9 Month Mark . . . I can't even believe it!!

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

So yes, Wednesday we´ll be the official 9 month mark. I can´t even believe it. The time passes so fast. I feel like I´ve learned so much but I still have a lot, and I mean  A LOT, more to learn. (In response to your question Mom, no I don´t have a return date or anything yet)

So the baptism we had this week, let me explain how it happened. So, last Monday during P-day, the bishop´s wife called the other sisters and said, "Sisters, we have a baptism! We have a baptism! Come to my house at 6 and I´ll explain everything." Well the bishop and his family live in our area, so we went over there and turns out that a member that lives on the same street as them has a granddaughter who has gone to church for years and decided she wanted to be baptized. Theh granddaughter´s name is Thaynar. So Thaynar´s mom is not a member but she is totally open to letting her children chose their religion. Thaynar´s sister who is 10 years old was already baptized but their mom let them decide when. So last Sunday Thaynar decided that she wanted to be baptized. It was truly answer to our prayers. Two Fridays ago, Sister Cameron and I fasted for a baptism for the following week and Sunday we didn´t have anyone to baptize for the following Sunday. Then Monday rolled around and this miracle happened. It was a great baptism and she is such a cute girl! Love the whole family so much!

Mom: 

I´m so glad to hear that stake conference was such a success. I have no doubt that Dad´s talks were just great and the story I loved the most was Sister Bradley.

Oh, thanks again for sending the packages! You´re the best! haha, I hope I get the basketball shorts, or maybe you´re right, maybe some postal worker is enjoying some nice basketball shorts, haha, who knows. 

haha, I can´t believe how many people know about that back rubbing story, definitely one of my favorites from the mission so far, haha, I´ll never forget that meal. So random story from this week, so we were in the front of an investigator´s house and this crazy man comes up to us and just starts talking nonsense, even the investigators weren´t understanding, and they´re Brazilian! haha, he was so crazy and he was touching my shoulder and then out of the blue touched Sister Cameron´s head and he was just being crazy, but anyway, it´s amazing the people you meet, or the people that talk to you in the street, haha, very interesting...but at the same time we meet so many amazing people too, :)

haha, yah, the baptisms here are a little crazy here sometimes but we have a saying here that is "Só batiza!" "Just baptize!" haha, we say that all the time :) I love my mission and it´s such a blessing to serve in Brasil. 

So now, each zone just has one sister leader trainer so I just am over the sisters in my zone and there´s just the four of us so I don´t travel. If I get transfered to another zone that has more sisters I would travel and go on more exchanges but it´s nice too to just have the 4 of us. 

I´ll ask Sister Stolk to have her mom send the pattern for you, it´s a super cute stocking :)

And thanks again for sending the packages! 

Dad:

I´m so glad to hear that everything went well with stake conference. It´s always a little bit crazy with the tech stuff too. That´s cool that you did a Q and A session. I´m sure that went over really well. What were some of the questions that people asked? Our stake conference is in about a month. I can´t wait for General Conference! 

That´s so interesting how much your mission has changed. It´s so interesting to see the growth and changes in every mission. There are a few members in our ward that remember when there was just one stake here in Paraíba (the state) and now there´s at least 7 stakes.

I loved what you said about prayer and fasting, scripture study, and obedience. I couldn´t have said it better, that´s really the foundation of great missionary work. 

I also really liked the story about Nephi and the sacrifice that he had to make. It just so happens that I was studying sacrifice this morning too. It´s a really interesting gospel principle. 

Oh tell Grandma, Grandpa, Becky and Claudia that I say hi and that I love and miss them! :)

Taylor: Congrats bud! That´s so cool about the second interview and the Spain study abroad! That sounds so exciting! haha, yah you´ll be the real phil dunphy! haha, I´m so happy to hear that you´re doing well and I can´t believe you´re almost done with your bachelors! That´s so exciting! What else is new? 

Lindsey:Sounds like you guys are having a great time in Denver! That´s so nice to spend some time with your family and some time alone with Bryan too! 

haha, I loved the quotes from Norah, I always laugh out loud in the internet cafe and I think everyone is judging me haha :)

aah, you´ll have to send lots of pictures of Andrew and of Norah and Alice too! haha :)

Well, this week was really great, it was crazy we had 10 investigators at church yesterday and 6 of them have baptisms marked for this Sunday. (The others can´t because they´re not married or not over 16 years old) but if you guys could pray for them that they´ll be baptized Sunday that would be great. Their names are Ramon, Eduardo, Everton,(3 16 year olds) Raissa (Fatima´s (recent convert) granddaughter), Alison (a man), and Jessica. 

