Missao Celetial Dec. 1, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,                                                 Dec. 1, 2014

Well, time really does fly. I can´t believe that this is the last email that I will send here in the mission. It´s incredible...

But to start off with the administrative things:

Well, it would be good to bring bug spray but don´t worry about bringing a lot of suncreen because I still have some. 

Yes, bring light weight clothes, skirts, dresses, shorts for you Dad, and sandals because it´s getting pretty toasty here. It would be good to bring a hat as well because the sun is really strong especially here in João Pessoa because it´s so close to the beach. 

Don´t worry about bringing clothes for me Mom, I have warm-weather clothes that I can wear on the trip back. :) (I can´t believe it´s snowing already!) 

And to answer your questions Mom:

Tell us about Edivaldo: Well Edvaldo is 33 years old, he lives with his mom, brother, and sister. So, this week we taught him the Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity, Laws and Ordenances, and he was progressing a lot. Well, on Saturday we went to his house and he finally decided to be baptized! So we filled out the baptismal form and an hour later he had the interview. So, it was taking a long time and that´s when I started to get worried. So, finally my district leader walked out of the room and said that he didn´t pass. He still had some doubts and said that he didn´t want to be baptized. It´s one of the worst things ever when your investigator changes your mind in the interview. The adversary truly works against the Lord and His work. Really, what I think happened is that people started talking to him about the church and said a bunch of lies. It´s crazy that when you start to truly teach someone, all of his so called "friends" come back to talk to him and really to talk back about the church...

So, Saturday was a pretty rough day but he went to church yesterday and said that he will still prepare to be baptized. Please pray that he will be able to receive an answer that the Church is true and that the Church has the true authority of God. 

But another thing that I have learned here in the mission is that everyone has free agency and we can´t take away their free agency, even if they know in their heart that it´s true. 

   Do you have any Christmas RS activities planned before you leave? No, I think they´re just going to have an activity after I leave. but this coming Saturday morning the RS is going to join all the sisters together in the ward and they´re going to do a bunch of visits, visitng less active sisters, we´re going to help as well which will be great!

 Who is your new companion? No, I don´t have a new companion so the other companionship changed.  Sister Moscoso is still my companion. Sister Quintanilha is the new sister in our house. She switched with S. Sayonara. She´s really great, she´s from Rio de Janeiro. :)

  How many areas will we be going to and will we be able to attend one of your ward's Sacrament meetings before we have to leave for the airport? 

So, we´re going to visit my 4 areas that I served and yes we will be able to attend sacrament in Cabedelo :) woohoo!

Well, Mom and Dad, I´m so excited for you guys to come. It´s going to be so great! 

I talked to Pres. Nogueira and he said that I will be able to meet up with you guys, 2 PM on Wednesday at the mission office. It´s the same address that you always mail the packages too. And it´s good that the hotel where you guys will be at is close to the mission office. I think it´s about 10 mins by car. So, 2 PM on Wednesday the 10th I will see you two in the mission office :) I think the easiest thing would be to grab a cab :)

Ok, so now for the serious stuff...

I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission. It´s the best decision that I have made in my entire life. I don´t know what I would be doing or who I would be if I hadn´t decided to serve a mission. It´s the hardest thing I have ever done and the most amazing thing I have ever done. 

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord´s church here on the earth. I know that it is only in his church that one can find the true priesthood of God.

I know that the Atonement is real. As Alma explains in Alma 7:11-12, Christ not only suffered for our sins but also for our pain, sadnesses, and whatever feeling we have. I know that Jesus Christ truly knows each and every one of us personally and individually. He knows how to succor His people. The Atonement must play a part in our lives each and every day. 

I know that Heavenly Father is truly our Father. He loves us and knows us. We can find peace, knowng that we are part of something bigger. 

I know that Joseph Smith was, and still, is a prophet of God. I know that Pres. Monson is the latter-day prophet and he holds all the keys of the holy priesthood here on the earth.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have seen individuals and families return to the Church by just reading and studying the Book of Mormon. 

I know that my Savior lives and I know that this is His Gospel. It has changed my life and I want to continue to help others be changed by its influence. 

Thank you soo much for all your love and support. I could never have served a mission alone without your love and support. I can´t wait to share my experiences with all of you and especially Mom and Dad, here in the celestial mission, João Pessoa!!!

I love you all the MOSTIEST!!!

