Elder Talon Hicken: The Missionary: First Letter from the MTC!

Friday, February 8, 2013

First Letter from the MTC!

Hola del CCM!

Toda esta bien aqui! Mi Districto es la mejor! Tenemos seis Elderes, y nos faltan tres que no veni. Habemos apprender mucho, y ya commitir un investigador al bautizmo.

[Translation: Hello from the MTC! Everything is well here. My district is the best! We have 6 Elders and there are 3 others missing who didn’t come. We have learned a lot a already committed an investigator (actually one of the many volunteers that go to the MTC to let the missionaries practice teaching them) to baptism.]

I would write all in Spanish, but I can't type as fast, and because I'm the District Leader I had to write an extra long letter to my Branch President.

This is going to be a pretty short letter, because I just got back from the Temple this morning (which was fantastic, I love the symbolism in the Provo Temple) and so I haven't been home yet to read the letters I've gotten this past week. Speaking of which, Dearelder.com is the best! It's so nice to just get something in the mail. My companion has only gotten an email, and I feel really bad when we hand out letters and everyone has several except he hasn't gotten any.

I've got a whole bunch of pictures from my first week. You'll hopefully get them later today while I do my laundry. That's also when I'll respond to Mom's letter. (Thanks Mom!)

Regarding those questions, I can't really remember life from before last week.

Hopefully you'll get another message or two later today! We're only allowed to write letters on Thursday, so it's kinda a time crunch.

Love you guys!

Adios

RESPONSE FROM DAD:

Great. Nice job on the Spanish. I’m guessing one of the 3 missing is your roommate [who is also going to Peru Lima Central but received his visa early so was sent directly to the MTC in Lima instead of going to Provo first]…

Can you read actual letters only on P-day [preparation day], too, or can you read them when you receive them in the mail?

Dad.

RESPONSE FROM TALON:

I can read them when I get them, just not reply. I get the mail every day after lunch and dinner.

I don't have much time, so I'm only sending pictures, but I sent mom a letter! I'll also try and include a copy of my letter to my Branch President if I have time.

Strugglin' on the pictures...I'll try again next week I guess! Sorry!

Letter to Branch President:

This week has been wonderful. As a district, we have come from being complete strangers to brothers in the gospel. We have a bond and a love that impresses our district daily.

Beginning this week, we had one elder who knew no Spanish, two elders who had very little experience and ability, and three who had several years of Spanish education in High School. Since then, we have all improved drastically to the point where we have been told time and time again that our Spanish is impressive. Although we don't have as much faith in our Spanish as we are told we should, we know that we have a special gift of the spirit in our district that helps us in our studies. With our investigator, each companionship has committed him to Baptism with a scheduled date. Unfortunately we no longer have the opportunity to teach Gabrielle

This past week we have learned, discovered and grown in more subjects than just the languages of the Spirit and the Gospel. We have also learned about missionary work through the examples of Elders inside and outside our district. We have also learned some important lessons about conduct and behavior as missionaries. As most districts do, we have times in our classroom when we don't have a teacher where the district gets sidetracked or distracted, and the spirit isn't as strong because we revisit movies, or cars, or experiences from our pre-MTC lives. The last few days, however, have seen a vast improvement in our focus, spirituality, and general knowledge of missionary rules and guidelines.

I am so excited to serve in District D with my brothers in the Gospel. I love these Elders and I learn so much from them, and with them. They are wonderful examples to me and I am so grateful for the opportunity to submit a wonderful report.

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

--Marianne Williamson

How great is my calling!

I am called of God. My authority is above that of the kings of the earth. By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my master, and He has chosen me to represent Him, to stand in his place, to say and do what He would say and do if He were ministering to those to whom He has sent me. My voice is His voice, and my actions are His actions. My words are His words and my doctrine is His doctrine. My commission is to do what He wants done, to say what He wants said, to be a living witness in word and in deed of His great and marvelous latter-day work.

Where to Send the Good Stuff

Inspiring Words from Elder Hicken

Feb 21, 2013: Anyone who can't decide about serving a mission, start studying the Atonement with all of your energy of soul. You will not be able to resist the desire to share the amazing effects of a knowlege of the Atonement. As for everyone who has already been on a full time mission, congratulations, you're now a part time missionary--you're not done sharing. If you lack an intense desire to share the gospel, you'd best start studying the Atonement right along with everyone else. If you don't fit in either of those categories, you should study the Atonement. In summary, STUDY THE ATONEMENT! It is so wonderful, so happy, so inspiring, so spectacularly amazing! I know it is because as I study it every day, as I share it every day, as I pray about it every day, my happiness has grown exponentially, my energy has increased in duration, my attention has been refocused, and my desires are being tuned! If you seek happiness, seek a testimony of the Atonement, and the happiness will come with a flood of our Savior's love.