The work is great and I´m so happy to be here. I´ll try to be better in writing the everyday things that happen. 

I LOVE YOU ALL THE MOSTIEST!!!!

Love,

Sister Hicks

Geovanna foi Baptizada!! March 10,2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

 

So, as the subject suggests, Geovanna was baptized yesterday! It was super great and I´m so glad that President Nogueira gave permission :) But it was a crazy story of how she was baptized. Ok, so it´s yesterday morning. Sister Cameron and I were going to all of the houses of our investigators who said they would go to church and NO ONE was at home or if they were at home they were sleeping. The only two people that went to church were two young women who are 15 years old and are more interested in the US and Australia than they are in going to church and being baptized but anyway...we get to church, 45 minutes late and completely sweaty, yesterday it was 34 degrees celcius, super hot! Anyways, it´s the end of sacrament meeting, getting ready for the baptism, and what did we forget? We forgot to fill the baptismal font, yep, not a drop of water was in the font. So while I was telling Geovanna that it would be at night, Sister Cameron started to fill the font with buckets and so I didn´t know. Then I realized that we were just going to fill the font in the moment so I went to help. Well 10 minutes later I realized, "Hey, we need to tell Geovanna to change her clothes." Well, she had already left church...so Sister Cameron and I RUN to go get her and we ended up having to go all the way to her house. We tell her, "Hey, the baptism is right now, get your stuff." haha, so Geovanna, her brother and sister, Suellen and Jefferson, and their two little friends went with us. As we were crossing the street at the cross walk, the car behind the car stopped rammed into the car and thank goodness the break was on and no one was hurt. (Miracle that no one was hurt, us and 6 children). We get to the church and everything went fine for the baptism but it was definitely a crazy baptism to say the least! Haha, so my crazy baptism story for the week.

 

Oh, to start off, thanks Mom for putting more money in my account! You´re the best! Today I´m going to buy some new shirts, haha, a lot of my shirts are getting to be a little ratty and sweat-stained...but the clothes here are super inexpensive, just 5 dollars for a shirt :) Oh and Mom, thanks for the 2 packages of snacks! You are absolutely the BEST MOM IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!! Sister Cameron didn´t know what goldfish were and she loves them now too :) Also, Oreos! the best things ever and peanut butter too! Sister Cameron loves you too! Thank you thank you thank you! I can´t think of any other snack that I want, maybe just starburst and skittles, haha, but really you´re the best mom ever! Thanks! Oh and thanks for the Valentine´s day cards, I loved them!

 

Mom:

haha, I loved the pillow that you guys bought, haha, It´s definitely true of our family.... :)

 

I´m glad the wedding went well, that´s so funny that everyone was wearing black, that´s weird to wear black to a wedding, but you know it´s the South, they do their own thing, haha just kidding.

 

well, at least I didn´t have to give any more back rubs, but I will say that another member in the ward said, "Hey, I heard you give great back rubs!" haha but she was joking :)

 

Aah, my heart goes out to Grandma and Grandpa, I´ll be sure to keep them in my prayers. Send them my love :)

 

You go Greg! When is the tournament for basketball? Keep me updated and take lots of pictures!

 

Dad:

Wow, I can´t believe that town has a population of 26, that´s crazy! But great story that you were able to share the Gospel with others :) Glad that you guys are able to use me as a conversation starter :)

 

Not surprised at all with Delta, haha, that´s just how Delta works and at least it´s not just me :)

 

I hope everything goes well with Stake conference, I don´t have any ideas in the moment, just emphasize the importance of the members and missionaries working together because it is absolutely crucial!

 

Kimball:

I´m glad to hear that everything is going well with work and baby prep! I can´t believe Kelsey is due in just one month! So crazy!

 

That´s so cool that you´re going to have someone that will work for you! Good luck in the search for someone, that´s super cool!

 

I liked what you said about testifying during the lessons, I´ve been trying to work on that too. I´ll remeber that for this week :)

 

Kelsey:

I´m glad to hear that everything is in order for the baby! Ahhh! Just one month...or less! You have to send lots of pictures!

 

So, I haven´t noticed lots of differences in the church meetings...well, I don´t know why but most of the wards here start with Relief Society, not sacrament meeting.

 

And probably the companion that I´m the closest to is Sister Stolk. We spent three transfers together and she´s absolutely the best! love that girl! But, Sister Cameron is great too! We have so much fun together and I´m getting to know her better as well!