See you soon :)

Love,

Sister Hicks

An Investigator at church!! WOOHOO! Nov. 24, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,                                                            Nov. 24, 2014

Mom: Well,  to start off, thank you sooooooo much Mom for getting everything ready with the housing and classes at BYU! You´re the best! 

haha, that´s so great that Sister Friaca made Brazilian hot dogs, haha, yes, I have eaten Brazilian hot dogs many times :) haha, but with mashed potatoes is a thing more in the south of Brasil. I can´t believe you didn´t try them! haha, you´ll have to try one here! And you and Dad have to try açai as well! It´s so good! It´s a fruit but they make ice cream out of it :)  

Well, with the hair appointment, I don´t think I´ll need a highlight, my hair is super sun streaked, haha, I think you´ll have a double take when you see me cause my hair´s super blonde :) but we´ll see

haha, I laughed out loud when I heard the story about "Guy" napping in the morning to not  be so cranky, hahha

well things to bring: could you bring a box of oreos? Sister Sayonara wanted some haha :) and also, just if you´re able to, could you bring some chocolate chip cookies to share with some sisters, (just if you´re able to, don´t feel pressured :)

Dad: Aah, Dad, I wanted to respond but we´re not allowed to! But glad that you were online! 

Hey Dad, I got your card that talks!!!! I absolutely loved it! haha, I laughed out loud when I opened it!  

Dad, I love the mini sermons that you send me. It´s always exactly what I need to hear!!!!

Well, I´m glad to hear that you´re doing well.  Everyone is so excited to meet you and Mom!   haha,  here Dad is  "painho",  so I tell everyone, "Aaah, you´re going to meet my ´painho´ " :) haha, it´s gonna be great :)

Bryan: Well, once again, loved the quote you included, we definitely need to have a serious talk....haha

Lindsey: I absolutely LOVED the photos from Alice´s  birthday party!  She is so grown up and so cute! And what the?! you´re hair is absolutely gorgeous! love it! 

Glad to hear that you´re doing well and that Norah is feeling better now that you guys know what she has :)

Taylor: Wow, I can´t believe how fast the time is flying by! That must have been to be able to talk to a retired 4 star general. I´m sure he has a lot of knowledge to  share :) 

I can´t wait to be able to talk to you when I get back, we have a lot of catching up to do :)

Kimball: Glad to hear that you´re doing well and I hope that everything works out

So, so far in the mission field I have had 6 companions (and 7 if you count the companion that I had for 2 days, she was so super sick and was then transfered after 2 days) I stayed with 3 companions for 3 transfers (each companion for 3 transfers) so I haven´t had a lot of companions. 

Kelsey: Yes, the  Christmas decorations are already appearing and we´re already singing Christmas hymns at church. Because they don´t have Thanksgiving here, the Christmas season starts even earlier. 

Well, my companion is hispanic and she´s so great. Before coming on a mission she was in the  Peru Navy! Yah, super boss! :) 

Loved the picture of baby guy! So cute!

Well, yesterday Edivaldo, our investigator that came to church for the second time. He said that he liked that the church is really peaceful and there aren´t people yelling and stuff. He accepted baptism for this Sunday so please pray for him so that he can feel readier! (readier, more ready? I don´t remember)

Well, this morning, Sister Sayonara received a call that she´s going to be emergency transfered to another area. We are all sooooo sad! This was my 5ath transfer living in the same house with her! sooooo sad! 

Well, I don´t have much time left but I love you all the MOSTIEST!!!!

Love,

Sister Hicks

Pure Happiness Nov. 17, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

Well, to start off, Mom, thank you soooo much for all your devotion to getting this BYU stuff firgured out. I know it must be a hassel but I am so grateful! So, yes, I agree that the girls seem a little old in that apartment building. Oh, and also, I totally understand about the whole cell phone thing. I thought it was a little sketchy as well. Oh, also, I´ve heard that the Riv is a little sketchy...

I know it must be hard to find a winter only contract. If worst comes to worst maybe you´ll just have to buy a contract with spring as well and I´ll try to sell it when my other friends get back or something, I don´t really know how it all works. 

I think the only priority is that I would like to be able to walk to campus. I would also like to share a room but if that doesn´t work out I would be fine with a private room. But really, Mom, thanks for all your dedication and don´t worry, I´ll start saving up some Brazilian nickel (centavos) for all the times you type my password, haha. 

Dad: Glad to hear that you are doing well and that your trip went well. I´m sure you must be pretty exhausted. 

I´m so glad for photos as well and I´ll definitely be showing you all a lot of photos. 

