[Mexico MTC, Week 4] - August 19, 2014

Hey Guys!

Well it's technically 4 weeks tomorrow, not a whole month (I have decided there is a difference), but thank you! Okay so I better address the letter stuff right now while I'm thinking about it. I have received a total of 12 letters today and yesterday. I am legendary in my district for the amount of mail I receive, and I can't complain. I got Mer and Jon's letters today, and Jon's interpretation of Nephi decommissioning Laban made me laugh. And I agree with Cole. The Good Island does always beat the Evil Castle. I read large swaths of The White Panther's [Jonah] letter to my district, and they all thought it was hilarious. Keep 'em coming. Thank you guys all so much for the letters. Tell Grandma and Grandpa Tams that I got another of theirs, and I got one from Jeneile today as well. I really do love all the mail. I hope mine get there soon. I'm not sure that I put enough stamps on them, so they could just be out there floating in Mexican postal limbo. So sorry if that's the case. I'll write each of you huge letters and send them once I'm back in the States. 

Speaking of the States, guess what country everyone wants to go back to? I would be excited to go to Texas regardless of anyone else's opinions, but a lot of people are lamenting the absence of US luxuries. Mostly regarding mail [and] food. I can't say I'm not happy returning to the land of the Bald Eagle. 

That's right! School is starting! It's really strange not being around for that. Tell Jonah and Isaac I will be praying for them and that these years will be great for them. I can feel it. Speaking of feeling weird things, I would be curious to hear if you guys had felt any promptings from the Spirit that were peculiar. And it is a real privilege to give blessings. I have had the opportunity to give several here, and they have all been awesome experiences. I'll have to tell you about some of them later. 

Noah's response to comments about our getting a Shuffle loaded up with music to send to him: 

I'm so pumped to hear music that isn't hymns. I hope that isn't sacrilegious to say. Motab is great! Throw a requiem on there and I'll be set. Really though, all of the missionaries are desperate for music that isn't hymnal. This girl started playing Disney songs on the piano, and there were like 15 Elders in the room in like 15 minutes. They follow the sounds of it like sharks to blood. During TALL, we can hear it, and it is like the best part of my day. Tell Brianna thank you for all the help she gave you guys. 

1) Has your district had any problems? Are things going better now?

1) [Any] problems were byproducts of juxtaposed personalities. [That] combined with the natural stress of the CCM, being away from home, and adjusting to missionary life in addition to learning Spanish have made a delicious satanic stew of destruction, and my district has partaken heartily. Find a way to include that metaphor in my blog. I'm quite proud of that.

2) When do you get to go to the temple/visitors center?

2) We went today! I took a bunch of pictures and will include them below. It was seriously awesome. The Mexico City Visitor's Center is way cooler than any back in the states. The coolest part was getting to drive through the city and see real people (missionaries aren't real people). The bubble effect going on here is like Utah Valley on steroids, so we needed to see real life to get us feeling like normal. Oh! And I bought one of those cool scripture cases! And I forgot to take a picture! Lo siento!  There is a cool rendition of the Tree of Life vision on the front. I'll send pictures next week. This is my second to last P day in the CCM. I can't tell you how excited I am to go serve and get out of here. 

3) Mom wants to know if you got the information she sent you about your bike.

3) Not yet. If she sent it a week ago then it has about half a week or more to get here.

4) Who are the people in your district who have become your good friends?

4) Well I actually feel like I have become pretty good friends with pretty much everyone in my district. I have been praying to be close to my district and I can really see that prayer being answered. I obviously spend more time with the Elders than the Hermanas, though. I really like Elder Andrews. He's twenty and just finished a year at BYU. He's from Montana and has been a farmer most his life. He's really humble and down to earth and loves hearing stories about you guys and especially about Dad, who he thinks is hilarious. He has some pretty good stories and is pretty funny. But I really like everyone. Elder Niblett is really smart and knows good music. He listens to Radiohead (not as religiously as I do, but he still listens to them) and other sweet bands. Hermana Mcarthur is working on an English degree at BYU I, so there's someone else here who knows writers. That's always a plus.

5) What are some of the spiritual insights you've gained lately in your study?

5) Well I had some interesting thoughts come to me about repentance. Hebrews chapter one clearly outlines Christ as the one who holds the priesthood keys of creation, and Isaiah chapter 43 verse 25 states that Heavenly Father forgets our sins after true repentance, and even though I'm sure that is mostly a metaphorical promise, I'm sure there is an element of literal manifestation in that promise as well. "Forgetting" implies to a degree time and the difference between two periods of time, even though God experiences time differently. Also, if repentance is change, then it must be an infinite principle if it has infinite consequences, unlike how most of the Christian world views change. Therefore, I think that through the power of the Atonement and Christ's role as creator, when we repent honestly, Christ posses the ability to actually recreate a person to be more like Him, to the degree that they are actually repentant. This is why Heavenly Father can forget our sins without an actual hole in His memory: He remembers our sins, but "we," per se, no longer exist. We have been recreated into a new version of us that is more like Christ and is therefore less removed from the grace and blessings of God and is more happy. The reason I think this is so significant is because Christ exercises the same power of creation that was used to organize the world to organize us actively, which is why even the priesthood's reach into creative powers are just as active as other keys and must remain with Christ. Anyway, tell me what you think. 

Anyway, we are healthy and happy. We are all healed up and are doing well. I received revelation to translate the El Libro de Mormon to English. It will help me study all the things I need to be studying and review the language. I felt so blessed to receive that revelation, since I had been praying for help with the language. Once I am finished with the El Libro de Mormon (several months into my mission, obviously), I'll switch and go English to Spanish. I could end up learning how to talk super formally, but Heavenly Father gave me an answer to my prayers, and I am going to be obedient. 

I love you all more than I can write. I'm super excited to call you in the airport in Tejas. Gather all those who want to hear the ambrosia sound of my voice. I twill call. 

Love,

Elder Hickman



More from Sister Medeiros here (including more pictures):  [http://hermanamedeiros.blogspot.com/2014/08/dont-be-weak-link-in-your-chain.html]