 

Lindsey:

Aah, loved the video that you sent of Norah and Alice. I watched snipets of it and they are so cute!

 

 

Well, sorry this email is really short this week but I love you all soooo much and miss you all!

 

I love you the MOSTIEST!

 

Love,

Sister Hicks

 

PS I´ll send pictures of Geovanna´s baptism!

Hello from Carnaval March 3, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

First off, Congrats Bryan and Lindsey! That´s so exciting that you guys are going to have another girl! Aahhh! I´m so excited for you guys! Congrats! 

So this week was pretty good. It wasn´t a crazy as a thought with Carnaval. Basically all of the big parties are close to the beach, in my area there were just a few street parties and little parades but nothing too big. the only thing that really impeded us was that all of the internet cafes were closed in our area so we called our zone leaders and we had to go to another area to use the internet. A lot of stores are closed today (my "snow" day today) because it´s a holiday.

So...

Mom: 

So, I was wearing my Chaco´s when I banged my toe it was just dark so I didn´t see...haha but it´s totally fine, haha you would be horrified if you saw my feet, totally dry, cracked, and just full of dirt in the crevices because there´s so much sand and dirt, haha, I´ll definitely go with you to get a pedicure when I get back haha...

I can´t believe you guys got more snow! That´s crazy! haha, good ol Greg, the real worker in the family, jk :)

So with baptisms, they have to go to church at least 2 times before baptism, the first time to visit, and the second time they go to church and after church is the baptism! 

That´s cool about the article on sister missionaries, haha, we get bummed out when someone doesn´t accept baptism in the first street contact, haha, can´t even imagine it. 

Our schedule stayed the same, all of the members were asking us, you guys are going to stay inside right? We were like, "uh, no, we´re going to work!" :) haha

That´s so exciting about Amanda Friaca! Aahh! 

and I´m so glad that the fireside went well, I definitely want a copy of the talk you gave :)

haha, I´m glad the juneau´s are still getting good use out of the clothes :)  

haha, oh missionaries, it´s funny how now, I totally understand why sometimes the missionaries are late to dinner or other stuff, it´s amazing how you´re teaching a lesson and it just flies by...and you´re like, oh man, we need to RUN to lunch!

Oh, and you asked if I had some names.

So yesterday Raiana, she´s 22 years old, went to church with us and really liked it, she has a baptismal date for this sunday she just needs to receive an answer that this church is true. But one good thing is that her aunt is already a member. also, Larissa, her cousin went to church and has a baptismal date for this sunday too. 

Geovana is another girl who went to church. Her sister Suellen is super active and is 15 years old. Geovana has already gone to church lots of times (she´s only 10) so President Nogueira has to say yes, so please pray that he´ll say she can be baptized because she´ll have someone responsible to go to church with (her sister every week) 

Dad:

I´m glad to hear that you have a little bit of a break today. that´ll be good. I can´t even imagine what it´s like on sunday. It sounds like it was pretty crazy yesterday. But I´m so excited that Liz is going to be set apart tonight, yah! 

aah, I feel so bad about your elbow but that is such a joke, "Yah, try not to shake too many hands..." ok, I´ll try not too, haha

I hope it feels better soon!

That´s so cool that you´re co-worker asked you to give a prayer at her wedding rehearsal dinner! That is really so special, when is the wedding? 

haha, it´s definitely pretty hot here, temperature wise and missionary wise! There´s a big thermometer in the center of area that tells the temperature. When we were walking this morning around 10 it was 32 degrees celcius. I don´t know exactly what that is in Faranheit but it´s pretty high...

Oh, and how are Grandma and Grandpa, I´ve been thinking about them lately. Please send them my love :)

Taylor:

haha, yah I heard that it gets pretty crazy at Carnaval but it´s been pretty laid back in my area but I´m sure on the beach it´s crazy. 

Congrats on passing the first interview cuts for the FBI internship! That´s so cool! I hope it continues to go well!

And that´s exciting about the Rent-a-Car job as well! You go bud! What else is new? 

Oh I liked the concert pic too! woo!!

Lindsey: Congrats Lindsey! I´m so excited for you! woohoo, another niece! 

I´m glad to hear that everyone´s feeling better now too. That must be a blessing!

Bryan: Congrats! So excited for you Bry Bry! And that´s so cool that Alice said her name for the first time! aah, they´re growing up so fast! 