So, this week we had a special training with Pres. Nogueira. He talked to us about a few changes that the First Presidency has made in Preach my Gospel (it´s been a few months) about how now the full-time missionaries are responsible for teaching the 5th lesson before and after baptism and other things. It was great because it was a 4-zone conference and I got to see Sister Stolk and some of my other friends! 

Also, I received letters from Camilla and Danilo, two of my recent-converts from my first area in Queimadas! They are doing so well and wrote that they are excited to be able to see me and meet you two! They are so great, I´m so excited! 

Well, yesterday was a pretty good day. So, we have been working with and teaching an inactive family. Well, yesterday the four of them, the mom (Tereza (different Tereza than the phone one) ), the dad (Fernando) and their two daughters, Alice and Estephany. It´s so great to see the fruits of your labors and it really is pure happiness. We´ve been listening to the Book of Mormon with them because Tereza doesn´t know how to read. It´s so great to see how reading the Book of Mormon daily and having family prayer really does strengthen our families. 

Also, a little girl, Marília, went to church yesterday. She´s 11 years old and was baptized last year with her sister. Well, it was so great to see her at church and she made friends with the other Primary girls. 

Also, Tereza and her family (that we are working with) brought a friend to church, their neighbor, Vera. She´s not legally married but we´re going to start teaching her. 

Also, Saturday night we street contacting and we talked to a man named Edivaldo. He said that he had already visited the church but that it had been a while. He said during the contact that it was hard for him to believe in the Book of Mormon. We explained what the Book of Mormon is and invited him to go to church. Well, he said that he wasn´t sure if he would go. So yesterday, all of a sudden he appeared during the sacrament meeting (sacrament meeting is last) and I was so surprised. Well, afterward we showed him the baptismal font and invited him to prepare to be baptized this coming week but he said no because he was already baptized in another church. Well, we´re going to start teaching him and tonight we´re going to have a Family Night at Tereza´s house and he´s going to go. Please pray for him so that he can have an open heart. 

Well, Luma didn´t go to church yesterday but we´re going to keep teaching her. She´s a really great girl and just needs to stop smoking and feel more ready to be baptized. 

So funny story of the week: Saturday we had lunch at a member´s home, well apartment. So this apartment building is huge and there are 32 floors!!!! So, the doorman told us to enter the elevator and type P1 (yes, you type the floor and hit confirm) Well P1 is just the "leisure floor" that has the game room and other stuff. Well, we wanted the 1st floor and we couldn´t figure out how to work the elevator. Then the elevator just started to go up and up and up. We saw on the screen, 15th floor, 20th, 25th, and that´s when we started laughing, but laughter because we were so scared, then 30th floor, and we just started screaming, finally it stopped on the 32nd floor and we just jumped out of the elevator when the door opened! haha, we thought it would never stop going up. So the man told us how to get to the floor we wanted. But I`m sure the doorman was laughing out loud because there´s a camera in the elevator and he probably saw us freaking out, haha, it was pretty hilarious. 

Well, to answer your questions with the time remaining:

What is the one principle of the gospel that seems to resonate with the most people you talk to or is it something different that touches each of them?

I think the message of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. I love teaching the Restoration because the Spirit truly touches them.

aah, my time ran out but I promise I will answer the other questions next week! 

I love you all the MOSTIEST!!!

love,

Sister Hicks

oh, so funny that you sent the photo of Greg sprinkling because I told the other sisters this week of how I always sprinkled but now Greg does it, haha :)

Hola! Yo havlo espanol :) November 10,2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

Wow, to start off, I´m soo sorry that it was such a hassel to get all the classes figured out. I was a little bit worried about all that this past week. and now that there are just two missionary couples in the mission office it´s a little more complicated because they don´t speak English. Before, there was always at least one american elder but now there are just these 2 missionary couples (that are super great by the way, just don´t speak english...)

But really, thanks so much Mom for getting all of that figured out. Just a question, did you sign up for Math 113 or Math 112 (becuase Math 112 would probably be better because it´s been a while) But really, thank you soo much for doing the registration.

Mom: About apartments, I definitely want a shared room. And it doesn´t matter to me how many people there, 4 person, 6 person apartment. :) I trust your judgment :)

Yes, it would be great if you could set up a hair appointment, dentist appointment, and a dermatologist appt. (to look at my moles after all the sun exposure :) ) 

That´s so great that we have some family names to take to the temple as well! That would be great! 

Well, to pack, I would suggest that you bring clothes for really hot weather...it´s been pretty hot here. That´s for sure. And don´t bring anything valuable, just a heads up :) Umm, I´ll think some more this week if there´s anything else that would be good to bring :) I´m so excited, it´ll be great :)

In response to your questions:

Tell me the most unusual contact you had this week.  

