Welcome Home!!

He has Returned With Honor!

Welcome Home, Nathan!  
We have MISSED you, and are SO proud of your focus, testimony, and work you've done!

God Be With You til We Meet Again

Time to leave.

One final picture of the group of missionaries leaving today.

(PS...Favorite Foods I'm looking forward to...)

Nathan,  are there any foods you are especially craving when you get home?

YES!

• homemade cinnamon rolls, 
• Brueggers bagels (blueberry and cinnamon), 
• chocolate chip cookies, 
• turkey casserole, 
• lasagna, 
• taco salad, 
• enchiladas, 
• Jamba juice, 
• homemade ice cream, 
• Marriott buffet, 
• jacks pizza, 
• root beer floats, 
• popcorn, 
• mashed potatoes, 
• potato soup, 
• Chipotle, 
• Buffalo wild wings, etc. 

This is so overkill. I can't even list how many things I’m craving jaja but whateves is fine. Sure love you mom! Can't wait to see you!

Elder Hicken

This is it.

We`ll I guess this is it. Huge shout out to all those who have supported me these last 2 years. Thank you. Definitely been a great experience, something I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’ve come to really love Guatemala. My love for the people, food and culture will always be with me throughout my life.

I’m grateful for how my testimony has grown. I know God loves His children. I know that Jesus Christ is our Saviour and the Redeemer of the world. All of God`s children can be cleansed from sin and one day enter into His presence.

Being imperfect, I sometimes think why would God let me be a part of His grand work of salvation. As I’ve served others, I’ve come to feel a small part of the love that God feels for His children. Through the hard times I’ve been able to overcome and become better. What a privilege to help Him and to bless the lives of those around me. Surely He has blessed me more than I’ve helped Him.

Again thank you to all! See you on Thursday!

Elder Hicken

4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone! Attached are some photos of what my comp and I did to celebrate.

I've been reading in the New Testament lately. Paul is such an example to me of faith, diligence, love, service and dedication. He truly was an apostle of God. A few scriptures that caught my attention are found in Filipenses 3:13-14

.

        ¨Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one

thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth

unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of

the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.¨

I know that it really doesn't matter where we are, but rather where we´re headed. We want to be heading towards Christ. By the power of the Atonement, we can be cleansed and healed. The enabling power of the Atonement allows us to find strength and persevere. How grateful I am to know that I can move on and be better when I make mistakes and when things get rough.

My companion and I saw many miracles this week. Just to mention a few, we were able to contact a family that we haven't been able to find for a while. The dad and mom are both interested to learn more!

Also, Adam is a recent convert as of 5 weeks ago.  We were able to talk to his brother. He accepted our invitation to come to church and then he actually came!  He is really looking at Adams example and wants to do the right things.

Anyways, hope everyone has a great week! This is the Lords work. I know it's true.

Elder Hicken

General Conference

So glad the family trip to CO and UT was a blast! Cool that you were able to take family names to the new temple in Provo. That's awesome. Temple work is great.

It was so good to hear from the living day prophet and apostles whom we could sustain as prophets, seers and revelators. It was spiritually uplifting as well to hear from the other leaders and general authorities of the church. I'm so grateful for their counsel. I know it comes from the Lord.

One talk that particularly caught my attention was that of Elder Gary E. Stevenson. He's the one who talked about lost car keys. He taught of the absolute necessity of car keys to properly operate a car, and then compared this analogy to the necessity of priesthood keys. For centuries, spiritually speaking the car doors were locked and the keys nowhere to be find. We no longer have to wonder where they are. This is Christ`s church. The priesthood keys were restored on this earth through the prophet Joseph Smith by heavenly prophets and apostles of old. It made me think about all the blessings that I have received through the restored priesthood keys in my life. It also got me thinking about, what does it mean to me that God has entrusted His children with these sacred keys?