Well, awkward story of the week. So on saturday we had lunch with a young single lady in our ward. She´s a little socially awkward but super sweet and nice. So, after lunch we asked her (like we ask everyone) "Is there anything we can do to help?" She then responded by saying she really needed a back massage because her back was really bothering her. I don´t know what I was doing but I wasn´t really paying attention. So the other three sisters (of course) didn´t want to so they all responded, "Oh, you should ask Sister Hicks, yah, ask her..." I then looked up, realized what was going on, and couldn´t believe it. She was like, oh just a minute, let me grab some cream, hahah so she goes grabs some cream and I had to give her a back massage, it was probably the most embarassing moment of my life. I was crying because it was so gross and the other three sisters were crying  because they were dying of laughter. And this poor sweet sister just asked, "What happened?" Lesson learned: Don´t ask what you can do to help...haha just kidding, but just be prepared for what people might say...

Anyway, I love you all the MOSTIEST! 

Love,

Sister Hicks

And So Carnaval begins February 26, 2014

Hey Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

So just so you know, I am still here in Prossind and everyone in our house stayed the same. Sister Cameron, Sister De Paula, Sister Cavalcanti, and me! :)

So this week was super great. We had two baptisms on Sunday. Wellington was baptized. He´s 22 years old and it was pretty hard for him this past week to stop smoking and drinking coffee but he was able to stop and he was baptized! It was interesting because he kept asking, "Is it really true that all of my sins will be forgiven when I´m baptized?" And the greatest part was able to say yes, you really will be clean.

Our other baptism was Aparecida. And her story is a little bit funnier. So we talked to her sister in the street who lives in another neighborhood and her sister said, "Hey I think my sister, Aparecida, has already gone to this church." So we wrote down her address and we went to visit her, so ends up that Aparecida´s husband was baptized about 8 or 9 years ago but has since passed away. Aparecida said that she´d already gone to church as well but wasn´t baptized (this was Wednesday). So we invited her in the contact to be baptized Sunday and she said, ok, I will. So then we went to her house this next day, taught the Restoration and asked her the baptismal questions and she was completely ready. We started to fill out the baptismal form when she said, "Wait, I think maybe I was baptized with my husband." We were like, what? Are you sure? So we ended up calling the mission office and they called Salt Lake but Salt Lake doesn´t have a record of her being baptized so "Só batiza!" Just baptize!

So it´s Sunday morning and Aparecida isn´t at home, she was at the hospital with her mom who´s sick. But we passed by Sunday afternoon and told her, "Hey, you still have your baptism today, are you ready to go?!" haha, she took a shower really fast, I called our Zone Leaders and they did the baptismal interview and she was baptized. haha, it was super crazy but it was a great baptism!

So, why the subject line? Well, Carnaval, the crazy party/holiday that they have here every year (especially big in Rio) starts this weekend. And let´s just say it´s going to be a little crazy. They already had a "pre-Carnaval party" and the streets were a little crazy. But it´s all good because the crazy drunk parties are by the beach and my area doesn´t even have a part of the beach. It´s interesting Young Women and Young Men camp is always the same weekend as Carnaval so that the youth have something good to do and because it´s a holiday here.

But anywho...

Mom: I loved your facebook post that you emailed me. haha, I´m so thankful that you guys didn´t give upon your baby girl :)

So, it´s Tori Thomas (my friend from BYU that lives in New Jersey) that is in Ukraine right now. I hope that she´s ok. I´ll be sure to keep her in my prayers.

That was so sweet to see the photo of Mrs. Russo and Em. Aah, I´m so glad to hear they´re doing well and Chester too! Aah, that´s so sweet that Mrs. Russo read my letters. I´ll have to write them a letter soon. Im so glad to hear that Em is doing well too. I love that girl :)

Oh, and what?! They changed the name of the Exton Diner, haha, and I totally remember Ron´s Schoolhouse Grille. Haha, oh the memories...but I´m glad you were able to get some fabric shopping in too!

That´s cool that it was Elder Nielson that you guys sat with. haha, oh and the Greg stories too, haha, they always make my day! :)

So, it has been super hot here but I don´t think it´s breaking records, it´s just normal here, haha, I don´t even sleep with a sheet or anything, I just sleep on top of my flat sheet with the fan on high!

Thanks so much for the packages, I´m sure I´ll get them soon!

Dad:

Wow, that´s so cool to hear that Brother Brown is the new bishop. He´s going to be great and Sister Brown is so incredible as well! Power couple!

I really liked what you wrote about having to remember the spiritual moments that we´ve already had and that we really have to search for the Spirit. I know that, like you wrote, there are definitely times when I have to search for the Spirit and it´s something that we have to keep on working for.

