Week 72: Last Transfer in Tuxtla

 

   Hello Everyone!

 

Well my amazing campanion Hermana C... is leaving tomorrow to go to one of my old wards... we are both sad. I have never loved a campanion like I love her. The great thing is that I will be able to see her after the mission at BYU. I get to train a new sister trainer leader which I´m excited about. It hit hard today that I only have 6 weeks to make things happen. I find myself tired and ready to give in but I decided I don´t want to be a missionary that just finishes. I want to give the Lord all I have for this last 6 weeks. Starting with the girls in my zone:) Hey side note R.... is in my zone he is going to train and open an area this transfer.. 

Well R.. ended up not getting baptized this weekend. It was very sad. We took him to the temple to teach him a lesson and a group of his friends that are members of our ward came with us and the spirit was super strong. We told him that generations past and future were celebrating that he was going to become a member on Saturday. He cried a whole whole bunch and we asked him if he would prepare to be baptized on Saturday and he said yes.  Then the next day he called us and told us he knows the church is true but that he wants to hold off his baptism until his girlfriend and his family can come to his baptism... we were pretty sad but we know he will be baptized soon! 

Our investigator family is so happy in their new home and with protection from the rain. They came to church by themselves this week.  The 12 year old daughter told us,"I know that this is the true church and I want to be baptized." The daughter told us she had a dream that a man came to take to her (a man sent from God and he told her the church was true) She told us, " I used to think church was boring but now I love it because I know it is true:) 

I´m so happy to be a missionary. On Saturday we got to be part of Helping Hands and picked up bottles. My companion and I walked around having the time of our lives. After the activity a group of missionaries were together and 3 of the American sister missionaries that I love and respect (Hermana M.., H..., and my companion) all told me I read your blog every week before I left on the mission. It filled my heart with such joy and realized that my dream is coming to an end. Well I love you all with all my heart and plead that you can keep the people we teach in your prayers! I love you all:) 

Hermana Hickman

Week 71: I love this work!

Ok sorry to all those that asked questions, but todays letter is dedicated to A..., and her sweet children!

We continue to teach L and her family they completed their fourth asistencia at church this Sunday. We still have so much to teach them, but they continue to grow. The children are so intelligent and always want to say the pray and answer the questions that we ask their mom. We talked a little about the plan of happiness this week and the three kids told us that Adam and Eve had to eat the fruit so that we could come to earth and experience new things... the kids love going to church and you can see the light they have in their eyes. They are so cute with us they always want to play games and go with us wherever we go:) But the story has only started. I only told you a little bit of their life on Mother´s day but for those that don´t know L... and her children have nothing... they live inside of a room that is the size of a office cubical with nothing but a suitcase and random dirty clothes. Their house is made out of broken wood and a door that does not close. Their bathroom is outside and is in equal condition. On Sunday we talked about L.. in ward council and it was mentioned that the elders in our ward had 2 extra beds that they could give them. So we all made a plan that we were going to go to her house and put the new beds in her house that day. When we showed up at 4pm yesterday we found out that the L..´s neighbor who introduced L...to the gospel and takes her to church every Sunday as a part of her house is a shed that she was not using. The member gave L...the shed and when we got there we 7 other members showed up to help. We moved all her clothes over from her room size house to her new ( in her eyes mansion)   house. Then the elders showed up with the beds... We all stood watching the children faces when the elders showed up with beds for them to sleep on. Once everything was in place we decided that with so many members we would use the time to teach L... and her children something. We all sang "Near my God to thee" and in that moment I just watched everyone's faces as we all cramped into the new little house and sang. All of us felt something a little different but special:) We said the opening prayer and started talking about the priesthood.During the time we made the move it had been raining but not to hard) then all of the sudden a few members started to run to lift up the beds because water was running into the house... the back door was so low that the rain ( now that it was pooring) was flowing into their new house.... we lifted up the beds and then we all stood in shock. I left the house into the pouring rain to try and get something to stop the rain from coming into the house... I found a big peice of wood and it stopped it for a second, then my companion and one of the elders entered the rain and found something to block the water. We put our minds together and built a wall of wood and rocks and then a trail in the mud for the water to go down a drain. At this point we were all soaked from head to toe... but really though... I have never been so wet in my life. We finally finished an hour later, by then the water had calmed down and Elder P.., Elder F..., Hermana C... our Bishop and I stood outside soaking wet but with a feeling that we joy that one can´t really express. Yesterday, I really felt love for a family and wanted them to be safe and happy. I got to talk to L... for a min after we finished and before we left and she was just so happy. She is such a sweet humble women and I love her with all my heart. She still is very nervous about being baptized but I think we made a huge step forward with her yesterday, because she felt our love and the love of our ward.  Most importantly she felt the love of her Heavenly Father:) I know the work we did yesterday was little but it changed my life and want to continue to serve and love the people here in Chiapas:) Yesterday was probably the most wonderful day of my mission:) I love you all and I love this work that I´m in with all my heart,mind,and strength:)

I love you all so much and hope you can feel part of what I´m doing here. Because you all helped me become who I am and I would not change this experience for the world:) I love you all:)

Hermana Hickman 

Week 70: Happy Mother's Day Skype:)

Week 69: Mission President wants to clone me:)

Share 5 things that made you smile:

1.  Getting this letter from President G.... this week, "Thank you for being the person you are, for caring for everyone else, for trying to improve yourself, and loving your Savior! You are superb in every way! I wish we could clone you and keep your clones through the end of our mission. I´m so glad you are baptizing and having promising investigators. Love ya!"

