Letter 07/10/2012

another week come and gone. its starting to go super fast. So i'm super awesome and i have a list of stuff to tell you about in my planner so I should have some good things to tell you! thanks for you emails. I am doing pretty good.

today we're going to the mall and i am probably going to be buying  a few things so watch for some action on my Visa.

the bus drivers here are CRAZY! but the metro is pretty cool. So last week I was in a Castaño, which is kinda like a starbucks, and I heard the song *Dont know much* by aaron neville and linda rondstadt. that made me laugh haha. so.. question about my jeep.. whats it doing right now? just sitting in the driveway? If it doesnt ever sell, you should put a car cover on it and tire covers on the wheels so the sun doesnt kill everything.

so heres something you should try- lettuce with oil, lemon, salt, and slices of avacado. its super good.

I am glad you all had fun on the trek i am pretty jealous!!

SOOOOO... certain of my friends and family have yet to write me. you know who you are. JOSHUA! if anyone reads this and has a way of texting him or something, do it and tell him to write me. Also, Johnny, Ashley, Matt, Marcus and every one else you all nee to write me and tell me what youre doing with life!!

So my spanish is getting a lot better, and I am more able to understand more of what the natives say. I understand gringos really well. We were able to teach more lessons this last week which was awesome, and last night I pretty much took the lead in the lesson and that was way fun. Right now we are teaching a couple, the woman Claudia is a menos activo and her husband Amauri is no miembro, and his brothers also live with them. The 3 guys are from the Dominican Republic, so basically we have to deal with the two worst castellano accents in the world. woohoo haha. but Amauri is progressing well it seems. their goal is to get sealed in the temple! this week we are going to set a date for july 29 for baptism. so pray for him!!

anyway, hows everyones summer going? its cold here lately and my house is freezing at night! no heating is no bueno.

anyway, everyone have a great week.

Elder Hicken

Letter 7/2/2012

hello! it´s been a pretty good week. Lots of work and stuff. So I actually wrote stuff in my planner as I went through the week stuff I wanted to tell you so here goes..

So here in Chile there´s a ton of perros. like all over the place, all strays (wild) and they fend for themselves its actually really crazy but they´re all timid and nice I havent had a problem with any yet haha. So tell Stockton to be greatful everytime you make him go outside. Lots of people here listen to popular american music it´s funny because they don´t even know what it means! I wanted to let you know dearelder still works, and if you want to send any packages letters etc, do it through USPS and to this address-
Elder Stephan Hicken
Misión Chile Santiago Norte
Sucursal Correo Patronato
Casilla #60
Recoleta, Chile

also there is a mission website as well, www.chilesantiagonorthmission.org

cada jueves y domingo (each thursday and friday) there is a street fair called a feria. It takes place on the main street-ish of our sector and just has tons of people trying to sell tons of stuff. it´s actually pretty cool. very crowded. ummm... some food I´ve had so far that I´ve really liked is a completo, which is a hot dog with avacado, tomatos and mayo. super delicious next time though I´m going to put some picante on it. Chileno food is pretty bland they don´t like spicy from what I´ve seen so far. I´ve also had sopapillas which is like fry bread or a scone or something whatever wanna call it and I had it with  mustard haha. They´re mustard here is different and really good. also their mayo. weird. anyway I´ve also had berlines which is kinda like a donut with something sweet like jelly in the middle. they´re way good also. last saturday we participated in the stake activity which was way fun they were on a ¨cruise¨and they all could visit different rooms, some rooms were full of wholesome activites and others with dancing, games, etc, each room was 1 ticket to get in and the good rooms they got 2 tickets when they left, and the bad rooms nada (nothing). after a while they ¨wrecked¨ and took every one in to the chapel ¨heaven¨ and asked how many tickets people had etc. it was pretty cool I really enjoyed what I understood of it.

