Mar 17

Wow this week has been so great! I love preaching the gospel here in Belgrano. It really is amazing to live here and to be able to live in a bigger city. When I first got here I thought that the people would be different but yet again it was confirmed to me that every person has the same necesidad: the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Something funny is that we have talked English about every day here! So many people speak English here in the city and they are very smart people. 

Dad I would love to answer your questions!

1. My new companion is such a great Elder! He has so much love for the people and he is teaching me so much. As a trainer, something that is important that we do is teach the missionary that we are training the why. We teach them and tell them why we do the things we do and as a trainer it is of great importance to set him an example in everything. Obedience, how we teach, whom would we teach. What we should do. 

What is good, is that Elder Guerra has been out 6 weeks and Elder Barakat my old companion was training him before. Also each morning we study for an hour more out of the greatest guide ever... PREACH MY GOSPEL! I really love this guide; I know it came from God.

2. Everything that I have is holding up great, I will be able to start using my sleeping bag again when May comes it is still a little hot here, Also I will have to send you pictures next week to show you how my apartment is... I didn’t take any pictures of my apartment

3. The ward is amazing; it is the most established ward I have been in since I came to Argentina. We have many leaders in our ward, Elder Spellino, Elder Viñas (I think they are from the first group of the 70. Also there are a couple people here who are in the Ward who are working for the church who are very smart. The other day we ate with a member who is from Chile, and we had to go up 18 floors to eat with him. And then he let us see his view from his patio and we could see part of Uruguay across a river!  This week we had ward council and it went so great, we still have not had an opportunity to meet with our ward mission leader but we are going to meet with him this Thursday! As a ward they have a list of people who usually go to the church, and each week if someone does not come they organize visits and they go and visit the people that did not come to the church. Also they have an activity this coming up Monday to go on a picnic and they want to invite us to come, if we bring investigators! 

4.Coming to a new area is great, I only have to learn a lot of things, in a little time, and it is really great how the lord has helped me so much. Right now as a district leader I am a district leader of pure Sister missionaries! That means I have to work even harder... because if I don’t they are going to start doing better than me... let me tell you sister missionaries are the best!! 

5. Also I did eat with the members this week and it went so great, Here in Belgrano we are not going to go hungry, we are eating a lot of good food also. Please keep praying for miracles! It is so important the work of the Lord in this work, without him we are nothing; I love you all so much. Please follow the spirit in everything you do. 

I love you so much! Make sure you tell Makenna hi!

Please tell Makenna that I love her so much and that no matter how far apart we are we will always be an eternal family. 

Love,

Elder Troy Hicks

some photos from the last week in Parque Avellaneda

 Elder pino-from chile elder miles from my district

On top of our last pension in Parque Avellaneda

papi me and son

In Belgrano

Belgrano/Elder Guerra

Dear Family,

This week has literally been so great. The week went by way to fast and my time with Elder Rodriguez has ended... I am really so sad. I really loved him so much. Practically my brother from Panama. Also I have been sent to Belgrano to Finish the training of an Elder named Elder Guerra. Elder Barakat was training him and he became zone leader so president sent me to start training him in Belgrano. He is such a great Elder And is from Oregon. I know we are going to have success. I am only a little sad for leaving Parque ave, this week Mildred and Carlos were going to get married and also our friend Jesus was going to be baptized. But really i am so ready to start working with Elder Guerra in this ward. It is such a great ward and i already love the people here. we just finished eating lunch with a counselor of the ward, and they already have a plan to have a campout in Pilar as a ward! I am so exicted to be working with them, i hope when i leave this ward will be able to have more experiences with the missionaries and we will be able to change it to work more with us as missionaries! 

I had my interview with president this week and also with his wife. I have made a promise that i will do all i can do to help this family to enter into the kingdom of God, i invite you also to follow through with your promises and your covenants and to have faith and hope that God will never do anything that is against the PLAN OF HAPPINESS. I know that we are a sealed family and that has much power. I love you all so much. More than you know. So so much i love you!!! see you soon and remember to always smile!!

Love,

ELder Hicks

I have to send pictures next week.. i took alot of pictures but i forgot my usb card.... sorry.. i love you all so oh also i wanted to tell you that right now i am in the capital of buenos aires. I f you look up Belgrano where i am you will see a lot of buildings... pretty cool right?

Love you so much

I wanted to write a little bit more about how this week went... 

About Jesus, he is a bolivian that lives with a member family named the Huanca Family. They all work in their home and they sew all day!!! From / in the moring until 10 at night ever day besides saturday and SUnday they sew and sew and sew.. it really surprises me. But this week we are teaching Jesus and when we pass by the house he stops sewing for a little bit to be able to listen to our message. This week he went to the church by himself and he bought a shirt and a tie to continue going. 

