Elder Talon Hicken: The Missionary: August 2013

Monday, August 26, 2013

Hola de Semana de Cambios!

We had an up and down week this week, as one day we worked super hard, the next E´ Whitton got sick, the next we had Elder Quenton L Cook speak to us, and the next day E´ Whitton was sick again, and then we worked super hard....it just seemed like a crazy week. I´ve got to admit, after this past week my brain feels a little fried!

On August 21, 2013 we had a visit from Quentin L. Cook. He came and spoke with our missionaries and left us with a beautiful blessing. When an authority comes to Lima for a visit, the members work for weeks getting the chapels ready, painting the building, cleaning, working on the grounds, planning everything to be just perfect. The day of the meeting they put beautiful flower arrangements everywhere. When everything is ready, a quiet excitement builds until the visiting authority finally arrives. We took this group picture. We couldn't get everyone in one picture so this group is sitting on the left side and...

...this is the other half of the group. President and Sister Borg, Elder Cook and his wife, Elder C. Scott Grow and his wife and most important of all OUR MISSIONARIES!

We dropped the date for Edith yesterday when she didn´t come to church for the 3rd week in a row. She´s been wanting to be baptized for almost 3 months now, but just can´t seem to overcome her trials to put the Lord first, and take a step of faith. We´re really working with her, but it´s hard to keep her thinking about the gospel when we aren´t there.

We´ve got Franchesca and Farid with dates as well, but they are in Equador this week, so they couldn´t come to church. We´re going to be keeping in touch by phone up until they get back. We are striving to be ready for baptism this saturday!

Elder Whitton is progressing a whole bunch, and learning spanish like crazy! I know he´s going to learn to speak really well. E´Whitton also taught me an awesome way to do daily planning! By following the same steps as weekly planning! It makes it so much easier to prioritize and make sure that we are spending our time with the right people, or in other words, teaching people, not lessons.

I´m super excited to train! I hope that I know enough to have the level of intelligence to take these big concepts of being a great missionary and boiling them down until a child, or a new elder in this case, can understand.

So the big news for today is that I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish! At 9:00:35 this morning. So awesome. I have had such a spiritual flood of experiences over this past ¨Book of Mormon Transfer¨ and I know it has and will make a huge difference in my mission from now on.

So I know absolutely nothing about what you are doing in Caja Marca, except that there are kids involved. Can you please fill me in? haha, I feel like I always ask, but I never find out anything. Just pictures or something would be great! Sierra´s blog is the coolest thing on the planet.

Ok, I´ve got to go! I love you all! Thank you for your support!

Elder Hicken

Monday, August 19, 2013

Hola de un semana loca!

Shoot this week was crazy. I have spent very little time being a missionary to be honest. My companion went home on Saturday. Not a worthiness thing, and not a health thing. My new companion is named Elder Whitton and he is from Murrieta, CA. He just got his visa last week, but he was serving in New Jersey for the past 5 months. He´ll be my companion for the next two weeks up until transfer day.

Elder Whitton and me

Elder Whitton is doing pretty well so far! He says it is a lot to take in, but he is doing great with the language! It´s good that we have E´Eklof in our apartment to loosen up the stress of a new country a little. I am trying to take advantage of the time he has with an English speaking companion before the next transfer.

Right now we are working with Edith to make sure she is ready for her baptism this Thursday. She says she wants to talk about a few doubts about the Book of Mormon. We have a lesson planned for tonight.

We are now working with a brother and sister of 15 and 9 years respectively, and hope to talk to their mother sometime this week to make sure she is okay with them being baptized. We were going to invite them to prepare to be baptized on the 31 yesterday (as they both asked us what they can do to be baptized), but their aunt and cousin came in town and the appointment fell through.

Well, everything seems to be progressing! I am trying to apply all of the things E´ Gaete taught me right before he left (it´s hard to be the both of us) because he covered my weaknesses as a missionary. Now I´ve got to improve.