Lindsey: I hope Bryan and the girls are feeling better. I absolutely loved the pics that you sent! Looks like it was a great birthday! I can´t believe we have another 30 year old in our family! haha, and the girls look so great!

Bryan: Love the Sonic story, haha, oh little kids, and I hope your feeling better! You looked great in the pics from your birthday! You go Bry Bry :)

So funny story from the week...

So Sister Cameron, André (a returned missionary from our ward) and I were going to visit Asicleia (this was Monday night) because she can be baptized this week (it´s just super hard to find her at home) and as we were knocking on our door there were about 8 Jehovah Witnesses that showed up in the same street...doing the same thing as us....well kind of...they were knocking doors and sharing messages, haha it was so funny to see them doing exactly what we do, but you know what I did, I just stayed in front of Asicleia´s house (even though she wasn´t answering the door) because I didn´t want them talking to our baptism! haha, it was so funny and just comical. I remembered Kimball´s stories from his mission. Here they´re called the TJs because in Portuguese it´s Testemunhos de Jeová.

Oh another funny story, this crazy drugged lady came up to us asking for money but we told her sorry, and then she asked us what our names were about 50 times, she kept saying "No, in Portuguese, what is your name in Portuguese?!" And we kept telling her, "This IS my name in Portuguese, haha it was soo funny...a little crazy...but super funny

Oh, I ate jaka for the first time this week. It´s actually super good. I think Mom, you already asked me about it, but it´s a crazy big fruit, bigger than the size of a football. Oh talking of "futbol" people are already talking about the World Cup, it´s gonna be CRAZY!

Oh other random story, yesterday we walking in the street and there was a ledge and I wasn´t paying attention and I tripped, I didn´t end up falling but I banged my big toe pretty bad, but I just kept on going, then Romualdo (a member that we were with) told me that I should check and see if it was bleeding, turns out that it was actually bleeding and was cut up. We went to a member´s house that lives close by and cleaned it up, wrapped a tissue around it with some masking tape and kept on going, haha, but it´s totally fine, just a funny, clumsy story of the week.

Oh, random question, How are grandma and grandpa, I haven´t heard much from them lately. I hope they´re doing well. Send my love to them. :)

Well, I´m doing well and I´m super happy here! It´s amazing how fast the time flies. One of my zone leaders, Elder Herrera, and an AP Elder James are leaving today. Elder Herrera was my ZL in Queimadas for 2 transfers and here in Rangel for 1 transfer. So 3 out of my 5 transfers here, he´s been my ZL and Elder James has been an AP for 3 transfers, it´s so crazy how fast the time flies and that so many missionaries that I know are leaving soon! But I´m so grateful to be here!


I love you all the MOSTIEST!

Love,
Sister Hicks

Fatima and Luzinete were baptized!! February 17, 2014

Hey Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

 

So yesterday was super great. Fatima was baptized and has still been able to quit smoking! She´s such a rock! Saturday morning when we were walking with her to the baptismal interview she said that she woke up and really wanted to smoke. She said that the temptation was super big. But she said, "No, I´m not going to give in!" She just put a piece of candy in her mouth and kept on going. She´s super awesome! And Luzinete, she´s so great. She has gotten to know the Church for a while because she works with the wife of a bishop in another ward and she just decided that she wanted to be baptized and just stayed strong. Her husband doesn´t support her much but she just keeps on going!

 

Oh, also, we had a mission-wide conference that was sooo great! Elder Fernandes (he was the mission president here before President Hall-the most recent mission president) and his wife spoke to us. It was such a great conference and the best part was that I got to see all my buds! When Sister Stolk and I saw each other we just started to cry! haha, it was so good to see her and catch up. It´s only been a month but it was so fun to see her and talk to her! We´re definitely going to be friends for a while.

 

Hey Mom, David Lewis emailed me saying that he lives with Sister Cameron´s "friend" but I can´t respond back to him because of the new rule. His email address is david.lewis@myldsmail.net. Could you email him for me and say that I got the email and that that´s so cool! Thanks!

 

Also, just a reminder, it´s already transfers! So, I´ll be emailing next Wednesday, not monday.

 

Oh, other super exciting news, Queimadas was officially turned into a ward yesterday! so now it´s the Queimadas ward, not Queimadas branch! I am so happy! Also, Danilo (recent-convert) was called to be the ward executive clerk and he´s going to receive the Melcezidek (spelling is completely off) priesthood really soon!!!