Of course it was just one talk of many that caught my attention. I'm excited to be able to continue reading and listening to the conference talks. I know the Lord will pour out His spirit to those who do, who continually search and study modern day revelation for His church. I invite all to continue reading the talks given at this General Conference session in April of 2016 and even those given before. The Lord will bless you with understanding and spiritual guidance.

Neat miracle this week. My companion and I went to the small aldea in our area, where a few days earlier, my companion had spotted one of his converts from last year drunk on the side of the road. We talked to him and later that night prayed for him. But as we were walking through the streets of San Lorenzo that day, we felt to visit a member family. After sharing a short message we asked if there was anyone who was in need. They told us of a family close by. We went in that very moment. As we talked with them we came to realize it was the family of my companions convert that we had found drunk just days before. It was a miracle. They were so receptive to our messages of love and hope and very interested to learn more.

In my personal study, I was reading in the Book of Mormon of Ammon and his brethren and their mission among the Lamanites. It was interesting to me to see the terror of Lamoni's father and his willingness to give up so much to gain eternal life.

                 ¨What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be castoff at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake MY KINGDOM, that I may receive this great joy¨ (Alma 22:15).

What are we willing to give up to really know Christ? to receive eternal life? to have priesthood power?

I love the scriptures. I know that the Lord loves all of his children and his arms are extended towards all who repent sincerely.

Hope everyone has a great week! Nos vemos

Paz y amor

Elder Hicken

Fotos:

Finishers Wanted

Thanks for your letter mom.  Sometimes it seems summers can be even more chaotic than school. Jaja but it's good.

It's been another great week! I love the mission! Trying to finish strong. Had a neat miracle. So, I was on divisions a week ago with a member who introduced me to a guy whod gotten baptized 5 years ago. Only a few months after getting baptized, he had gone to the States but had just recently returned. We invited him back to church and he said he would go. To our surprise not only did he show up, but he brought his nonmember girlfriend with him as well. She was really nice and said she wanted to learn more! Cool. Definitely a miracle.

My companion and I got stranded in a small town about an hour and a half from where we live. It was already late and although a member was with us we were a little worried about how late we were going to get home. We said a prayer and started walking when a man drove by and gave us a ride. He happened to be a general in the army. Really nice guy. An answer to our prayers. Sure saved us from a long walk and we got home on time. I know it wasn't by chance that he just happened to come by when we he did.

Realizing it's so important not to waste any opportunities. I printed out a talk by Pte. Thomas S. Monson entitled, ¨Finishers Wanted¨.

There was a poem he read that says, 

 ¨For of all sad words of tongue or pen,  

the saddest are these: 

‘It might have been!´¨ 

I hope to never have to say those words. I just keep trying my best.

Hope everyone has a great week! I know this gospel is true.

Elder Hicken

ps. As a zone, we went to an awesome waterfall today! Super fun

Still working

Unfortunately my comps foots been hurting him this week. He fell in the mud a few times and it swelled up pretty bad poor guy. We still got to work a good chunk of the week though. We found two positive families to begin teaching. It's so awesome to keep working.

Finished the Book of Mormon again. I can't even imagine all the sacrifice that went into writing, translating, and publishing such a book. Truly it is the word of God. I love it.

Hope all are well back home!

Elder Hicken

Change of place - and change of language...

     Thanks for the update on grandma.  I love her so much! I'll be thinking about her.

Glad to hear school is out for Jonathan! And what is he doing this summer?  Sometimes summer life can be even more busy. Sounds like a lot of changes in the ward. Congrats to all those heading out on missions soon.

        So, I had changes last week! I'm now in an area called Chirijox. The people here don't really speak Spanish. They speak what is called K´iche. Sacrament meeting and all of church is in K´iche. I've been pretty lost trying to understand it, but little by little I'm learning the language. Don't think I'll have a lot learned anytime soon but I'm trying. It's pretty much all with the throat.  I'm so grateful a member comes with us for a few hours almost every day. They are so nice to spend their time in that way. It's a huge help! Having members with us helps so much in teaching and contacting. If you can go out with the missionaries, do it.

