Week #1

Hola!

My spanish is SO rusty! It's frustrating because there's so many natives I want to talk to but it's difficult to communicate. 

All the natives are from Central America: Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica. 

However, the majority of elders are from the States. My companion, Elder Hohman, is from Pleasant View, Utah. He's 18 years old and the youngest of 3 other siblings. He runs, hunts, skis and seems to have a story with any topic. We've been working out every morning and then getting right to work. It seems like all we do is learn to teach, to speak the language and to eat. 

Btw, sorry for not sending pictures. They took away all electronics first thing when we arrived at the CCM. So far I've only seen the CCM and everything in between there and the temple (a block away!). 

The temple was amazing. The Spirit definitely resides in the house of the Lord. It was a neat experience to attend a session with other natives. With the session being in English, they had on headsets and would speak in Spanish while the rest of us Americans would talk in English. It was a reminder to me that the gospel and ordinances in the temple are for all of Heavenly Father's children and are performed everywhere in the world. 

Anyways got to go. Miss you all!

Elder Hicken

At the Guatemala City Temple

Did you know the Guatemala City Temple was the first temple built in Central Amercia.  Before its opening in 1984, members would travel to the Mesa Arizona temple!

First letter from the MTC!

Hey everybody!

I arrived at the MTC early this morning. I'm safe and doing well!

Already I've met so many awesome missionaries. The flight to Guatemala City went by super fast, mostly because I slept the whole time. Driving in the city was one of the highlights of my day. It reminded me a lot of my driving experience in Peru...crazy! By the time we got to the MTC it was breakfast. Guess what we had? Tortillas, beans and eggs. Big shocker, I know. We were able to sleep after breakfast until lunch. Afterwards, I was assigned a district and companion. My first companion is Elder Hohman. He's a great guy and big into running. So far I've felt the Spirit so much. Our MTC President, President Cox, pumped us up with why we're on our mission and how we're all going to do great. I know he's truly been called as a servant of God to serve here in Guatemala. Anyways got to go! Hope you are all doing well.

Love,

Elder Hicken

 Our ride is here...

The CCM