Feb 21, 2013: Fear to take advantage of the scriptures. Be afraid of falling into the category of people Nephi spoke to in 2 Nephi 32:7! But even more so, fear to hearken unto the evil spirit which teacheth a man not to pray. Which whispers "you're too tired", "try it first and then pray", "see if you can do it on your own". If you're ever thinking of praying, you should be praying. Ye must pray always! (verse 9) The ability to do things without prayer is a vice, and a weakness. It is harder to rely on the spirit, than to do it yourself.

May 21, 2013: I only want to share a thought that I had during our Stake Conference this last Sunday. We were singing “Praise To The Man” and a thought came to my mind forcefully, that what I am sharing and preaching each day is true. I know without fail, with every fiber of my body and I cannot doubt, because of this I am made. This is the true gospel, and there is no other way, path or salvation. The happiness that I feel grows each day, and my experiences are helping me in each moment. I am extremely grateful for the gifts of knowledge that the Spirit gives me, and I hope with all my heart that you are feeling a new desire to study, search, and pray with more effort often and regularly. There is no other way.

July 1, 2013: I know that God loves me, that He knows me, such that He puts details in my day that He knows only I would recognize. I know that God listens to my thoughts as well as my prayers, and that He is helping me develop a will similar to His. We please God when we help His children come closer to Jesus Christ, but our most important conversion is ourselves. God takes care of me every day, in a way I cannot understand. I know that Jesus Christ thought of my name, our friendship, when He was praying in theGarden of Gethsemane, and that I have his strength as a support when mine is weak. I love my Savior. I love my God. I have His love for you and I want to help you just like my neighbors here to know Christ. Believe in God; believe that He exists, believe that He has all wisdom and all power, believe that man does not understand everything that the Lord can understand. Know that I believe it, I know it, and I want to live it.

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October 14, 2013: Look for the time each day the Lord gives you to rest, and use it. It´s a gift from God, and he gives it to you because he knows you need it, not because he knows you have something else to get done. Read the scriptures for fun sometimes. Forget about any goal or need you have, and just open somewhere and read. The Lord has control, but only if you let him. Sometimes we want to do so much good, that we don´t let our Savior do anything--sometimes we want to help our investigators so much, that we don't let our companions do anything. But not in either situation does it turn out for our good.

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Dec 23, 2013: The work of the Lord is progressing at an incredible rate. The adversary is fighting to keep up. His work is disgusting in every way, and even worse is that he disguises it to not appear that way. In Elder´s Quorum this week, President Jimmy said that everything Satan does is to divide the family, and he works with the weakest member. Don´t be the weakest! Even better, don´t let there be a weakest! When a family is united in persevering to the end, there is no place for Satan! No handhold! But he has many workers in this world, and he will pull at every seam, and tear at every fray. I testify of the importance of gaining a testimony by way of the spirit. The devil reasons with perfect reasoning. There is no outsmarting the devil, but there is overcoming. We overcome the devil by rising above reason and learning to listen and understand the spirit.

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April 7, 2014: This week I have learned the importance of setting goals so that in the future we can measure our progress. I remember the feelings I felt when Sister Borg explained to us that she can see our progress, even though we can´t see it. It´s like my family: they send me pictures, and everyone seems so much older, though they have no idea. Sometimes we need to look ourselves in the mirror spiritually, compare ourselves with a snapshot from the past and see just how much we have grown.

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July 8, 2014: One thing that I¨ve learned to always ask myself is if I am a blessing or a burden. When I call my leaders to ask for help, I ask my self how I can be a blessing for them in this moment. When I call my missionaries to verify their work, I ask myself how I can bless, not burden them. It has been one of the biggest changes in my life, and I believe it all started with something Dad taught me: whenever you go to a meeting or meet with someone important, always make sure that by the time you leave, they are glad that you were there. I always try to make people really, truely glad that I am there to help them, and never feel like life would be easier if I weren´t there to bug them about an assignment, or get after them for not doing something.

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Nov 15, 2014: Many times it hurts to not have materials for those who need. It makes me think of the spiritual application of the same; the feeling of guilt and pain that one encounters when lacking a testimony to share in another´s time of need is a cringing experience. It is not as easy as asking a companion for an extra pamphlet, or looking for the extra you always keep inside the cover of your scriptures. I urge all who are within the reaching of my words to prepare themselves. There is not much time before the Lord will require your testimony. The days are accomplished that the battle front has disappeared. The enemy is within the walls, and we must sleep on our swords. There is no child too young, no soldier too wounded, no scout too lost, and not one too weak to be strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We all need it.