        The culture is very prevalent here. Lots of Corte, tipico and huipil. My companion is again from the Dominican Republic. His name is Elder Mendoza. He's a convert of about 5 years ago and he's awesome! super funny. I'm excited to work hard this last change.

        I came across a couple scriptures in my personal study this week. In Helaman 13:19-21, it explains how the people had their hearts focused on riches and not for the purposes of God. This lead many times to their downfall. Later, when Christ came to the Americas, he explains in chapter 13:19-21  ¨Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.¨  Got me thinking, what is my treasure? Where is my heart? I know we should be focused on God's purposes and not our own. As we do so, we will prepare ourselves for an eternal home.

Anyways, hope all is well back home! Have a great week. Jesus is our Savior.

Elder Hicken

Remembering Grandma

My heart is heavy for the decline in grandmas health. I love her so much.  She has been an example to me all these years of love, selflessness, and faith. One of my favorite memories was while visiting Virginia just before leaving on the mission, seeing and talking to both grandma and grandpa,
being able to go to the Washington D.C. temple together.  It's not so much that I can remember all that we talked about but it felt good to be with them.

In my personal study, I came across these verses while reading in the book of Helaman. ¨Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them¨ (Helaman 5:6-7).

I will always remember grandma and the name we share.  We´re family and she has a legacy of being good. I want to live up to her name. I want to be good. As I remember grandma, I'm inspired to be like her.

The mission goes on. I have changes! I'll see tomorrow where I'm going. Elder Romero´s been an awesome comp. A lot of good times and miracles seen. Lesly got baptized last week!  The baptism was great. (At the end we all sang happy birthday to my comp. being his birthday was the same day.)

Hope everyone has a great week! I know the gospel is true.

Elder Hicken

Pics--zone conference photos

Skyping with family (From Susan)

What a special day, to get to Skype with Nathan, in Guatemala!  Sweet Nath had sent an e-mail several weeks ago sharing that he really wanted to push himself these last few months of his mission.  (awesome)  As such, he didn’t want any distractions, like talking about college stuff, etc.  So, he asked if we could talk about General Conference talks, and gospel topics for our Mother’s Day phone call.  (Loved that! great idea!)

With the various General Conference talk suggestions that came in, here’s where we landed as a family.  (see list below)  It was great to have these talks ahead of time, giving each of us some time to ponder and study the messages beforehand.  Of course we didn’t get to everything, but that was o.k.

Turned out Nathan wanted to start with Elder Lawrence’s talk, “What Lack I Yet?”   It was so awesome sharing insights and ideas as a family, the parts that stood out to each of us, and the specific ways we might apply what had been said.  Here were a few parts from this talk that we liked:

a.    If we are humble and teachable, (the Holy Ghost) will take us by the hand and lead us home.  However, we need to ask the Lord for directions along the way. We have to ask some difficult questions, like “What do I need to change?” “How can I improve?” “What weakness needs strengthening?”

b.      (Elder Lawrence speaking) “Like you, I have received many messages from the Spirit over the years showing me how I could improve. Let me share a few personal examples of messages that I took to heart. These promptings have included:

·         Don’t raise your voice.

·         Organize yourself; create a daily list of things to do.

·         Take better care of your body by eating more fruits and vegetables.

·         Increase your temple attendance.

·         Take time to ponder before you pray.

·         Ask your wife for her counsel.

·         And be patient when driving; don’t exceed the speed limit. (I’m still working on that last one.)

c.    A perfect time to ask, “What lack I yet?” is when we take the sacrament. 

d.    Sometimes we need to ask what we are doing right so that the Lord can lift and encourage us.

Nathan shared a neat idea about this—so, I guess someone Nathan knows made an actual list of the things they were doing right.