We have an investigator named Guillermo who has a baptism date of July 15 but still has a lot of work to do but he came to church yesterday WOOHOO and so hopefully he´ll keep progressing. We´re struggling with finding people to teach. A lot of people will listen to us, but don´t want to pick just one religion. I still don´t understand much of what the Chilenos say but I do pretty well with my companion. Other than that, not really a huge eventful week but got a lot done. I did quite a few contacts on my own. The members here are great haha but they´re starting to catch on to my tricks haha usually when I don´t understand I nod my head and say sí but now they laugh at me haha its fun.

anyway, running outta time so keep me in your prayers and the people of Chile.

les amo todos ustedes
Elder Hicken

Letter 06/25/2012

HI

Well, I made it and Im alive. barely I dont think Ive ever been this tired in my life. not sleeping for about 36 hours killed me haha. Chile is way different. but then again, not that different either. The first week has been good. I dont understand much though. Everyone here talks so flipping fast. It wasnt really what I was expecting but then again I didnt know what to expect. Its winter here. Not too cold. It rained on us like wednesday night while we were tracking. but it was actually warmer that day than any other day here. I dont really know what the temp has been but I wear a jacket after about 4. The nights are really cold and the houses here dont have heat haha. I have probably walked more this week than the last 5 years combined. My sector is called Jose Miguel Infante 1 and its in a suburb of Santiago called Renca. You can try and find it on Google or something. Its pretty ghetto here. lots of graffiti and flaetaes *gangsters* theyre all like 15 years old and just stand on the corners smoking pot and insulting people. They actuallly like us missionaries because they want us to teach them english words. My companion is Elder Weigel and hes pretty cool. Ive helped teach a few lessons and we visit the members a lot which is nice cuz they know that I am just learning spanish so they are really patient and are eager to help me understand. We contact all the time and I try to talk to everyone I see. We go door to door a lot and all the houses here have huge fences so instead of knocking you stand at the fence and yell ¡ALO! and wait for them to answer. Its pretty interesting.

Thanks for your love and support it means a lot.

con mucho amor
Elder Hicken

Some Pix of Santiago - Notice Moroni on the temple?

He made it to Chile! We have proof! (Pres. Essig, Stephan and Sis Essig)
Notice the "deer in the headlights" look in his eyes?

His first letter Chile! (PDF)

Letter 06/16/2012

Hola! how is everyone doing? so sorry you didn't get a letter from me yesterday, it was our "in-field orientation" day and so today is p-day. It's not really infield orientation, just a whole bunch of workshops for 12 hours straight but it wasn't bad and the day went by really fast. I can't believe I leave for chile monday. Blows my mind. I'm not really looking forward to my first day there though, because I don't think I'm going to sleep very well on the plane :/ oh well! one thing I've learned about being a missionary is, you're ALWAYS tired.

So... I hate packing. I hope I don't have too many transfers in the field. because packing is a pain. haha. I'm going to be sending a box home with all my letters  that I've gotten while I've been here. just throw the box in my room. I finally got my warts out wednesday. it didn't hurt too bad cuz when they injected that stuff it killed off everything so when he scraped it out, I didn't feel much. I'm glad I got it done, it relieved a lot of pressure in my foot.

Other health news, I've been super sick all week. it started about monday night, and I'm just now starting to get better. I'm thinking it's a sinus infection or something. I've had congestion in my nose ears and chest, and a sore throat, tons of gunk, and a headache. even now I still don't really have a voice. no, I didn't go see a doctor... do I ever? I've just been laying on the meds and it's been good. I'm thinking I'm going to have this cough for a while though. I'm never really able to get rid of coughs very well.

I'm super jealous of your ride. that sounds like way fun :) maybe one day you'll be up to the 1500 miles :) mom, don't worry about the curves, I'm thinking it's so much harder on the goldwing because you're a lot higher off the ground.

I got the package and I really appreciated it. I'll be set on melotonin for the next two years I think :)

Mom, isn't that how your summers have been for about 10-15 years now? haha what are you all planning on doing for a family vacation? if anything? family trek sounds fun you will all enjoy it. how is the ward doing? how is everyone there? tell everyone I miss hi for me.

Yes, I've had to be a host 3 times, well actually once lol. 3 weeks ago, I was one of the hosts, 2 weeks ago, I was one of the missionaries doing traffic, and this week I went and took a nap instead becuase I wasn't feeling up to hauling around a bunch of luggage all day. I actually didn't really enjoy hosting. It's really kinda depressing and made me a little homesick ahaha.