Well, this week we stopped an elderly man that was walking down the street. He started talking to us about how we need to conserve the planet and then we said that we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ and he started to explain that he could scientifically prove to us that Jesus Christ wasn´t the son of God and that He is not our Savior. It was so hard to hear that and I just felt for him. It´s really rare to talk to people like that here but there are some that exist. 

Tell me about a ward member that you really like and why.

Well, I really like the Bishop´s wife, she´s really sweet. Her name is Sheila. She´s the ward pianist and looks like I´m going to be the ward conductor. (They´ve asked me to conduct two sundays in a row...) 

  Do you teach at church on Sunday - Gospel Essentials?

Well we used to teach Gospel essential but now they have called a sister in the ward to teach which is great.

  Do you teach English classes in this area?

Yes, we have an English and Spanish class. (Sister Moscoso is helping me with my Spanish, I`ve forgotten so much!)

Dad: Thanks for your email and all your help with the BYU registration. 

I`m so glad that you were able to go to the temple this week and I can´t wait to go with you when I get back! 

Lindsey: Glad to hear that the girls are doing well and keeping busy! 

haha, yes, it´s truly the circle of life, training at the end :) Sister Moscoso is great and I´m learning so much with her! 

Bryan: hahaha, I laughed out loud when I read your email. haha, alright, we´ll have a talk when I get back about the Computer Science course....

Kimball: Glad to hear you´re doing well. Sounds like Kelsey´s birthday weekend well! haha, can´t wait to see Lil Guy yanking his socks off :)

Kelsey: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you had a great brithday! 

Loved the photos you sent Kels! Lil Guy is soooo cute! 

Taylor: Hope you´re doing well bud! I love ya soo much! Keep me updated!

Well, we´re teaching Luma. I think I wrote about her last week. We fasted with her this week to help her stop smoking and she said that when she was fasting she didn´t smoke! She went to church again yesterday but she had to leave before the sacrament meeting because she had to study for a test. But, keep her in your prayers so that she can stop smoking and so that she can receive a testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Pres. Monson is the living prophet.

Well, I love you all the MOSTIEST!!!

Love,

Sister Hicks

I'm a "Ma'e" Again October 29, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

Well, as the subject suggests, I´m training! I received my new companion yesterday. Her name is Sister Moscoso and she´s from Peru. We received 4 new sisters yesterday and not one elder from the CTM in São Paulo, 3 Brazilian sisters and 1 Hispanic (my companion) :) I attached a photo of the two of us from this morning. (I know I look like a mess but it´s P-day :)) The other photo I attached was when Sister Chauque braided my hair and I slept with the braids in and the next morning she took the briads out and my hair was all crimpy :) 

So, I´m not a Sister Leader Trainer now because I´m training. Sister Chauque is still the Sister leader trainer in our zone with Sister Gomes. They are in Tambaú which is the ward next to ours and their apartment building is about 2 minutes aways from ours, walking! 

Well, I´m in the same area, Manaíra which is cool. So, I`ll only have 4 areas during my mission. So, some cool news, yesterday when I went to the chapel to meet up with the other trainers, a member from my 2nd area, Prossind, was there. He said that one of my recent converts, Jeremias, is thinking about and preparing to serve a mission! He´s 20 years old! I was so excited! 

Well other big news, the other sisters in our house, Sister Briones and Sister Sayonara are going to have a baptism this week. The husband and wife are going to be married legally tomorrow and their baptism along with their 2 daughters will be on Saturday! They have been investigating the church four about 4 months now! Their story is so cool. Ronaldo is the dad and he had prayed to be able to have more peace in his home and to improve his relationship with his spouse and family. Well about 2 days later the sisters knocked on his door and he invited them in. His wife, Solange, in the beginning did not like the sisters or the church at all. She even made fun of them. Well, he continued to investigate the church and her heart was softened. But, she was still having problems quitting smoking and drinking coffee. Well, when I arrived here, they lived in our area, so one night we had a great lesson with her and the whole family about the love that God has for us. And that we have to keep the commandments to show our love that we have for God. Well, at the end of the lesson we all kneeled down and I said the prayer. This Sunday in Church during Gospel Principles, Solange explained that after that prayer that we said kneeling down, she decided to stop smoking and she never again smoked a cigarrette and she poured the coffee down the drain. It was so powerful when she shared this story. It´s amazing the power of prayer. I´m so happy for them and I can´t wait to be there and see there baptism. 