·         I don’t struggle with pornography

·         I keep the Word of Wisdom

·         I’m chaste

·         I pay my tithing

Etc.

Then as they humbly prayed “What lack I yet?”  they were encouraged to try to be better in just one more area-line upon line…

Anyway, hard to sum it all up, but it was a wonderful conversation!  I LOVED hearing and feeling the strong testimonies of my children!  It inspired me! THANK YOU NATHAN--this idea was such a strength to our whole family!  

Sending much love your way,

Shaun, Susan, Joseph, Nathan, and Jonathan

An ELDER HICKEN sighting

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ray Oborn
Date: Sunday, May 1, 2016
Subject: Fwd: Look who we found in church, Nathan Hicken
To: President Hicken

Dear President Hicken,

I hope this email finds you and your family well.  Please give my regards to your wonderful wife.  You won't believe who found us in Church today.  I have attached a picture of Nathan with my two sons (Jacob and Jordan) and one of the converts that Jordan worked with when he served in the same area three years ago.

We are here in Guatemala doing a tour of the areas Jordan served in during his mission and some sightseeing.  It has been a great experience so far and we were excited to see Nathan.  We attended two sacrament meetings today and one of them happened to be the ward Nathan is serving in - what are the chances!  There are 3 stakes in Huehue and at least 18 wards and branches and we pick the one with your son! We had a chance to visit with him briefly after sacrament meeting - he is doing great!  Hard to believe that he will be finished in a few months.  It seems like just yesterday that Jordan got home and Nathan got his call and we were able to connect the two of them.  Who knows, maybe they will run into each other at BYU in a few months.......

Please give our regards and well wishes to the wonderful members of the Minneapolis MN stake!

Take Care and God Bless,

Ray Oborn

And let us not be weary in well doing

 Sounds like it was a great stake conference! Thanks for sharing. Shout out to Iggy for being the best exchange student ever to stay at our home. Glad to hear he stopped by.

I don't have a lot of time this week. My companion is Elder Romero. He's awesome! He has 2 older sisters. Both married. He has about a year in the mission. He's been in Xela the whole time so he was pretty excited to hear he was coming to Huehue. He's a hard worker and has a lot of enthusiasm for
the work so I'm excited. And guess where he's from? The Dominican Republic!

The Rainy Season has begun!

This week we went on divisions. Elder Romero and Elder Chavez talked to an old investigator. His name is Carlos. He works close to our house selling hot dogs. He said he had read more of the pamphlet we'd left a while back and was interested to learn more. They set up an appointment so Elder Romero and I stopped by this week. We taught about the Restoration and invited him to be baptized. The spirit was strong. He said he would and then he even came to church. We`re pumped to see the change in his life.

I've been feeling lately what an honor it is to be part of the Lords work. I know He guides and leads this church. I'm always awe-inspired as I listen to the servants he calls to speak in his name. I learn so much not just from their words but from the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Also, I love the scriptures. I can't even imagine what the prophets of old must have gone through to write down all they did so that we have them so accessible to us today. I know that really studying the scriptures is totally different that just reading them.

¨And let us not be weary in well doing¨ (Galatians 6:9).

Hope everyone has a great week! Adiós

Elder Hicken

Breakfast with the assistants

All are reading the Book of Mormon!

Thanks for the update on grandma midgley. I continually pray for her, and hope that she is at least comfortable.

I'm staying! My comp already has all his stuff packed and ready to go. We`ll head out tomorrow at 4:30am to make it in time for changes. It's definitely been a blast having Elder Rojas as a companion. I've learned so much from him and we`ve seen so many miracles. I know he`ll continue blessing the lives of those that surround him wherever he goes.

This week was great! We have been visiting a family. The dad is really interested and has been reading the Book of Mormon! He had a few questions the last time we passed by but we had invited a member and she was awesome at helping answer his questions. He continues to read and pray. He has trouble understanding the need to be baptized again but we explained about the Priesthood.  I know that by reading the Book of Mormon with real intent and praying with a sincere heart, he will come to know that our message is true by the power of the Holy Ghost. The Book of Mormon is so great because it invites the spirit and testifies of our message of the restoration of the gospel.