I'm really excited to talk to you all, but please be patient with me, I don't know how much I'll be able to talk, I will try to hustle every where I go so I have enough time to talk to you all. I'm going to call from SLC even if it's only for 5 minutes. I will be calling my Mom :) and maybe she can figure out how to do a 3 way call. so mom, be home or available between like 11 and 12:30. I don't know exactly when it will be so just be ready. I'm sorry I can't be specific.

Girls, just wait to talk to me til monday night, k? And I don't really want a recap of the last two months, I just want to have an oppourtunity to hear each of your voices and tell you I love you. And if you have questions I would love to answer them so maybe write a couple down that you think of between now and then. Mom and Dad, we'll talk about whatever you want.

Well, the adventures about to really begin. I'm super nervous, mostly about the language. Chilenos speak really fast and kinda have their own way of conjugating. I'm really excited though. I worry about myself and whether I can do it or not. It's going to be super hard. thanks for your prayers and please continue them! vos amo mucho! familias son eternas

hasta proximo tiempo
Elder Hicken

Letter 6/8/2012

como estais mi familia! haha vosotros form :p we're not supposed to use it but I can with my family :) I did get a letter from mom :) who was it that fell off the top bunk? I laughed.. sorry.. but that is kinda funny. was it just during the night while she was sleeping? Emily that is awesome you went on an overnight backpack trip. maybe when I get back we could do a backpacking trip :) I'm jealous of the motorcycle ride. I miss it a lot :/ I hope they both work out for you and I'm glad you got to make the monte ride. That is probably my favorite ride. If you end up going south... go to the Grand Canyon!!!! It's such a fun ride! and state route 10 or whatever from bryce canyon to moab is so awesome! that was my favorite part of my ride last year. How is Emily doing with the driving? She has a very good head so she'll probably be better than I was at her age becuase she is so much more mature. Thanks for taking court out, she mentioned in a dearelder that you invited her and she was a letter nervous haha. keep watching out for her but she sounds like she is doing really well, and I'm proud of her.

I'll try the hydrogen peroxide/baking soda trick and see if that will work on the garments. I'm just afraid of the stain bleeding through my garments to my shirts. I still don't have travel plans.. hopefully today. I'll send you a quick email when I do get them so you can have a heads up of when I'll be calling. I'll only be calling my family, I really don't need to talk to anyone else :) So let me know where everyone will be once I get the travel plans so I know who I need to call where. Thanks for working on getting me a copy of my blessing. I did email steph. I'll try and find it and send it to you so you can make sure she gets it. haha don't be too suprised about singing I have always loved singing, just never felt the need to sing in front of people hah a :P I'll try and record a practice session of it today and I'll probably end up sending it to you in the field because I don't want to send an SD card home this close to leaving, with out knowing when I'm leaving yet haha. I'm  no where near as good as you but I'd consider doing a duet with you one day :) Speaking of other things about music to blow you away... I'm practicing piano again. I went and bought an Himnos Simplificados (sp?) and have beeen playing once a day for about 30-45 minutes. Just in case I'm ever in a situation where they'll need a pianist, I want to be good enough to struggle through it. Hermano Cuadra, one of the teachers here, is kinda from Chile, and served there on his mission (he's really from Espania pero he lived en Chile, his dad is a diplomat) in the Osorno mission. But just a few weeks ago he went to Santiago to see his dad and showed me a whole bunch of pix of Santiago, and MAN I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! and he said that they always need piano players. mi espanol esta muey bueno (por 8 semanas) yo creo, pero yo tengo mucho aprender. yo entiendo mucho cuando los hermanos hablan, pero no cuando yo hablo espanol. pero no se precupo por que yo aprendera mucho en Chile. viva chile! I'm not en spanish mode so I can't think much right now. Tell Greg Hansen I said congrats that is way cool and exciting for him! pray I get my travel plans today, I really wanna know whats going on!!!

I feel like I don't tell you much about what I do, but it's basically the same thing every day. Not too exciting. I still haven't gotten my warts taken care of, it's been pushed to this next wednesday. Keep me in your prayers. you know how I'm a worry wart (hahahaha get it?) so I'm super nervous about something going wrong.

