Elder Talon Hicken: The Missionary: Hola del zoologico! (hello from the Zoo)

Monday, March 31, 2014

Hola del zoologico! (hello from the Zoo)

I have the spanish-english song about the zoo stuck in my head [click here to hear it and get it stuck in your head, too :) The second song in the video is the 'volar' song he liked as a kid.], the one from the tape with ´volar´ that I liked. Also recently I have had stuck in my head that song...you´ve gotta work that brain-figure it out! There´s no need to scream or shout, you´ve gotta shake that thing you´ve got upstairs you´ve gotta use that thing that´s under your hair. [click here to hear it] jaja good times on road trips and driving home from soccer games...

Anyway, this week is going to be a little fast, we´re always dealing with getting our time cut short for different things that happen in the zone. As I get better with managing my time, in general and on the computer, the Lord sends me more trials to deal with.

Todo está bien aquí en Precursores!

This week has been really great for us! We have 7 on date, which is a record for me, and 8 progressing! To keep you informed on Rodrigo, I want to share with you what happened this Sunday:

After going to church with us and learning all about the Plan of Salvacion from premortal life to physical death, Rodrigo left the chapel and decided to go with his friend to her ward in the afternoon. There, he learned all about the Plan of Salvacion from Physical death to the kingdoms of glory! After our lesson with his grandmother, mother, and he, Rodrigo expressed to my companion the following:

¨No siento que el dia 19 me debo bautizar. Quiero saber si puedo cambiar el dia.¨[I don't feel that I should be baptized on the 19th. I'd like to know if I can change the date.]

My companion responded positively, but obviouly concerned, to which Rodrigo responded:

¨¿Podría ser el dia 12? [Could it be the 12th?]

After talking about his schedule, he is planning on performing the ordinance that will seal the covenant he has made in his heart on Sunday the 13th, at 1:00, after the Sunday meetings. We might see attendance similar to that of general conference-he makes friends so easily with the members. We love him and are working our best to keep his family excited to learn more and follow his example when they too have made such a covenant in their hearts to follow the example of Christ.

So far, Elder Castro and I have improved greatly in our punctuality, and we are excited to see the blessings flow.

We´re super excited to learn in our leadership training meeting tomorrow!

I wrote a ton to President Borg today, I don´t have a whole lot to write. Things about mission things, so to not bore the audience, I have omitted it.

I´m sorry I didn´t share my testimony last week in my email! Time flew so fast I didn´t have time! And now my time is almost up, so I´ve got to testify:

Sé que la energía y el poder de amor es directamente relacionado con la fe. Al asociarnos con amor divino, seremos renovados, motivados, elevados, y purificados para ser mas como nuestro todo amoroso padre Celestial. El Libro de Mormón supera toda origino humano, y al ayudar a las personas a leerlo, les invitamos a venir a Cristo y al leerlo invitan un poder divino en sus vidas. A pesar de la carga que sea nuestra, podemos cambiarlo para un yugo ligera y fácil- la cruz que se nos dará por Cristo Jesús. Así hallaremos descanso en este mundo infiltrado con error y tinieblas. Dios mostró a José Smith las planchas 3 anos antes de dárselas para traducir. Dios no da mandamientos sin prepararnos la vía de cumplir. Esta vida es un tiempo para prepararnos para aparecer ante Dios. Dios es un Dios de preparación, lo sé. La fe es el primer principio del universo. Es el base de toda energía y acción. Por la fe andamos ahora pero en el futuro, no solo andaremos. Sé que la debilidad del ser mortal es la diligencia y por eso tenemos necesidad de enfocarnos. Al enfocar y crear hábitos, progresamos en una purificación que nos guía al salvador del mundo.

[I know that love's energy and power is directly related to faith. As we utilize divine love, we become renewed, motivated, elevated, and purified to be more like our all loving Heavenly Father. The Book of Mormon surpasses all things of human origin, and by helping people read it, we invite them to come unto Christ and upon reading the book, they are inviting a divine power into their lives. Although the load is ours to carry, we can change it for a yoke that is light and easy -- the cross that Jesus Christ gives us. That is how we will find rest in this world infiltrated by wickedness and darkness. God showed Joseph Smith the plates three years before He gave them to him to translate. God does not give us commandments without preparing a way for us to achieve them. This life is the time for us to prepare to appear before God. God is a God of preparation, I know. Faith is the first principle of the universe. It is the basis of all energy and action. By faith we walk now but in the future we will not only walk. I know that the weakness of the mortal being is diligence; therefore we must stay focused. By focusing and creating good habits, we will progress in a purification guided by the Savior of the world.]

I just want to share with you one thing I fasted for this past week: the abilty to magnify not only my calling, but help others to be magnified by their callings, and in turn, to do the same.

Joshua 3:7 -- And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
2 Chronicles 1:1-- And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.
D&C 41:1 -- Hearken and hear, O ye my people, saith the Lord and your God, ye whom I delight to bless with the greatest of all blessings, ye that hear me; and ye that hear me not will I curse, that have professed my name, with the heaviest of all cursings.
D&C 76:5 -- For thus saith the Lord—I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.

Love Elder Hicken

Hurrah for Israel!

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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.

Monday, March 31, 2014

Hola del zoologico! (hello from the Zoo)

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