I could do was to sit and think, "Why?" Was my ladder too short? Or my hole much too deep Then from way upon high came a voice, "Do not weep." And then faith, hope, and love entered into my chest As the voice said to me that I'd done my best. He said, "You've worked very hard, and your labor's been rough, But the ladder you've built is at last tall enough. Do not despair. You have reason to hope just climb up your ladder; I'll throw down my rope." I climbed up the ladder, then climbed up the cord. When I got to the top, there stood the Lord. I couldn't be happier; my struggle was done. I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son. I fell to the ground, His feet did I kiss I cried, "What can I do to repay thee for this?" Then He looked all about Him. There were holes in the ground They had people inside, and were seen all around There were thousands of holes that were damp, dark, and deep The the Lord turned to me and He said, "Feed my sheep." Then He went on His way to help other lost souls, And I got right to work, calling down to the holes: "Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter.Take rocks and old sticks and build up a fine ladder." It now was my turn to spread the good word. The most glorious message that man ever heard. That there's one who is willing to save one and all And we've got to be ready when He gives the call. He'll pull us all out of the hole that we're in And save all our souls from death and from sin. So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope just build up your ladder; He'll throw down His rope 

I hope we can share this message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to help them know that we can all build a ladder and leave the hole we are in! SHARE THE GIFT-Who will you share it with?? 

I love you all so much! 

Love,

Elder Troy Hicks

Merry Christmas!

Dear Family and Friends,

   I want you to all know that: I LOVE YOU ALL( that is the most important from the e-mail) 

   Wow, This past week has been super great! We have been using the program from the prophet named ¨He is the Gift¨ by visiting the members and inviting them to share it! It has helped us find a lot of people and we are seeing a ton of miracles! This is truly the work of the Lord. Saddly the faily diaz did not got o church... but another woman went to church named Monica and we are helping heer to be baptized for the 21st. ALso we are working with a ember to baptize one of her friends( it is the family that tried to kiss my companion on the cheek that i talked about last week.) and they could not go to chruch last week but they have already started to read the book of mormon and have plans to go to church this weekend! they are so great. the investigator sent a message to the member that said ¨I lvoe learning about the churhc from the missionaries!¨ we are going to visit them tomorrow at 6:30 to see if they have read and PRAYED about the truthfulness of the book of mormon: 

   THis week I have thought a lot about the birth of Christ and how importnat it really is (Merry Christmas!!!). THe part in Lucas 2 realy helps me to understand how important the birth of the saviour really is: 

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country  shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory ofthe Lord shone round about them: and they were sore  afraid.10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,which  is Christ the Lord.

HE has saved us and I know it is true. He is the Gift of this Christmas. 

I love the mission and this week we have worked super hard to be able to get everyone to know about Christ. This week we did a bunch of divisions. Still my companion and I are dooing great and I hope everyone shares the gift of this christmas which is our savior Jesus Christ! Please think and keep thinking Who can I serve today to help them come closer to Christ? 

Don´t forget about the most important: Les amo!

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Troy Hicks

 The Zone

MY great parents!

Mom,

you have to talk about the holy ghost and baptism, i think the most importnat in these short talks before the baptism is talk to the people who are going to be baptized and help them to feel how specal it is( help them to feel the spirit of the occasion, how a baptism and the holy ghost now I can have the eternal life!!)  or whatever helps them get excited. and to use an example. I hope you enjoy your talk!! the most important is that you enjoy the moment that you have to teach to these kids! In Chapter 31 and 32 from nephi it talks a lot about the importance of baptism and  confirmation. Mom, you have a gift while you share your testimony that helps the spirit feel the room. As you enjoy the moment the kids will understand. 

Dad,

You are going to talk about testimony and conversion and i don´t think their is a better example than you to talk about these things. I think as you share your personal testimony from your heart and as you prepare with prayer the spirit will help the people to undersatnd what they need to learn and how important it is for you to be part of the church of Jesus Christ. 

These are just suggestions but i hope they help you, I really love you all so much and I hope you have a great day and a great week, as we prepare for this Christmas we must Share that He is the Gift! 

Love,

Elder Hicks

Merry Christmas, Christ lives!

Dear Family and friends,

    This week has been so great as a missionary!! woohooo I love the mission!

so this week has ben a nother great week of work and families. I`m not sure if i have told you about the family Diaz. But he only has one leg and has a helper leg (those metal legs that help you to walk) his wife and 2 kids. Their names are Ramon Victoria, Brandon(13) Aime(11). THey are such a great family ! they made my companion a cake for his brithday of mexico!

     This week only Ramon went to churcdh and we were thinking about letting them go as investigators to help them realize if they don`t go tot churhc they won`t be able to baptized and they won`t be able to get married on the 9th of january... but when we arrived both of them had their bokk of mormons in their hands and they were supposedly reading them! 

     yesterday as a zone, almost no one went to church for the rain that we got!! it was pretty disappointing! as a zone we had 11 baptisms and 12 confirmations. But this christmas month we are going to have a whole lot more!! I am not sure what is going to happen but the lord has a plan to bless us with many baptisms. As a mission we have felt that we are going to break records and if we believe it, it is going to happen!! (well we also have act according to that belief but we know it is going to happen.) 

     Something funny that happened this week is my comapnion and i were teaching a family in the street and we gave them a book of mormon, as we were leaving after giving the book of mormon we usually give a handshake to the people( just so you know that is weird in argentina because the usually give kisses on the cheek) so as we wer leaviing the girl wanted to give a kiss on teh cheek to my companion and practicall pulled his face into her face! it was so funny beacuse Elder Bobadilla was saying no! we don`t give kisses on the cheek and she, for some reason wanted to say bye with a cheek!! ha it was super funny. 

      As we have been teaching more and more people I have felt a love grow towards the people in ricardo rojas... I feel like it is my own people even everyone knows i am a white kid from the united states ( aguante Gringos) I feel for all the people and I try to say HI to everyone... I am not sure if i am annoying most of them or helping them see the love that i feel!! I love this mission and I love sharing the gospelto help others be happpy for this live and for the eternities!

     I wanted to ask everyone a question a question of self refextion that you can do each day as it grows closer to christmas... I don`t think their is a better time than right now to grow closer to our lord and saviour Jesus Chirts... 

The question is: What have I done today to serve Another? 

as we do so I promise that you will find peace and find that their are many little ways to help others to be happy. Let`s enjoy this life!! 

Love you all so much!!! 

Elder Hicks

us with the family diaz!! their is the birthday cake for Elder Bobadilla!

Please check this video out! it talks about what is the real gift of Chirstmas!
http://www.mormon.org/christmas?cid=HPFR112814529