I want all of you my loved ones to know that I have a strong testimony of this Gospel. And it has grown so much since I've been here. The Atonement.. It's just amazing. Whenever I feel down or think about bad stuff or feel like crap, I always think of Christ and remember he has felt EXACTLY what I have felt. That is so comforting. And I know that through His Atonement, we can become perfrect through him, if we continually repent and try harder the next day. This Church is true.. Christ's true restored church on this earth, and through President Monson, it is guided by Him. The book of Mormon is so true. I love that book. Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. I feel the Spirit every day and am learning to live my life with it's guidance. I have a testimony that Heavenly Father answers prayers. He is always there to hear you, and wants to here you. All we need to do is open our heart to him and tell him everything. He loves us. I don't know how people can think of him as just a God that doesn't care about us or love us. He IS our Heavenly Father.


Well, I'm outta time. I hope you all have a great week and I can't wait to talk to you all in 10 or 11 days. I LOVE YOU!!!!

con mucho amor
Elder Hicken
 

Letter 06/01//2012

hey mom and dad! how are you? it's absolutely crazy that I only have less than 3 weeks to go. The time has definitely flown for me. Being zone leader I'm always having to worry about something, so it makes time fly.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE!!!! man the cake was an awesome suprise!!!! we had it saturday afternoon with my district. My teacher Hermano Blake has the same birthday as me (I'm 1 year older... weird huh?) so we celebrated it with the cake! in his words... "AY! QUE RICO!" haha it was way good and a couple of the other teachers from the zone as well. I love the ties! Paisley is just the most amazing thing ever lol. But I like that blue/black striped one too :) Tell Steph thanks for the hat! I wrote her like last week or so but didn't get a response. did she get it? I haven't heard from Joshua and Amelia yet either... and RACHEL!

I can't wait to go to Chile! I don't have my travel plans yet but I suspect that I will be getting them this next week sometime so hopefully I will be able to tell you next week when I will be CALLING! I can't wait to talk to you all :)

Tell Rach I am so proud of her in her dance. Tell her I want her to dedicate herself to piano as much as she does with dance! I've been practicing piano whenever I get a chance, I want to be able to play a few simple hymns eventually! I wanna come home and be an insane organ player hahaha.

So weird thing... I'm obsessed with singing! don't role you eyes at me lol. I'm really no that great but I am really enjoying it here for some reason. Me, my companion, and a couple Hermanas will be singing Come Thou Fount in sacrament meeting together. I'm singing bass even though I struggle with a low G haha. We're actually sounding really good and if I get a chance, I'll record one of our practice sessions so maybe you can hear us ;) I'm also still singing in choir every sunday and tuesday and I really enjoy that too.

...

So I thought I heard someone singing happy birthday... haha jk.. That makes me happy though cuz I didn't get sung to! haha but it's okay it was just like any other day really. but I felt a little more "special" inside. (shut up emily and rachel! I know you are about to come up with a comment on that :p)

tell Uncle John I said hi! and I'm doing great.

That's a pretty neat story about Uncle Brent. I'm glad you all had a good Memorial day and had the oppourtunity to do that for them.

...

I've had some struggles and I've had my moments. But I'm still here and I'm still working hard. The Lord has comforted me and I've felt his promise that he'll take care of things for me at home while I'm gone. 

So I'm like more than halfway through the New Testament. I started it when I got here and I going to try and finish it before I leave the MTC. If I read 7 pages a day between then and now I should be able to get it done.

So as a missionary, I've discovered you have to be super organized, especially as a leader, or else you run out of time really fast. But I'm actually pretty decent at being organized (i've never proved that before, because I've never had to be) I also don't get to mess around and goof off as much as I want. boo :( I have to resist so much it's ridiculous. but my zone is now literally all 19 year old kids beside me, and they're like puppets, anything I do, they do it to so I really have to be careful not to mess around a ton. I'll be zone leader until the sunday before I leave. so my work is cut out for me. But oh well, I have a billion friends now because of it and of course... every one loves me :p I'm not bragging but seriously I'm an awesome leader and I don't know how that happened so you two can have the credit :)

how's rachel and steph? I haven't heard from them in a long time. Every day I see the ASL missionaries, and I get super jealous that I'm not with them, and I miss my Steph. The last devtional a guy from the 70 (Zwick?) spoke and his wife talked about their disabled son and an awesome story. I'm so thankful for Stephanie and the oppourtunity to grow up next to her. She is the greatest example of Christ-like love on this earth. Give her a hug from me and tell her that I love her so much. I hope I can grow to love people self-lessly as she does.

well now I feel like I'm rambling on. tell everyone I said hi and on the family website as well.