Leslie Morales continues to progress! She attended church this last Sunday and she really liked it. She is also reading the Book of Mormon and praying. The last time we met with her, she told us that she had felt really good reading the book and that she knew it was true. Every time she prays, its humbling. She prays to know that our message is true. I'm so thankful for prayer, and that we can pray anytime about anything. She's excited to keep preparing for her baptism.

Mackbryan wasn't able to get baptized after all. He still attended church though and is excited to continue reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. He made it clear that he wasn't drinking coffee anymore and was drinking instead juice so that's good. We plan to continue passing by and to help him work towards another baptismal date.

In my personal study, I've been reading in Alma. Speaking to his son Helaman, Alma said, ¨For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers¨ (Alma 37:17). I know that God fulfills all of his promises!

Have a great week!

Elder Hicken

P.S. Some random experiences of the week(see pics attached)...Elder Hall had his birthday! Guess he didn't know the Guatemalan tradition as he complained after having his face shoved into his birthday cake jaja...

Also, my companion and I found a rickety old bridge. Of course my companion rocks and shakes the bridge accidently releasing and then throwing off a water pipe that had been attached. It took us a while to get it tightly fastened back on the bridge jaja....

My companion and I were walking down the street when we saw some member locked outside of their house. Elder Rojas tried to help by wedging himself down to the other side but got stuck doing so jaja

The Book of Mormon is True...READ IT!

Sounds like Jonathans is basically a pro! So awesome he's playin on this new team. Go get em buddy!  And that's great that Joe Klenotich is home from his mission!  Love that kid! That's so funny that he didn't recognize Jonathan! I guess Jonathan has changed a lot. I hope I don't make the same mistake jaja

So, this week was sure a crazy one. My comps been goin through a hard time with some stuff in his life. We've been goin back and forth from Huehue to Xela to talk to President. My comp is so awesome though! We keep workin hard.

We saw a lot of miracles this week. We went on divisions twice with both disctrict leaders. I definitely learned a lot. Mackbryan is getting baptized this weekend! So excited. The Book of Mormon is true. Every time I read it I feel the Spirit and some sweet impressions come to my heart and mind. READ IT!

I'm really trying to push myself these last few months of the mish.  I love insights about gospel topics, scriptures, and/or general conference talks.

Hope all have a good week! Adios

Love you so much!
Elder Hicken

Holy Week

Hello family! Knowing everyone is currently out of town, im sure things are going well. You`ll have to tell me how it goes in Colorado and Utah. Btw everyone thinks im from Utah down here. Its like, ¨Where you from? Utah?¨

Anyways, this week was Holy Week. That means there was lots of traditional Holy Week food and decorations. The typical drink is a type of squash called chile cayote liquified. Its not too bad but one must be careful about drinking too much or else its stomach aches for a week.  The typical food is fish and a special kind of bread. All of the Catholics put up purple banners. However, nobody seems to know the meaning or purpose behind putting up the banners jaja,  at least nobody we asked. Starting this week, we saw people dressed up reenacting the last week of Jesus life. We've actually been teaching a guy named Jesus, and his wife for a few weeks. Anyway, when Friday came around, there was a huge procession. We didn't actually see it. But we did see the beautiful ¨carpets¨ they create to pave the path for the procession. They use chalk and dyed sawdust to make the ¨carpets¨. I'll attach a few pictures. It's amazing!

A lot of investigators that we have went out of town for the holidays.
We continue working with the ones that are in town and we were able to find a few others. One in particular is named Leslie Morales. She is the cousin of a member. She has one little girl and is interested to learn more about the church. The first time we visited her, we showed her the Hallelujah video. She really liked it and accepted an invitation to go to church this Sunday.