Mom: So I know that it must be crazy to look for housing. At this point, I don´t know if it will work out to live with other sisters that returned home. Well, I know that I don´t want to live in new heritage or wyview with the upper classmen. So, I guess what I´m looking for in an apartment would be air conditioning, and internet access, wifi would be great but if no, the internet that you have to use a cable would be fine as well. I haven´t been able to get in touch very well with the sisters that I know that returned home and/or they already have contracts. But I know that I just want a contract for winter semester because spring semester I`m going to room with Lexi, Emma, Sister Stolk, etc. I know it´s a lot to do mom but I trust your judgment, thanks Mom!

And the 19th sounds great for the open house :)

Also, to get around town I think the easiest thing would be to get a taxi and I thought that also at times we could use the public bus system as well (it´s really good) 

Ballet 390 sounds like it would be a good class, and yah, that´s true that they have an audition in the beginning of the year :) That should be interesting :) 

Dad: Glad to hear that you´ve been able to work on some family history work and missionary work! I will definitely help you with that when I get home! 

That´s so cool that you were able to get the phone number of your mission president! I hope you´re able to catch up with him. 

Bryan: Well I laughed out loud when I read what you wrote about majoring in computer science. Yes, we´ll have to have some good long discussions over Christmas break, hahaaha :) 

And send photos from Halloween, can´t wait to see how you guys all look :) 

Lindsey: Thanks for sending the photos! She looks great! 

Well, I´ll definitely miss the random donkeys in the street and the crazy loud music and parties. There are so many things that I´ll miss, rice and beans every day as well! 

Well, I have to go but I love you all the MOSTIEST!!!

Love you all so much,

Sister Hicks

Keep on Keeping On! October 20, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

First off, thank you soo much for all the emails, blog posts, videos and photos that everyone sent this week. It definitely made my day that much brighter and was exactly what I needed. 

So before I forget, transfers are next Wednesday so I´ll email next Wednesday, not Monday, just a heads up :)

Well, this week was a little tough but this coming week will be better :) So, our only investigator that went to church last week, didn´t want to hear more. We taught the Restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to be baptized. Well, the next day we passed by and he said to pass by later but when we passed by he wasn´t at home. The next day we passed by his grandma and brother talked to us and said that he didn´t want to hear more. We tried calling him but I think he recognized our number. Well, our district leader called him and talked to him and it was true what his family had said. He told our district leader that he just wanted to visit the church but didn´t want to hear more. It´s always hard to see when people use their free agency to choose to not hear our message but this was the Lord´s plan, the ability to choose. 

Mom:

haha, Mom, don´t even worry about last week. I assumed that was probably what had happened. Don´t even worry Mom, it´s all good. I got to read two emails this week from you! 

So, in response to your question about the ballet class, yes it says that 290 is a pre-requisite but I exceeded the level so I didn´t have to take it. I was but in the higher level, the 391. So, I don´t know which class is better, 391 is what I took my first two semesters but now it´s been a year and a half since I have danced. I´ll probably have to see once I get out there if I still can keep up with the 391 or see if 290 would be better for the first semester back. Maybe you can call the dance department and ask them what would be better. Just tell them that I was in the 391 before I went on my mission but ask them what they think you should do, register for 290 or 391. 

I emailed Sister Johnson and asked her to talk to some other sisters this week about housing. I also emailed Rachel Hawkley (my BYU roommate) she said that she´s going to live in Allred. Maybe you could check it out online to see what it´s like. She said that there will probably be some openings as well. I should know better next week when Sister Johnson emails me back. 

Yes, I definitely want to see the Nutcracker. I know Abbie and Julia would die if I didn´t see it. It would probably be good to buy tickets for the noon show because I know that Amanda comes in on the 20th as well. 

Good to know about EFY, I´ll just worry about that when I get back. 

Well, the family activity that I want to do when I get back is see the Christmas lights at the temple and do a session in the temple with everyone :)

To eat: Chicken broccoli casserole, big surprise :)

And in response to your question about me feeling the support of your prayers. Yes, I definitely feel the love and support. I know that there are days when I am supported and lifted by the prayers that you offer. I know that it´s absolutely true that the Lord and His angels are on our left side and right side and always go in front of us. Thank you for all your love and support. 

Taylor: Glad to hear that everything is going well at school. Thanks for helping Mom with the school registration stuff! That´s a big help for me. 