I don't wanna write seperate emails for the blog.. how have you been doing that? just taking stuff from my emails?

I'll be writing Emily a snail mail today since she wrote me a dearelder. Tell Rachel she'd get one too if she'd ever write me! School is out! i expect a hand-written letter from her every week til I leave the MTC so snap to it missy!!

I got a birthday card from grandma, I've been meaning to write her but I haven't yet. I'll get to it soon.

I get letters from marci every week, and I've been getting letters from what's her face's sister.. emily YW leader? I can't think of their last name ahaha.

I also got a card from Mindy. tell her thanks as well

put on my blog site that anyone can email me. and put my email addy up as well and if anyone emails me I can reply with a snail mail.


les amo todos vostros
Elder Hicken

Letter 5/25/2012

Dear Family
como estan? yo no reciba mucho cartas para mi hermanas?? que pasa???? tambien yo no reciba cartas para Joshua y Amelia nunca.

I don't wanna write spanish cuz I don't have all th time in the world haha. That does seem way early for the girls to be out of school. doesn't it usually go into June? and now it's before memorial day? crazy. what are you guys doing for Memorial day this year? We're having a little fiesta after class monday morning because it's also my instructor's birthday as well. I'm exactly a year older than him. weird, huh. 


Soooo..... why'd you wait til after I leave to buy a firepit?? dang it lol I'm jealous. that will be lots of fun for the girls this summer. 


Tell Steph I'm sorry about her guinea pig. I'm sure that broke her heart :/ speaking of pets, how's my puppies doing??? I miss them a ton :) there's nothing like going home and having 2 wagging tails and happy faces wondering where the heck you've been all day!

Tell Rachel good luck with her dance recital. I'm sad I can't be there I haven't missed one in who knows how long... if ever.

Tell Emily that's exactly how it was when I was there (Driving and being a chauffeur) and just be greatful she has her licence and can get herself where she needs to be. I didn't have my licence when I first started OCR and it was a pain.
I can't believe I'm about to turn 23. I remember being in High school and thinkin how old 23 seemed then. and I atually do feel old cuz I'm a good 3-4 years older than everyone here. I'm excited to get a package. Some of the Elders here have averaged a package about every other day and multiple letters daily. It's kinda annoying..

I'm doing pretty good though. This week was kinda hard. I was homesick, courtney-sick, and tired of the MTC. I'm ready to go on. But, I'll be fine and my goal is to finish out the next few weeks strong. Even though I'm only a 1.5 hour drive away, I feel that I'm in a different world. I'm tired of seeing the same sights every day and I look forward to my temple walks and temple visits cuz it's a chance to get out of this prison.. haha Spanish is doing really well. I can pray, "bare and stand" my testimony, and teach lessons. I don't use any notes and I just depend on what I've learned and the Spirit when I teach. Speaking of teaching, I commited my 2nd investigator to baptism this week (he's just my teacher, but I take it seriously, he plays the role of one of his investigators on his mission, in paraguay) His name is Enrique, he has a girlfirend, and a son with another girl. We taught him the Restoration, The Plan of Happiness, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ but he still wasn't sure. Last monday, we taught him about the law of Chastity, and how he can improve his life and make it happier by living it and marrying Gloria. I got choked up when I was telling him the happiness that comes from living it and he did as well. We asked if he'd marry her, and follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptised and he said yes! yesterday we taught him again and he said Gloria said "yes" and that we're going to teach her also. Their "baptism" is set for June 15. MAN! even though this isn't real, it's crazy awesome. I can't wait until it is "real" and truly see the change and effect peoples lives!!!

...

thank you for being wonderful parents and great examples. I love you both, and my hermano y hermanas mucho!! have a fantastic week and thanks for the love

con mucho amor,
Elder Hicken
 
(He sent us one of his memory cards from his camera and here are some of the pictures)

Letter 05/18/2012

¡hola!