I´m starting to reallize how unprepared I would be for my life after my mission if I hadn´t gone on my mission. It´s incredible how much I didn´t know I didn´t know. I´m learning so much, but only when I remember to learn. It´s harder than it sounds to remember to learn when you´re almost always the one teaching!

I got special permision from the president to use dropbox.com! So I´m uploading everything online so I can´t lose it. Here are some pics from this week:

Elder Eklof and I eating the Manjar Blanco (dulce de leche) that Elder Gaete left behind.

mi papá latino E´Hernandez. He dies this transfer!

Me serving Kenji. He is a professional chef that I am going to fly back to the states to start a 6 star restauraunt.

El directorio. My never ending project for this ward.

the difference between a estadosunidencia [United States-ian] y peruana [Peruvian] agenda

I´m progressing in my reading!

Elder Hicken

Hurrah for Israel!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Hola del cumplequarto

Todo está bien aquí en San Silvestre! [All is well in San Silvestre]

Is it crazy or what that I´ve already been out six months! It just zoomed right past me.

We had a wonderful training meeting this morning with E´ Eklof which helped me think about how important it is to focus on the people who have the ability to progress, and help them progress with a date as a goal to be baptized. I haven´t been as dilligent as I should be with keeping track of our progression towards reaching our Zone, monthly, weekly, and even sometimes daily goals as I could be, but that´s about to change!

We´re planning on baptizing Edith this month! If we pray hard enough, we can baptize a 15 year old we contacted two weeks ago named Franchesca! The work may be slow, but it is progressing, as are we!

Shoot, we just found out we have to leave! If I¨m lucky I´ll get to write a little bit more this afternoon!

Con mucho amor, Elder Hicken

Hurrah for Israel!

Here are some fotos -- I'll explain later

Monday, August 5, 2013

Hola de su casi-paisano!

[Casi-paisano in the subject means “almost countryman” since we are leaving for Peru tomorrow morning. We will not see him while we are in the country, of course, but there is something nice about knowing we will be in the same country as Talon again.]

Todo está bien aquí en San Silvestre! [All is well here in San Silvestre]

We had a wonderful week in regards to logros [achievements], even though almost all of our citas [appointments] fell through Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We even found 3 new families to teach! We´re struggling with teaching those who come to church, and helping those we teach attend! It's an interesting situation, but we are seeing progress. We always seem to have a breakthrough each week in something as Elders: a lesson we learn, a trial we overcome -- something.

We are working as hard as we can to get visiting teachers and home teaching going in our ward, but it seems like a very slow process working with people who don´t work for the Church full time like we do.

Tomorrow we´ve got a meeting with the President in the morning, but I think everyone should be back in the office when you stop by!

I know it´s going to be a crazy week, so I´ll keep it short and sweet, with a couple things to read for family scripture study!

1 Nephi 1:2
1 Nephi 22:17
2 Nephi 10:20-22
PmE pg. 14 (i´m not sure what page it is in english, probably 13-15)

Please send me ideas for scriptures to share with members and non members to celebrate their birthdays! I´m searching of ideas, but I don´t have a lot of time to look!

Also, when you get the chance, could you send me an mp3 and lyrics for the national anthem [click here for the lyrics in English and Spanish, click here to hear the anthem? Not urgent. (p.s. what is the cornocopia on the flag for?)

[according to wiki.answers, the cornucopia symbolizes prosperity]

Here´s some pictures!

Pizza Raul´s with E´ Gaete, E´ Claros, and E´ Eklof!

Yes, we ordered 9 pizzas...no I did not drink the Coke.

Servicio!

Daniel Ricse Aguilar and his family work with wood,

and we sanded doorframes for 2 hours.

Sergio Llosa Fae is the son of our pensionista, and he cockfights.

Check out my rooster.

Roberto Fernandez is the bomb.

He used to go out with us almost every other day,

but now that he works 8 hours a day, we just go out on Sunday.

One of the coolest future elders ever.

Con Amor,

Elder Hicken

Hurrah for Israel!

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.

_

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.

-

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.

.

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.

.

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.

.

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.