Yeah, I am planning on writing everyone
nice, long letters to send once I get back to the states. I'm not quite
sure why the ones I have sent haven't gotten there, but I suspect I
didn't use enough stamps. As far as packing goes, I will never pack as
well as Mom, but I think I should be alright. I confess that I am
excited to get to my mission, but I am worried that I didn't capitalize
on my time in the CCM as well as I could have. I still can't communicate
super effectively in Spanish and I feel like I am really not respecting
the weight of the calling I have received. I hope I have a trainer who
will help me as I try and whip myself back into missionary gear.
Good luck on both of your classes, Dad, and cheer
extra hard for me while you watch the Connecticut game. I am super
excited for the Texas game. Let's hope we thrash them again. Tell Jonah I
will respond to his letter ASAP.
I liked your thoughts about how repentance and the Atonement help to
"recreate" us as new people who are closer in our natures and
dispositions to Christ. It was an interesting way to present some
fundamental truths. When I was reading what you thought,
I was reminded of the series of questions in Alma 5--ways to gauge to
what extent we have been recreated along the lines that you mention. The
questions there constitute a really excellent interview to give
yourself now and again as you measure your own conversion.
Hopefully as you read those lines you can also remember me reading them
with conviction, a braided belt wrapped around my head as I stood in a
plain robe in our church cultural hall. I may have looked ridiculous,
but I felt every single one of those phrases
as I delivered them to the YM and YW there. It is actually a fairly
emotional memory for me.
I also feel from your response that you didn't take
my thoughts on the re-creation of the self through the atonement as
literally as I did, although I suspect that you are more right than I
am. I will go back and reread Alma 5 in English, although me and Elder
Ríding have been doing so in Spanish at night. It really helps our
pronunciation and Spanish reading speeds to do so. We have Hermano
Alvarez to thank for that suggestion. Yes, I remember you reading that,
and I distinctly remember feeling A) super proud to be a Hickman and
your son and B) the spirit extremely strongly. Thank you so much for
reminding me of that. I love you guys.
Mom also wants you to take pictures of your classroom, dorm, and so
on if you can. Can you do that? She figures that you'll want to have
pictures of those later on as you remember your time in the CCM.
Yeah, I can do that! We aren't allowed to take
pictures on days other than P days, but I think these last few days will
be pretty lax. Even if I can't, I still
have part of Monday.
Have you gotten the letter about the bike information yet? The white
helmet is supposed to keep you cool in the hot sunlight, but you can
switch it to another color if you like.
Yes! I got it this week along with another
bajillion letters. Would you let Brianna know that her letter came?
Actually it came twice, but it was fun to read twice, so it was alright.
I got your guys' letters too. I still hold the record for most mail by a
mile. Whenever we get mail people are mumbling bitter jokes about how
"Hickman probably got nine letters." It's an animosity I am proud to
receive. I will count the total before I leave. I got the doughnuts you
guys sent me too! Thank you guys so much! I really love them, and the
box is a nice dose of "what the crap." I just stared at it for a couple
of minutes. I'll attach pictures and you guys will understand. Mexican
doughnut companies are weird. Elder Riding and I ate one and I have
hidden it from the rest of my district. It's one thing to share glazed
doughnuts. It's another to share assorted. Some things I just can't do
yet.
How has your teaching of your "investigators" gone?
Pretty well! To summarize the nuances of each and
every lesson of both of our investigators in one letter would take way
too long, so I will give you the main points. Elder Alvarez plays the
role of our first investigator, Israel. It's kind of cool to teach
someone about el Evangelio de Jesucristo con el nombre Israel. His story
is that he works all the time and his family is struggling because of
it. We have been teaching him for something like three weeks now, and we
just set a baptismal date yesterday for the eighth of September. His
family is doing much better. His wife is pregnant, and his oldest child
is very young, so it is the perfect time for him to be learning about
the gospel. Our second investigator is named Erick. We met him via door
approach. We learned in our first lesson that his whole family died in a
car accident and his mom is in a coma. Interestingly enough, this isn't
his need. He has minimal faith in Jesus Christ and really doesn't
desire change, or at least he didn't until his mom died. We gave her a
blessing (not really, but we did in the role play), and then she died.
We haven't taught him since his mom died. I'll let you know how that
lesson goes. My teachers are awesome. My morning teacher is Hermano
Alvarez, and his wife really is pregnant. He just found out the gender
of the child, but won't tell us until his wife comes in to meet us this
week. He is the nicest, most hard working man on the face of the Earth.