I hope everything goes well with the job interviews at Target and Enterprise. You´re gonna rock that interview! 

Bryan: Unfortunately the link opened but opened in YouTube and I don´t think we can watch it on youtube and I don´t think there was sound either. You´ll have to show me when I get back :)

haha, I think you´re going to have do some more convincing when I get back about this whole CS stuff :)

Kimball: It really is true about the converts to the Church during the pioneer age. It´s crazy that they were truly recent converts and left their families to go on missions with such little time as a member. 

That´s great that seminary is going so well, keep up the good work!

Kelsey: Loved the pictures that you sent! It´s crazy how fast Guy is growing up. I loved the Halloween idea as well! So creative! 

So, Halloween definitely isn´t a big thing here but they have a "Dia dos Mortos" which means Day of the Dead. The Brazilian sister that lives with us, Sister Sayonara, said that a lot of people go to the cemetaries to visit their loved ones´ graves. So, it´s Halloween but with a different twist...

Lindsey: Loved the photos that you sent from the State Fair. Everyone looks so great in the pictures!

Well, thank you all so much for your love, prayers, and support. I am so grateful to be a missionary. It´s such an amazing experience!

I love you all the MOSTIEST!!!

Love,

Sister Hicks

Things are looking up! October 13, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

Well, this week was a lot better. Sister Chauque and I are getting to know our new area now that we´re in the Manaíra ward. The good news is that are area covers a more humble neighborhood as well. 

This week was a little crazy because Siser Chauque and I went on exchanges Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Tuesday I went to Cabedelo and went on exchanges with Sister Alves (she´s from Cape Verde and ends her mission with me). It was great to be back in Cabedelo and I got to see a few of the members and some of my recent-converts :) 

Then on Wednesday and Thursday, Sister Chauque went on exchanges in Tambaú and I stayed in my area and went on exchanges with the sisters´companions that were going on exchanges in Tambaú. On Wednesday, I went on exchanges with Sister Gomes from Curitiba and on Thursday I went on exchanges with Sister Lugo from Paraguy. They are so great and it´s so cool as a leader to be able to go on exchanges and get to know so many sisters. It´s really on exchanges that you get to know the sisters and exchanges are crucial to be able to find out how you can truly help the sisters in the zone. 

This past week, the APs started doing a thing where every day a few companionships (only sisters) went to the center of João Pessoa where there´s a huge lake. All the public buses stop there and we just contacted people from 8 am (went back to our area for lunch) to 6 PM. It was really tiring and we met lots of different types of people but the four of us in Manaíra got 147 referrals to pass on to the areas here in João Pessoa. It was a pretty crazy experience but it was definitely worth it. I´m not sure if we´re going again this Friday but I´ll let you all know how it goes.

Dad: Thanks for your email. Your emails are always exactly what I need to read every week :) Thanks for all your support and encouragement. :)

So, I heard that our titles were Sister Zone Leaders but maybe it´s just Sister Leader trainer. I don´t know for sure. But a few of our responsibilities are to go on exchanges with all the areas in our zone, there are 6 other companionships (not including ours) in our zone. 2 companionships in Ipês, 2 in Tambaú and 1 in Cabedelo. :) It´s really great to get to know the other sisters. We also have to prepare and give the training at the District Meeting every week. The district meeting is just with the sisters. We also work with the Zone Leaders to plan how we can best help the zone. We also go to the Mission Counsel on the first Tuesday of every month to receive training and to report back on how the month went and how we will improve during the following month. 

Lindsey: I absolutely loved all the blog posts you sent! I know I always write this but I really can´t believe how fast Norah, Alice, and Baby Freya are growing up. I think Alice has changed the most. Thanks for always sending the blog posts to me :) You´re the best and hope that you have a great week :)

Well, yesterday we had an investigator that went to church. His name is Allan and he lives in a neighborhood called São José. It´s a pretty humble neighborhood. He liked church and even stayed for the baptism that the other sisters had. When I invited him to be baptized this Sunday he responded, "This fast, you have to be truly prepared to be baptized." Well, I explained to him that we´re going to teach him this week and that if he feels ready, he will be baptized. He responded that, "Yes, if I truly feel ready I will be baptized." Please pray for Allan so that he can feel a desire to be baptized this Sunday and so that he can recognize the answers to his prayers. 

Well, I´m so grateful to be a missionary. I´m so grateful to be able to get to know so many amazing sisters and see how the blessings in my Patriarchal blessings are truly being fulfilled. 

I love you all the MOSTIEST!!!

Love,            

Sister Hicks