 

Mom:

I´m so proud that you´re still my strong Olympic fan, just know that I´m here cheering on Team USA with pride!

 

Oh and I´m sooooo happy that Jason got his visa! That is sooo exciting! I am so happy for him! Definitely an answer to prayers!

 

haha, sounds like the Valentine´s dance was fun! haha, you go Mom! I wish I could have seen you and Dad during the dance instruction :)

 

Oh, thanks for the Ensign, I finally got it this week! You´re the best! Also, I´m going to write her but I got a package from Sister Holtom, it was Christmas cards from the Cub Scouts, tell her thanks from me!

 

I definitely know the feeling when you see people come back to the church. That´s another rewarding part of missionary work is helping to bring back the lost sheep.

 

I can´t believe the snow storm that you guys had! That´s crazy! The picture of the grill, what?! haha, and I´m not even surprised that Greg still went to work! "He needs to work!"

 

Send all my love to Mrs. Russo, Em, and Chester! I hope that you´re able to meet up with them and tell them all how much I love and miss them!

 

So, I haven´t eaten too many weird foods yet. One thing that I learned yesterday was that it´s bad manners to so eat one helping of food. It´s a sign that you didn´t like the food so you ALWAYS have to do the Greg-style and eat two helpings :) haha, oh something that I had yesterday was passion fruit ice cream! It´s sooo good here! passion fruit is called maracujá here.

 

My bishop is super cool and is sooo willing to help. We had a meeting with him yesterday and he said, you guys are doing a great job it´s us that need to help out more!

 

The language is improving a lot too, it helps to live with two Brazilian sisters!

 

Dad:

First off, thanks for including that talk from Elder Hugh B. Brown. It was exactly what I needed to hear this week. Thanks Dad. You always know exactly what to write.

 

haha, I hope you get back into your Olympics mojo soon! haha, but Mom said you´re doing a great job commentating so keep up the good work! :)

 

That´s heart breaking about Sister Gregory, I hope the doctors are able to help her soon and that she´ll start feeling better quickly. I´ll definitely keep her in my prayers. I don´t remember her, what ward is she from?

 

That´s super exciting about Sister Brown too! Wow!

 

Bryan:

Haha, I´m glad to hear that you didn´t forget your birthday and that you had a nice dinner and cake (with the girls´ help)

 

haha, I laughed when I read that the ward nursery was like a "Ukranian nursery" haha, that was really nice of you guys to buy all of those new toys for them!

 

Lindsey:

I´m so glad to hear that Valentine´s day went so well and that Norah was able to give out valentines, those were the days :)

 

I can´t believe Norah is going to Elementary school next year! That´s so crazy! She´s growing up way too fast!

Sounds great too, all the volunteering that you guys are going to do!

 

Keep enjoying the warm weather! :)

 

 

 

So about a week or so ago, I was reading in the Ensign and I came across a talk that is really great about missionary work. Elder Nielsen, of the Seventy, gave a talk entitled, Accelerating the Lord´s Game Plan (something like this) It´s a super great talk and the part that I liked the most was that he said that as members, we need to pray for the missionaries in our ward and for their investigators by name. So, just a challenge for you all to go up to the missionaries in your ward and ask for the names of their investigators. We´re doing this in our ward now and it seems to be helping a lot!

 

Well, I´ve got to go but thank you so much for all the love and support! I love you and miss you the MOSTIEST!

 

Love,

Sister Hicks

Just Gotta Keep Going :) February 3, 2014

Hey Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

Hey, so first off, thank you soooo much for the card from everyone! I absolutely loved it! We had interviews with the mission president this past week so we got mail! Thank you so much everyone! It made my day!  I loved it! Also, thanks Mom for the other encouraging card that you send me too! You guys are the best!

Oh Mom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I know it´s not until Thursday but FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO!!!

So this week was a little rough, just appointments falling through, people not wanting to talk to us and just the normal mission stuff but if learned anything so far in the mission field it´s that we have to keep on working and keep your head up.

Oh random funny story, so I was looking on the list of less actives and there´s someone whose name is Kevin Costner Silva (or something like this) I feel like it´s a joke from some American elder but I´m sure it must be a real name. hahah, I almost died when I saw it.

Mom: First off thanks for sending more packages! You´re the best! I hope I´ll get them soon because the post office is striking :/

Oh and Mom and Dad, what were you guys thinking? Watching a movie about two missionaries getting kidnapped in Russia! haha, you guys are crazy, but just so that you guys know, I´m just fine :)

haha, aaah, I miss all of Greg´s phrases :) haha, I´m going to have to learn so many of his new ones! Like "oh yeah..."