 

como estan? muchas gracias para usted escribia me. yo mucho feliz! yo tengo much amo por la CCM. (MTC) esta muy fun and yo aprender mucho! usted muy correcto cuando dicho "drinking from a fire hose" pero yo se que esta mi mision. como fue su semana? yo tengo muchas cosas ..... bleh (Hello! How are you? Thank you for writing me. I am happy. I have a lot of love for the MTC. It is very fun and I am learning a lot. You are right when you said "drinking from a fire hose" but I know that this is my mission. How did your week go? I have a lot of things ... bleh) no more  spanish it is too early hahaha. I have a lot of stuff to do as a Zone Leader. Hmmm.. Sundays I have leadership meetings and trainings all day and when a new district comes in I get to do all the orientation their first couple days. Elder Barnes and I that is. We actually had a new district las week and this week so right now there's 4 in our zone (about 40 elders and 4 sisters). Every night I have to give them all a hug good night. (except the hermanas (sisters) of course) when i say have to, I mean I GET to cuz it's so much fun and so amazing! Last night my ribs hurt though lol I gotta tell them all to stop squeezing so hard :) where did I get my love for people?? man I am not trying to brag but everyone says they just love getting hugs from me haha I'm practically hugging all day. and I've been complimented numerous times by the older districts and the branch preisdency on my love for people. but anyway also being a zone leader we lead the meetings and stuff I dunno. It's not too big a deal but a lot of fun!

 

So one thing I've forgotten to mention before is that I've been singing in the Choir here... haha. It's so much fun! You feel the spirit in such a different, but powerful way in music that you can't in any other way. I'm really grateful for that oppourtunity. I wish I could still play the piano though!

 

...

one of the branch presidency. well actually district presidency. in the MTC it goes Mission Presidency->District Presidency->Branch Presidency->ZL's->DL's. anyway he started talking about an experience he had with another missionary and himself on his mission, which I won't mention cuz I'll probably cry if i do, but it just made me so sooooo GRATEFUL for everything that you have done for me mom. I wasn't really crying over homesickness, just gratitude.

...

well I'm pretty much out of time. Dad, I don't feel like writing one for the blog this week so if you wanna take bits and peices from this email and put it on there that would be great. sorry haha.

 

love you all!

Elder Hicken

Letter 05/11/2012

hey friends and fam!

I don't have much time but I just wanted to tell you all HI and that I'm doing fantastic! hope you all are enjoying this amazing spring weather! I wish I had time to haha :) So guess who's a zone leader as of this sunday? this guy! woohoo... hahah there goes all my free time :) But anyway, I'm doing great. Being a missionary is awesome and has soo many perks! we're finishing up "week 4" right now. isn't that CRAZY? only 100 more to go... hahaha :) well I hope you all have a fantistic week

hasta luego

Elder Hicken

The following is some clips from the letter he wrote to our family:

  so big news... I hadn't even been here a full 20 days before I get my first major responsibility... but as of next sunday, Elder Barnes and I will be our zone's new Zone Leaders... crazy huh? not even here a full 3 weeks, they usually don't put Elders in as zone leaders until their 6th week or so. so we'll be zone leaders for a good 5 weeks! AH! I don't know all my responsibilities yet but it is going to be a hand full. We're going to be losing a lot of our personal time, study time, and class time but our branch president, Pres Stewert (sp? spanish is ruining my english! haha), said that the blessings of serving as a leader will make up for the time lost for study, etc. I'm really excited. It pretty much blew my mind. Well here's a spiritual moment for you, mom get your kleenex's ready. I was sitting in the computer lab sunday just kinda stressed out and wondering if I have what it takes to be out here and if I'm doing the right thing. and I was watching Mormon messages. I don't even know which one I was watching but man out of no where I got this huge feeling in my chest and almost an audible voice inside my head, which confirmed to me that I've got great things in store for my mission and my life, and that Heavenly Father does love me and has a lot planned for me. man. I'm still not as strong as I'd like to be but whenever I get down I just try to think of that moment and I'm pretty much good to go. This church is true without a doubt and I can't wait to share the love I've shared with my family and friends my whole life with the people in Chile. but anyways literally right after I kinda had that moment, Elder Barnes walked in from a meeting (he's been district leader) and said President Stewert wanted to meet with us, and I knew exactly what was going to happen before it did. Man who knows maybe I'll never want to come home. I don't know if I could ever live with out this level of the Spirit and the blessings of being a Missionary. But I'm not perfect. I do get home sick a lot. I miss my girls, my mom and dad, the freedom of jumping on a motorcycling and just flying up the canyon. and I miss my courtney as well. But every night I tell Heavenly Father I'm out here doing his work, and any blessings he'd want to give to me, to give them to you guys instead. Last sunday, there was a Devotional, I can't remember the speaker's name but he told a story of a missionary who came out on his mission with both parents. and both passed away before he got home. I honestly don't know how I could deal with that. But he stayed out on his mission. anyway.