Also this week With Elder Rodriguez... i am going to miss him so much. He really was like a brother to me and i really loved him. He was such a hard worker. 

Also with carlos and Mildred their marriage is set and they are going to be married this thursday and he will be baptized on sunday. I am going ot ask Elder Rodriguez how it goes. 

Also this week we went to a farewell of the missionaries with a part member family named the family villamil.. i think i have told you about them before, sister villamil is a member and brother David villamil is not a member. well they went with us and while we were going to she told us that they were going ot get married and all we have to do is help hermano david pray about our message i am so excited for them...

Also this week we went to the home of Hermana Rosa... she was going to get baptized but she didnt come to church one sunday. so we went to her home and while we were there her son in law came and we started talking to him and while we were talking it turned out that he has read the book of mormon until 2 nephi 16!!! We gave a book of mormon about 3 weeks back and he kept reading it because he found peace as he was reading it.! I am so excited for them. 

Talking about all this success in Parque Ave makes me so happy! i hope we can do the same here in Belgrano!!! 

Love you so much!
ELder Hicks

Mar 3

Dear family,

Wow i can't believe how fast the misson is going. It seems just like yesterday I was in the MTC. 

This week has been so great. 

This week we were able to have a meeting with one of the seventies his name is Elder Evans. He is so great. He taught us so much. I would like to share somethings with you that we learned.

Also i went on a exchange with Elder Engebretsen, he was in the MTC with me and right now is my Zone Leader.

But first of all i want to answer your questions

1.It is something the people use here to drink something called Yerba. It is like tea. 

2.Also haha a pension is an apartment... ha sorry i am trying my hardest to use only english words in my e-mails sometimes, i just don´t remeber them...

3. Also for our P-days, we usually try to clean and today we are going to play basket ball!!! oh ya! 

4. This week we have taught well and we are talking with so many people and we are trying to help our ward. In 2 weeks we are going ot help baptize a man from the picture below. His name is Carlos and his wife is his spouse. We are so excited. it is kind of like you, dad and mom. They are getting married on the 13th and then he is getting baptized on the 16!

Dad, you mentioned in your letter that prayer is a way to align our will with that of the will of god. in Alma 29:1
 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their ^adesire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I knowthat he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their ^bwills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.

This scripture says that according to our desires god is going to give us an opportunity to fulfill with our desires.

SO if our desires our to serve god we will have that and if our desires our to do something else, God will grant us an opportuinty to prove it.. whether it be for our destruction or for our good. It really makes me think... HOw important it is to have the same desires of God.

I invite you all to keep your smiles and to love God with all your mith mind and Heart!! and to read the family a proclamation to the world together.
Also this week i was able  to go on exchanges with Elder Engebretsen. WOw it was so fun. we worked so hard and i love them so much. i will have to take a picture with him and i will send it to you next week... also this is the last week of this transfer so i will write you next Tuesday.

I love you all so much,

Elder Hicks!

Feb 24

Dear Family, I want to start by answering the questions that you have for me.

How much money do you get each month to spend?

 We recieve about 156 dollars each month, and it lasts us all the month. something i want to do this last year of my mission is to begin to buy things that our interesting from Argentina.. i don´t know maybe a mate.. or a jersey... something that will help me remember this place and this people forever!

What are your responsibilities as a DL?

 As a district leader I do anything and everything that i can to help my district to be better leaders, and to be better missionaries and to have more happiness and success in their missions. What i do is send them messages during the day and i also have to report to the Zone leaders how my district is doing. Every night i call my district and i talk to them about how their day went and what they can do better tomorrow. It really is super fun and exciting to be able to talk to my district each day and to get them excited for the coming day. im not going to lie somedays it is difficult. because sometimes i want to be able to eat in the night times. but i need to remember i need to forget myself and think about others!  

What is a typical day schedule like for you?

 Typically, for my day we start and study and then we leave to pension at 11. then we preach with a member and we go to some appointments that we have scheduled for that day. and then around 1 o colock we have lunch with the members( thay always give us so much food. haha they are always asking ¨do you want more food¨) and after that we preach with a member until 9 o colock at night. at 9 we plan until 9 30 usually we finish planinng late at around 9 40 and then i call my district while elder Rodriguez is writing in the area book, and i call the zone leaders to report on my district is doing and by then it is already 10 30 so i jump into bed, after i brush my teeth of course, and i go to sleep=)

How are your glasses holding up?

 would you send me some new lenses.. my glasses that i have right now are really scratched. 