I went in for another check up about my head injury. After taking another look, the doctor said that everything was fine. I'm fine mom. I'm gonna live!

Like I said last week, Im excited to hear from the general authorities of the church. I would encourage everyone to look for someone, perhaps less active or non member, to go to at least one of the general conference sessions this Saturday or Sunday. Their and your faith will grow in our Saviour Jesus Christ and in the truthfulness of the Restoration of the gospel.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Peace

Elder Hicken

Hospital stay, but ok

Great basketball season Jonathan! Lamb of God sounded amazing. Miss playing in the orchestra.

Thanks everyone for your prayers. I'm alive! Honestly the head collision wasn't as bad as it may seem. I received a priesthood blessing and I know that I was blessed. I just fell in my apartment and hit my head.  A member took us to the hospital. That sure was a blast. They pumped me all night with some pain medication. After leaving the hospital here in Huehue, my companion and I went to Xela to get checked by a neurosurgeon there. He reviewed the results and said I was clear to go. The skull fracture is minor.  I have 5 stitches above my right eyebrow.  They thought I might have needed more but I didn't. I have follow up appointments where they will take another scan and check to see that everything is o.k.  Right now I'm home and doing regular work. It's all good.

So, we had a great week. Coming back from the hospital, my companion and I headed out to go visit a family. We felt to contact a few houses before going to visit this family. We came across a man named Rudi. He said he would attend us for 10 mins. It was very clear he was Catholic. As we began to speak, we were direct in explaining our purpose as missionaries. We explained briefly the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He thought otherwise. At one point he even called us liars. But we stood strong and bore our testimonies as powerfully as we could. We testified of the truthfulness of our message. He was speechless. He said he would read, pray and accept another visit for Tuesday. Exciting! It was an experience unlike any other in my whole life. I'm so grateful for the Spirit, the true teacher.

We've been praying to find a family to teach and we were fortunate to find a family that very night. It's the family Palacios Samayoa. The dad is already a member, baptized years ago. However, the wife and 2 daughters are not. We shared a quick video about what the world would be like without a Saviour 

and we bore testimony about Christ and His atonement. They committed to read and pray about our message. We can't wait to teach them more.

Pretty soon we`ll be starting to use the Easter initiative pass along cards and video. Everyone can look it up at followhim.mormon.org   And share the video with all your friends and family. It's awesome!

 I love Jesus Christ. I know the gospel is true.


Hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Hicken

Progress

Wisconsin Dells looks so fun!  And I printed off the talk by Elder Callister that you mentioned in the weekly letter mom. Thanks.

This week has been great! We`ve continued to work with José and Joonathan.  We`re hoping they both can go to the temple soon.  Quick side note. We called Joonathan on Sunday to invite him to a special priesthood meeting but he said he was in an interview. Later he called us back to tell us that he`d been called to work in the stake young men`s presidency. awesome! He's so excited.  

Anyways, changes are tomorrow but I'm sticking with Elder Rojas. We`re excited! The assistants remade the districts so that everything's a lot closer. Both district leaders have changes as well so it'll be interesting to start working with two new district leaders.

Hooray! We have a stove that works! We`re sure taking advantage of it. Our stove hadn't been working for about 3 weeks so we took it to Xela to switch it out with one that worked. Turns out we ended up taking one that was worse off. Anyway we have a new stove now. Elder Rojas made some great spaghetti the other day since we didn`t have a lunch appointment with the members. Yum! It was so good.

Last week, a member family took a friend to church. His name is McBryan.  He really liked it. It's so great when members invite their friends to church. We visited McBryan later in the week, ended up meeting his mom and 3 brothers. They`re a great family and they are really open to listening to our message. We have a family home evening with them tonight. We're excited. Love teaching families!

Hope y`all have a great week!

Elder Hicken

P.S.  Fotitos--everyone who's been Rojas`s companion, I was with Hohman,  

 Hohman with Rojas and now Rojas with me