Oh I totally forgot that the Olympics started this week! Go Team USA!

Hey Mom, parabéns! That´s so cool that you gave a pass along card in the UPS store. You go Mom!

That´s so cool that Austin got his visa!

Oh random story, David Lewis is companions with Sister Cameron´s "friend" in Germany!

Dad: Yes, I definitely know what it feels like to have no one come to church...definitely not the best feeling in the world. But, we just have to keep on going and keep our heads up :)

Hey Dad, congrats on the new job position! Sounds like it will be a great new experience! You´re going to be a great and that´s so interesting how much EADS is changing.

Dad, I loved what you wrote about your ideas for the temple day. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I think you should focus on what you wrote. It´s so true that sometimes we don´t understand how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us.

Lindsey:

haha, well I didn´t have anymore dogs peeing on me this week :)

My heart goes out to your friends that are passing through hard times, I will definitely keep them in my prayers. It really is true that our Heavenly Father blesses us when we pass through difficult experiences and we grow so much.

That is so sweet about visiting Lucy. You truly are teaching them what it means to be a disciple of Christ. And, they are just sweet spirits, Norah and Alice, that they would bring joy to anyone and everyone they meet.

So this week was not the best week ever but just means that this coming week can only improve :)

We had a baptism planned, her name is Imanoeli. She was a former investigator and we talked to her and everything was planned and she was feeling more and more ready but starting Thursday she was working a lot and we weren´t able to find her in her house for 4 days. Then Sunday morning, we went again and this woman came to the door and said that she is in Campina Grande visiting her dad and she might stay there for up to 20 days...sometimes it feels like you just have the worst luck in the world, haha but it´s all good!

I´ve been studying the Chrst-like atributes a lot this week. (Chapter 6 in PMG) I love this chapter and I would recommend it to anyone. I was stuyding about diligence. It really is true that we have to keep on trying. I´m learning too that Heavenly Father wants us to work in a different way and we just have to learn what will work best in this area. We´re trying to work a lot more with the members as well. We´ve planned lots of Family Nights and we´re going to work more with less actives.

Well, I hope you guys are all doing well and I love and miss you guys!

Keep on sharing the wonderful Gospel message with everyone!

I love you the MOSTIEST!

Love,

Sister Hicks

So EVERYTHING'S new!! January 20, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

So this week was absolutely CRAZY!! I´ll explain why...

So I arrived here on Wednesday and it was P-day so after we wrote our emails, Sister Moore bought groceries and I organized my clothes. Sister Moore was pretty sick and was coughing a lot! We just worked for 3 hours because it was p-day, 6 pm to 9 pm. 

Then the next day was our district meeting because it was transfer week. So our entire zone was there and then we divided up into districts. It´s so weird to be in a zone with so many elders. I know this sounds weird but my zone in Liberdade has 16 sisters and just 10 elders, so I was really used to having a ton of sisters. 

The Rangel zone just has us 4 sisters and the rest are elders. I think there´s about 16 elders. I know this is how it always used to be before the age change but it´s definitely different. So one of my zone leaders, Elder Herrera was already my LZ (lider de zona) when I was serving in Queimadas and he´s just been in this zone for one more transfer than me. He´s really great and it´s cool to be in the same zone again and the other LZ is Elder Georgianna. I don´t know him really well but he seems good too. He´s from Oregon. 

So anyway, after District Meeting, Sister Moore was still feeling pretty sick and we talked to our LZs and they told her to just stay at home (she´d already been sick for a week) So Thursday, I ended up staying in our house all day (except for one hour when I went on exchanges with another sister that lives with us, Sister Cavalcanti). Let´s just say it´s not the funnest thing to stay in the house all day studying :) But I think probably every missionary has already done this. So. Friday morning she was still sick and we ended up going to the hospital and they said that she just had the flu. But, Friday, I stayed with her in our apartment the whole day too...haha and I just went on exchanges for half an hour. 

Well, it´s Friday night about 10:20 and the AP calls and another sister wanted to talk to me. She said, "Hey Sister Hicks, so you know about the emergency transfer right?" I said, "Huh?! What emergency transfer?" 