What is the Buenos Aires Temple like?  (I loved the pictures you sent)

 The temple is so beautiful. it was like being in the house of God. the celestial room is on the end of the temple and has two huge windows that bring in the light and make the room seem like heaven.

How are your investigators doing?

We had 11 investigators in church this week. It liteally was so great, my companion Elder Rodriguez is always talking to so much to people and inviting them to go the church and teaching them the doctrine, i am so greatful for him as my companion. 

Right now we are working with the family of the man that came to the church with us last week and they are such a big family! we are trying to help them to keep going to the church and they are going to be baptized this weekend. i will take pictures and i will tell you how it goes this week!

I love you all so much 

i don´t have much more time to write but i will write better next week!

also i want to remind you, this week for the temple ceremony remember that if you invite someone you are going to feel the blessings of the lord. 

Something that helps me to invite people to christ and to learn more about the church is the introduction of the Book of Mormon,
We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3–5.)
After reading this i ask ¨what are 3 things we need ot do to gain a testimony of this gospel?
Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah.
Then i ask what are 3 things you are going to learn if you pray and gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon
Once you read this it is clear what the people need to do to have a testimony of the gospel of Christ. I love you all so much
I invite you to apply this practice in family home evening, i know it will help you help others come unto christ!
Pray for missionary experiences! and you will be blessed with more happiness and peace in your life !
Love, Elder Troy Hicks

            oh and dad noquis is potatoes with flour and with a tomato sauce           

Feb 17

Dear Family,

 This week has been great and also it has such a great time! I love the mission and i don´t feel any stress so don't worry about me I know everything will work out in its given time.

Well i sent a couple pictures of us in water because the bottom floor of our hotel flooded. Also, A picture of us at the Temple. And another picture of us at a home of a member!) Eating something called noguis, wow so delicious... ja

And talking about Makenna´s birthday, all I can say is wow she sure is a lucky girl. My week has been great, With my district we are doing so great, and we are trying to work so hard!

Yesterday in church after looking for our investigators in the morning and passing by each one of their houses we had noone come to church... me and my companion were so devastaded and we did not no what to do... it felt like a whole week of work wasted... but during the sacrament meeting an investagtor showed up named vicente! I know hte Lord is part of this work as long as we are obedient and our true desire is to help other sould come unto Christ! I feellike i hav never wanted something more than I want that other people can come unto Christ and can reallly be converted to him and his gospel! I love the mission so much.

Love,

Elder Hicks

Feb 10

Dear Famliy and friends,

Wow, I love the mission so much and i know our Lord lives and that he sacrificed everything for us. 

Wow this week has been so great, we went to the temple, ran in the rain, i was able to do missionary splits with my papi, elder barragan! also i did splits with an ELder In my disrict elder berrio from colombia!

Today we went to the temple, i don´t think i have ever felt the spirit so strong in my life! I have pictures ill try to send them to you after i send this email. As a zone we have been trying really hard to focus on how we can work more effectivly with the leaders of our ward so we can have more success as missionaries and so we can have more baptisms that stay in the church forever! and that is always with the help of the faithful members! So we have been praying a lot for the help of the Lord to reveal to us what we have to do! As i went to the temple i was trying to focus on what god wants me to do. And he responded to my prayer, as i was in teh temple i felt strongly that i need to focus much more on putting goals with the lord and also i need to focus a lot more on helping my district and other missionaries to have success! it was so great!

I know that the lord responds to our prayers and he helps us recieve personal revelation. 

Also this week it rained so much! We live in a apartment tower and the bottom floor of the apartment flooded with water up to our knees, we had to take off our shoes and walk thorugh the water for a couple of blocks and when we reached dry ground a man with his truck helped us cross the other places that were flooded. 

The missionary splits that we did this week were so great and have helped me so much. First i did splits with elder berrio. he is from colombia and is such a great elder. Also i went on missionary splits with Elder Barragan! and it was so much different to teach with him now then what it was like to teach with him about 8 months ago. now i am a lot more confident and willing to talk. ha he helped me become better and to feel a little bit more comfortable as a district leader! i love him so much he was and is such a great frend that i will always have.

about you all!:

I can´t believe that makenna is going on dates! and the pictures of her look so great! and also garrett looks pretty good also, i am so glad that he has treated her with such respect. i hope there was no kiss involved!)

also Mom i am so greatful that you are participating so much in the temple work, you are such an example to me.

dad, i really hope you can start feeling better and that you can keep enjoying life, who know maybe this migraine is a sign that you need to start sloeing down in life.

Brennan, I love you so much and i hope your work is going great too! im still not too sure what you are involved in but whatever it is i am here to support you! love you so much and i always will.

makenna,

I never wanted to be the protective type of brother that makes sure no boy goes out wiht you. but i think when i return from my mission that is exactly what i am going to do... no just kidding i am so glad you are happy and that garrett you treated you well during the date! Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK. 