He works in the reception office here, sometimes in 18 hour shifts
through the whole night. That is how much he loves his family. Our
afternoon teacher was Hermano Villanueva, but he started school and
couldn't teach us in the afternoons anymore, so we got a new afternoon
teacher at the three week mark. His name is Hermano Hernandez. He is
great, and one of the best examples of loving the people you teach. He
has some awesome stories, including one about how he cast three
narcotraffic goons armed with assault rifles out of a chapel in the name
of Jesus Christ. He has a huge scar across his face where one of them
pistol whipped him in the face with the barrel of his gun. I'll have to
tell you guys that story some other time.
What are some of the most memorable moments with your whole district during your time at the CCM? What will you miss about the elders and sisters you won't see again after Monday?
Dang, I don't know. A lot of them have to do with
me being stupid. I went outside to run in the rain around like the 2
week mark, and slipped in a puddle and landed square on my back. Not a
stellar moment in the life of Elder Hickman. There aren't any events
that bombastically stick out, but there are a lot of little ones like
that. I will have to think about some ones that I can tell you next
week. I will miss just being around them. A really nice family dynamic
has arisen in the district. Most districts are going to the same
district, but I think we were kind of the overflow district, so we have
to say goodbye to each other. Three of the Hermanas are going to the
Texas Houston mission, but that will be as close as it gets. A lot of
them are coming to BYU for school, so I will see some of them again. I
am worried that I won't be as easy friends with some of the people in my
mission as the kids in my district. Elder Andrews is a great guy, and
after talking to the guys going to my mission, I don't think there are a
ton of Elder Andrews' among them. Well, I guess we'll see when I get
there.
How many pesos do you have left, and will you try to load up on Gudu
Cubos and other treats from Mexico before you leave? Which ones? (Mom
also wants you to know that you don't have to spend all your pesos--some
places in McAllen will still take them,
actually. Dad says go for broke--get the goodies. Mom says that you
have a weight limit on your bags. Dad says that the candies are fairly
light. Mom says that you should buy what you want but shouldn't feel
pressured to use all your money.)
Well, in cash, I have only a sackful of change.
The aesthetic of Mexican bills and coins has American cash beaten by a
long shot. I will have to send some for Jonah and Isaac. On the card
they gave me, only time will tell how much I have left. I go to the
Tienda to buy stuff often, so it will assuredly run out soon. I am
leaning toward a gluttonous overhaul of the Tienda before I leave, but I
am sure I won't have enough money to make my ransack as disgustingly
opulent as I hope. Oh well. American isn't short on candy. By the way,
Mexican Doritos are like [heavenly] food. THAT is what I will send home. They
are delicious.
Do you or your district mates have any messages for the White Panther [Jonah]?
Well my district mates are busy writing, but I
do. Send me my Texas bandanna! I really love you man. Tell Isaac I
love him, and give him a big hug for me. If there is anything I have
learned in my month away from home, it's that I really miss you all and
wish I had given you more hugs. Just look out for Isaac for me, and be
the big brother he adores so much. I love you man. Work hard in school. Love you.
We love you, Noah. Make this last week in the CCM an excellent one. You
might be tired of the CCM and anxious to leave, but don't wish away
these final days there--once you leave, you'll never be back again. Make
sure to let all the elders and sisters in
your district know what you think their strengths are before you leave.
It will do your heart, and theirs, good for you to share those things,
especially at a moment where they will be excited but apprehensive about
whether or not they are ready for the field.
I will definitely tell people their strengths. Thank
you so much for the suggestion, Dad. I have missed receiving parental
advice on a daily basis from you and Mom. I am excited to be in a place
where mail only takes like three days to get home. I know I will baptize
more than one person, but every time I think about it I just know, even
know as I write this, there is one person specifically who is waiting
for me.
Love you all so much,
Elder Noah Hickman
An additional email:
An additional email:
Will you get to email on the Saturday before you leave? Have you received your travel
plans for next week? Will you get to do
laundry -- or will you have to travel with dirty clothes?
No, I won't get to email since I leave before p-day, but calling
is better. Yeah, we will do a bunch of laundry, but since we leave so early, we
might have to take two changes of clothes in our carry-on. We won't get our
companions until Wednesday. I will know my travel plans on Thursday. Yes, I [will] forward them to you.
Thank you so much mom. The pictures are with Hermano
Villanueva, by the way.
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