So aparently President Nogueira talked to one companionship and said that he was going to do an emergency transfer but he forgot to call us. So I had to wake Sister Moore up to tell her that she was going to be transfered the next morning. I don´t know exactly why but I think it was so that Sister Moore will be closer to a doctor and the hospital. So Saturday morning I received a new companion, Sister Cameron (super cool, she´s from AUSTRALIA! She´s the first every Australian to serve in Brasil!) But anyways, this means that Sister Cameron and I are opening this area. So we don´t know ANYTHING about this area! haha, completely white washed! But, I´m excited for this new experience: new area, new companion, new EVERYTHING! I´ve been asking for advice from everyone! And so I´ll ask advice from you guys too. Did any of you guys ever open an area and what did you do that helped or was effective? But, we´re just talking to EVERYONE in the street and we´re getting to know the members really well. 

I really like my area, it´s definitely different than my other area but I´m trying not to compare. This week was hard because I miss Queimadas A LOT, but this is the mission field and you just have to love every area and more importantly the people. 

So, any advice is welcome and every prayer would be great too :)

So yes, that´s my crazy story of the week. 

Mom:

So yes, we´re definitely way closer to the mission home but it´s still not in our zone but we just have to grab a bus to get to the mission home and the mission office. I think we´ll be going to the mission office on Friday to have interviews with the mission pres. 

I don´t know if I´ll get packages faster because we only get them when our leaders go to the mission office but I think I should get that package with the shorts soon! Thanks so much Mom! You´re the best! 

I can´t think of any Mary Kay stuff that I need, really to be honest, I´m not even using make-up anymore becuase it just sweats off. For a little while I was just using mascara but now I don´t even use any make up at all haha...oh Brasil. 

The only things I can think of would be gold fish, pretzels, Peanut Butter :), oreos, any type of sweet thing! You´re the best Mom! 

That´s so cool that you got to see the Fitzgerald´s! I´m glad to hear they´re doing well. Tell them hi from me :)

Aah, I forgot that Katie was pregnant, that´s so sweet that you made a quilt for her. 

I loved what you said Mom about how we´re here to grow as missionaries, because that is soooo true. 

Umm, so about having a special needs brother, I don´t know. I think having a special needs brother just changes your perspective and your view of others. For me, I feel like it has helped me to be more opening and accepting. And it helps you to remember that truly all of us are sons and daughters of God. I don´t know if I have any suggestion, probably just to laugh at all the crazy things that happen. I feel like our family is so much funnier with Greg :)

Dad: 

I definitely remember the tubing trip that we went on when we were in Aruba. I don´t think I´ve ever laughed so hard and I remember how much my arms hurt afterwards. Haha, it was so fun with Kimball and I think even funnier watching Taylor and Bryan. "Taylor, you have to keep loose, well not THAT loose!" haha, oh Taylor, that was so funny :)

haha, yes Dad! You rock that wheelie briefcase just like your daughter did! No brincadeira! (joke!) haha, but it does help aleviate back problems ;)

Dad, I really liked what you said about D and C 121 and 122. I loved what you said about writing our own D and C 122. I want to do this too. It´s so true, sometimes we focus on all the hard things in life but we forget that our Savior already did everything for us. He truly knows what it feels like to be all alone and suffering. I think this is perfect Dad to talk with missionaries about. 

I´ve already D+C 121 and 122 a lot of times during my mission during the hard moments and the good moments. It´s very conforting especially during a mission. 

Bryan: Haha, that´s so funny about Norah, "you´re ruining her life!" haha, she´s gonna be fun when she grows up :) hahah oh Norah...

Lindsey: That sounds like that was a fun adventure going to the Asian grocery store. Oh and I just remembered, that´s crazy about the water! haha, yep, I definitley know what it´s like to not have water! 

So one thing that´s different here about the climate, it is sooo much hotter! I can´t believe I´m saying this but I don´t know why I thought Queimadas was hot. It is SUPER hot here! haha, The sun is just that much stronger. The other sisters´area actualy has the beach and it has the farthest eastern point in all of the Americas. I want to visit the place one day, I think you guys can probably look it up on line. 

So the apartment isn´t too bad. This morning, we cleaned a lot and I chucked a bunch of just old and dirty stuff in the trash so it´s looking a lot better. The toilet isn´t working so we fill up a bucket and dump the water down to flush it...haha yep, that´s right your germ freak niece is dumping water down the toilet every day to get it to flush but I´m going to call Sister Nogueira to get it fixed. The other sisters have already called and a guy "fixed" it but it still leaks. 

But the important thing is that I´m happy and healthy! I´m very excited to serve here and it´s great to serve in an area that has a chapel! It´s super pretty! 

Well, I hope all of you are doing well and have fun Mom and Dad!

I love you all the MOSTIEST! Love you and you guys are always in my prayers!

Love you!

Sister Hicks