Letter 05/04/2012

hola! how is everyone doing? I'm doing freaking awesome. the work is great! busy, but great. The church is true, Jesus Christ is our Savior and and through his atonement we can ALL return to our Heavenly Father and each other! my time is all scheduled out from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm. It's absolutely crazy! but I'm used to it now! Spanish is honestly the stupidest language! hahaha jk. I love it but the different rules drive me crazy. don't even get me started on conjugations! hahahaha but it's all good. For being here two weeks it's suprising how much a part the Gift of Tongues is of the learning here. (Editors Note: In his other letter he literally described his "Gift of Tongues." He finally got his tongue to trill. He was sure that he would never be able to get the trill down.) My District is awesome. a great bunch of guys! My companion is Elder Barnes, from California. We get along great so that's a good thing haha. Well I don't have much time today cuz I spent all my time writing my mom and dad, so if you have any questions about how I'm doing, ask them or WRITE ME!!!!!!!


anyone can email me but I can only email family. the best thing to do would be dearelder.com and make sure you include a date somewhere and your address! and I'll respond with snail mail on my p-days (fridays) or if you wanna write me some snail mail that works too! getting stuff in the box is amazing :) plus I forgot to make an address book for anyone i'd wanna write so If your're reading this and havent gotten something from me yet and you feel like you should have, write me and then I'll have your address!!


I love you all. thank you for all your wonderful support and love. each and everyone of you are truly amazing and have made a huge impact on my life wether you know it or not! It's not a sacrifice to be out here, it's a blessing and I'm so greatful for this oppourtunity to serve the Lord and his people.


til next time!
Elder Hicken

ps dad, proof read this for me. I don't want everyone to know how bad my english is getting ahahahahahaha (DAH - I didn't. :)

Letter 4/27/2012

Hello friends and family!!!


I am doing great the MTC is an amazing place and I am loving it here. I didn't think I would haha. some days I just want to be in Chile though. Spanish is coming along GREAT! The Don de Lengua is an amazing thing and a miracle every day around here. Tuesday Elder Russell M Nelson came and taught us in a devotional and it was AMAZING! he gave 9 points we need to know to be a successful missionary. He truly is an apostle of Christ. I just wanted to take a minute and thank every one who had a part in getting me out here. Now that I'm here I have no worries about everything. The Lord will provide and all I need to do is obey the rules and everything will takes its place. Honestly the only thing I miss are my HUGS!!!!!! Especially from my family. Thanks for all the letters so far from my GIRLS!!! oh man Emily and Rachel I miss you guys soooooooooo much! and Steph, I honestly enjoy your letters so much because they are so detailed and I love hearing from you. Letters make my day I tell ya! My companion is Elder Barnes, he's a QB in college for SVU. He is also our district leader. I'm kinda the big brother in the group. everyone kinda looks to me for any problems they have and I've already given a couple of blessings actually. I'm the 2nd oldest in the zone, there's one elder who is 24. I know this church is true and I want you all to know I have a strong testimony of Christ. He is our Savior and Redemeer and he has atoned for our sins.. the big ones AND the small ones. He makes up for our imperfections. This church IS true. I love you all!!!


PS if anyone wants to write me, an easy way is dearelder.com....but I still LOVE getting hand written ones as well :)


til next time,
Elder Hicken