Hello World!

Another one of those weeks, little eventful, loads of cancelled appointments, But, it gave us time to search a couple less-actives. The truth is, although we don´t have loads of investigators in the moment, we´ve got loads of great less-actives that want to come back to church. And, we´ve got Over and Patricia who are the greatest recent converts in the world.

Last night, Élder Limos made us jugo de papaya [papaya juice]and I think it was out of charity because he never shares his jugo with us, but it was so awful. I think he just put tons and tons of sugar or something because we were like dying just trying to drink it to accept the gift.

Saturday was a Noche Blanca. It wasn´t my idea, Talon. But Naranjos 2 had a baptism there, and there was total 8 from the zone.

So, Mom, you want to hear about my birthday. Well, for some reason, I didn´t want people to say much. I didn´t mention my birthday for the leading days, and in the end just Patricia Patiño and Pte and Hna Calderón called, which is how I liked. I didn´t want any fuss, it felt weird that it should be a special day and not just another day in the mission. I know it sounds boring, but I wanted it that way. Ya my next birthday I´ll do something like grill steaks again.

¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Congrats to Lily on her BAPTISM!!!!!!!

Always Great,

Élder Hicken

Feliz Día del Padre [Happy Father's Day]

I don´t know when Father´s Day is in the USA, but here it was yesterday. So Feliz Día, papa.

Rough week, not much success. The biggest success was meeting a kid Dylan Garzon that, although he´s got a rough past, wants to change and accepted the doctrinal truths easily.

The fun part of the week is that Pte and Hna Calderon came to visit Pereira and invited the zone leaders and Élder Martinez and I to dinner in their hotel and I kid you not it was the restaurant más pinchado I have been in. A bit expensive, but a great experience. The next day Hna Calderon invited us to a mexican restaurant in a mall food court in Pereira and the atmosphere was all different.

I'm bit on [by] bit learning a lesson of diligence. You RMs know why. The more diligent, the more success we have. If we depend on God for that success, it´s exponential, and not just an inclined slope.

Shout out to Mackenzie aka Sister Macfarlane who goes to the MTC this week and to Lily who gets baptized on Saturday!

In Pereira, all the Stake we are doing a "Noche Blanca" where there are many baptisms. Élder Martinez and I don´t have anyone who gets baptized Saturday, but the other companionship should have two.

Always Great,

Élder Hicken

Baptisms!

¡¡Sí!! Patricia and Over were baptized this weekend. It was a great service and we had assigned members to prayers and messages and everything, those members were there, but almost no one more. 

At 6 USA played against Paraguay and at 8:30 Colombia against Costa Rica, so that was a bit tricky. Here, if there´s a futbol [soccer] game, the world stops almost literally. The good part is that USA and Colombia are continuing from the group, with the USA out ahead.

Congrats, Mom on the new calling!

Last Sunday, after problems for not having a Lider Misional [ward mission leader] for a month, the Bishop told me I was the Lider Misional. Luckily, they called a real Lider Misional yesterday, in the picture it´s the tall guy on the left. He´s in white because he baptized Patricia.

Also, the Hna Calderón sent out the pictures of our house as examples to the rest of the mission so we're a bit happy for that. But, I think it´s more because we actually sent all the pictures, not for being so clean....

Always Great,

Élder Hicken

Copa America

Hey anyone know that the Copa America started on friday and the final is to be played in the USA? They´ve been talking about it for months here, and I swear I didn´t even know the US had a team before the mission, but they lost against Colombia 2-1 on friday. Either way USA won against Bolivia 4-0 the other week but it was amistoso [friendly].

Patricia Patiño passed her baptismal interview on Friday, and Élder De La Cruz, the LZ (he´s from my CCM group) told me that she had a problem with the interview and I had to tell her that we would talk to the mission presidente so that someone with more experience would continue the interview. I explained her the whole dang thing before they told me it was a joke. So, we waited for Élder Martinez to get there and we did the same prank but he didn´t understand anything -- he's so new, this kid.

I realized this week (with help) that I was being impatient with that -- he´s new -- that I wanted him to ya [already] know the things, but like he didn´t know them yet, it was stressing him out. It made me think in the relation between God and us, thankful for his patience because we are effectuate dunces and he´s got enough patience to help us learn bit by bit.

Of the four that live in the house, Élder Limos is the most prankster. The other day he took out a piece of the shower knob making it so that the shower wouldn´t turn on. Although the knob turned and turned, it was missing the piece to open the tap and let the water out. No matter how much we turned or pressed or tried without the knob, the tap could not be opened. It wasn´t until he finished his prank putting the piece again like nothing had happened that the tap would open.

Much of the world thinks they can praise God, do good things, and other principles along those lines and they´ll get to God. But, until the power of the Priesthood is applied with it´s saving ordenances and the effects of the Atonement, the "tap won´t open". Now that the Priesthood has been restored, the "tap opens" and the eternal blessings or "water" is available, letting us be spiritually or in this case physically clean.

This Saturday is the baptisms of Patricia and Over, hoping to send pictures next week. I´m sure Ëlder Martinez has a couple pictures of me, I´ll see if I can get my digital hands on them.

Always Great,

Élder Hicken