2. R... the investigador that I told you about a while ago that we contacted in the street came to church this week:) He came late to Sacrament meeting but when he walked in and sat him down next to a young man his age and when he sat down they started to talk. R... leaned over and said we know each other from back in junior high:) It was a cool moment but then a people passed to share their testimony I looked over at him and I saw that he was crying; he was feeling the spirit.

3.    We contacted a random lady on the street and she invited to come in... So we went into her house and she started playing some christian rock music. It was super funny... she did not want anything to do with us but she wanted us to listen to her song that just repeated "Jesus I love you" the whole song. 

4. So we had another exchange and I said another prayer that things would go well in my area being that I was going to stay and work there. It was an amazing day:) We only had like 3 hours to work but we ended up having 6 lesons and we found a 16 year old boy sitting on the street. I just randomly started talking to him and he was super sad becaue he got in a fight with his mom. We sat down and talked with him and the coolest part is he said I have been to your church 5 times:))))))) WOW I got so happy and realized in that moment that Heavenly Father really does give us what we ask for:))))

5. We have a family that has come to church two weeks in a row and this week we went to go visit them. We taught them about the Restoration. The  10 year old boy told us when started talking about why are there so many churches on the earth today, that the other churches they are all wrong.  My companion asked how do you know and the little boy said..... because God told Joseph Smith in a vision. When the little boy said that I was in shock that a 10 year old could have so much faith :) 

This week has been a great one and with lots of blessing. I will continue to work my tail off every day. I have learned that I need to serve more... how I´m not sure yet but that is my goal:) I love Hna. C.... un buen and know that I´m with her for a reason:) I love being a missionary and today it hit me that I only have 62 days left and I still remember when mom´s letter said week 1 "wow how time flies:)" I love you all lot and we will talk on Sunday:))))) 

 

I love you all:) The church is true and the book is blue 

Hermana Hickman 

Week 68: Watermelon..like a gift from heaven

5 things that made you smile:

1. Ok it is mega hot here and it makes us fall asleep sometimes because it is so hot. So it was amazing we went to visit this little old lady who  we first thought was an investigator and then we found out she is a super less active member of the church. We taught her outside but before we left she said do you want some watermelon..... it was a gift from the heaven it was exactly what we needed to keep working :)

2. We went on Saturday to look for a contact and knocked on the door we thought it might be and a lady came out and was soooo mad at us she was like where are you guys from and we told her the USA and she was like why don´t you go preach to all the people in the USA that kill all the Mexicans. Sometimes  people hate us here.

3. Well Hermono U... got baptized this week and he is so happy. He gave the closing prayer in Sacrament meeting yesterday. It was neat because on Saturday he invited one of his sisters/ brother-in-law to his baptism.They live far away and they came. He told us right before he got baptized. "Hermanas, congrats you saved my soul that was super lost" 

4. Well our golden investigator A.. did not go to church and we went Sunday night to go find out why and if something had come up like always.  He told us Hermanas..... I have told missionaries before that I was going to go to church and then never went and it did not bother me and I just went about my day but today when I did not go to church I felt sad all day. It was cool to hear that because when he tolds us that I could tell that the spirit is really working with him. It was neat we talked about the plan of happiness with him and he told us I want this for all of my family ( his family is crazy and we normally teach him outside) and I got to promise him as a representative of Jesus Christ that if he choses this path and stays faithful his family will join him. 

5. Ok so intercambios (exchanges) started this week and it stresses me out when I stay in my area because it is a lot harder. When we stay in our area we are the only one that knows and you feel very alone. But this week I said a lot of little prayers in my heart that the Lord would help me find people to teach and that at the end of the day I could feel happy with my work. The exchange was on Wednesday and I stayed with a sister has a hard time talking in lessons or contacting. At the end of Wednesday I was dead... I would pass her the word or give her time to talk in the lesson and she would talk for like 10 secs so I just keep talking and talking all day. But we found 5 new people and invited them all to be baptized with a date:) The night before with my companion and I  had planned 25 contacts but the sister did not want to contact. She goes home in 4 weeks from her mission so I wanted her to enjoy herself and not force her to contact so I talked to everyone. At the end of the day we had 25 contacts:) But the funniest part was when we got on a crammed bus and I was carrying 6 Books of Mormon and  Hermana's huge bag to stay the night and a huge Spanish book and there was no space for me to sit. I had like half my bottom on the chair... I love Chiapas :) lol.

I love you all:)

Hermana Hickman