ON YOUR brithday i am going to be thinking and praying for you!

Love,

YOur son and brother and friend

Elder Troy Hicks

P.S.

I want to share something with you about what i learned about the patience that has helped me out alot! 

The last transfer i felt very anxious about everything and i felt very stressed for about everything that was going on in our area, but i learned a very special lesson, one day we were preparing a baptism and we had to run to another ward to get the baptismal clothing because we were not able to get it from our own ward. as i was running around looking for baptismal clothing i was not able to listen to the sweet whispers of the spirit and the people around me could tell that i was not handling the situation in a manner that was acceptable. As i was feeling this stress and impatience and as i was running around at the same time one of the counselors of the ward told me¨be calm¨.....

I want to testify to you that we need to be calm in this life and we need to look and pay attention to every moment that is passin gus by. Us as humans have many plans and we want everything to be perfect... but we are not perfect and we are not going ot have it our way. We should pay attention to the little things and if we can not feel the sweet spirit of the lord we should change how we are living so we will be able ot feel his sweet spirit. And sometimes we need to slow down and take a breath and look at the small blessings that we alll have from the lord.

Sometimes we might feel like peter and the aposteles felt when they were in their boat in the middle of a storm
 24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

I know that the lord can bring us peace in our lives and if we feel stress go to him... If he can change the weather i know he can change our lives.

I love you all so much and i am so glad we are an eternal family! 

More love,

elder Troy Hicks

Feb 3

dear Family,

I can`t beilieve that Elder Fernandez wrote you. he literally is one of the coolest District leaders and he loves to learn and to have fun. He is from Nicaragua, and i literally love him.

right now yes i am district leader. I have 6 elders in my disrict. they are all so great. Elder Pino(Chile), Elder Miles( Utah), Elder Damitz (Utah), Elder Berrio( Chile) Elder Barragan, Elder Engebretsen(he is in my group of the MTC), they are the zone leaders but are also part of my disrict.

This week  with Elder Rodriguez has been so great. I have learned so much from him and i absolutely Love him. He is such a hard worker!

This week in my new area it was like i entered a new world! We have something called a villa or village in our area. A village is a place where a lot of people live and they have built there houses on top of the other house and they are a poorer group of people. in the villa there are corridors and passages that you have to walk through to go to homes of the people. It is really so great to work here. As we walk through the villa we say hi to everyone. What is so great about the villa is the people are so humble that live there and they are willing to listen to the message of the gospel.

This week really has beeen so great! and i have met so many people! At the end of this week we are going to help a boy named Benja be baptized. Yesterday as we were talking to him he did not want to learn much more about the gospel, he said he prayed about the book of mormon and that God told him to wait to be baptized, but we kept insisting and we kept explaining that when we pray God will help us to feel good about ourselves he is not going to say that we need to wait to be baptized. at the end of the lesson we explained to him the nature of Christ, and how he can return to the prescence of God only through the gospel of Christ. He told us after that he is going to pray about the book of mormon and is goingto be baptized this weekend! now all we need to do is help is mom and his dad listen to our message. I really hope they can change and they are willing to listen to the message.

This week we also went to a lunch with a young man that is 21 years old and who has not had the opportunity to serve the mission. Elder Pino, Elder Miles, Elder Rodriguez, and i went to the lunch. At the end of the lunch i had the opportunity to share a scripture with him and i decided to share Alma 13:24 after he read the scripture. He started talking about his desires to serve a mission but that he felt is he left now he would be behind everyone and if he would have left when he was 19 everything would have been much better. Also right now he says he has to work and to study. After he told us, you must of known what us 4 missionaries were thinking( wow we have to testify right now!!!!) ha all 4 of us testified to him that the decision of going on a mission is going to change his life only for the better. we commited him to continue filling out his papers at the end of the lunch. I know this church is true and i also know that the decision to serve a mission is never going to do me wrong and as we keep serving the Lord throughout are lifes we will only be blessed for doing it.

also this week i had the opportunity to do my first interview as disrtict leader. I interviewed a young man named Gustavo to be baptized and he was so excited to be bapitzed. I literally Love the mission and i love our Lord

I love you all so much!

 

Love,

ELder Hicks

 

PS mom and dad I love you and i hope you are doing great! Makenna i love you too

Brennan

You are such a stud and i hope you are doing great at selling! i am trying to learn right now how to sell also, if you need some tips i am always here to help!

 

PSS and yes dad we did play tennis and i did pretty well... i had lost a little bit of skill, and we lost a lot of games...it was my partners fault!) ha but that ok the church is stilll true. love you