9-7-04

Hey family. How’s life in Sandy? How is school going for everyone. The email place was being funny today so sorry for not getting them all done. I’ve had a hard time the last couple of days with some stuff, but now I think I am getting over it. So that is good. Dad you had a ton of questions and mom you did too. I think I answered a lot of them in my email today but here I go again. The language is really tough, I work at it everyday all day. I can say a few things but I can’t really understand when Brazilians talk to me and it is hard for me to talk back. But it is a slow process with much patience needed and hard work. E= and in Portuguese Funny because & is in English. The MTC is a big building, a tower. I live in a room on the 5th floor, #511 is my room number. The missionaries walk stairs here so I walk a ton of stairs everyday. My comp is from Hillcrest, a nice kid, he will not be my comp in the field. I will get a new one then, an old guy. I sit in class all day, usually 10-12 hours a day and study the rest of the time. I live in a room with three bunk beds and 4 elders from America, me, my Comp, Elder Adams- St. George, Elder Phillips- Missouri, and 2 Brazilians right now. It is similar to the dorms. The food is different, everything tastes different. One good thing is that they have rolls with meals and I butter those and eat them. Cereal in the morning, meat- all types, salad- way different, drink different, desserts that are alright, mais o menos- so so is the food. It all tastes weird and different. But right now I bought some oresos and I eat them with milk, that is way good, muito bom. I’m doing alright right now. I have just been going througha little bit of a hard time the last few days. My challenges are everything- lingua (language), evangelho (gospel), vivo (life) everything- todos. No, I don’t need anything but letters and packages from mom with goodies, maybe sneak me a tie or two in a package. Did you send the visa card yet? The trip to Brazil sucked, that’s all I can say. Sitting ona plane for 10 hours during the middle of the night is no fun. I couldn’t sleep at all. It was very uncomfortable and long. Then when I got to Brazil it was amazing. The city is huge. It is a cool sight. The Brazilian people are way nice and funny. I was friends with a lot of them and they left but now I’m friends with more. I always joke around with them. It is fun to do that. They are really cool. I read out of the Book of Mormon with them and they help me read it in Portuguese- O Livro de Mormon. I have thought a lot about everything in my life. Past life is something I have been thinking about- mistakes I made in life. I have thought about future life in helping the Brazilians learn about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father’s great plan. In my patriarical blessing it says how people are waiting to hear from me. That is so cool and I work way hard to be able to be ready to help those people. Today I just barely watched the Testaments- it was muito legal (way cool). I gained a better testimony about Jesus Christ and how He will come again. I want to be ready for him when He comes again on the earth. I can’t wait until I can speak this language. But that is a long ways away. Brazil is so cool. Sao Paulo is enormous, it does have a different smell to it though. Kinda a stinky smell to it. I haven’t seen too much. I am stuck here in the MTC for the rest of my life. Ya, I really like it here, sometimes I am way tired though and I hate that. Sundays are a great day, I get to tale naps on Sundays so that is awesome. I learned a lot about the atonement a week ago. That was cool. I have really learned how important the Book of Mormon is and how I used to take advantage of it by not always reading it. The Book of Mormon is the best missionary ever. I just barely got over a cold- I had it for about three days. That was no fun but now I got rid of it. Brazil is sick with it. I got a haircut today. It was way scary, the guy did it so fast and it is kind of bad. He used the same tools for everyone’s hair before me and after me. I was way gross. My hair is way short. So life good at home? What other questions do you have? Right now I am sitting in the gym waiting for Devotional to start up. How is Rob doing in school? And with life? I have a great District, the guys are all way cool. These Devotionals are interesting. There are usually two speakers. They speak either Portuguese or English and there is a translator for the other language. It’s cool. So that’s about it. Not much else to say.
Love you guys a lot,
Elder Hicks

P.S. I had ten minutes before I go to bed so I have a little bit more time to write. Things went well after the Devotional. Right now I am so happy, I feel the spirit so strong. I just got done writing in my journal. Brazil is cool. I will probably send some pictures soon or download them. How do I download them? I’ll figure that out. Jeff Osbourne goes home in 5 weeks. That is way crazy. Curtis has a double header on Saturday with baptisms in Mexico West, tell Rob that. Sounds like they are doing well in Mexico. I love being a missionary. Tell President Watson Hi for me and maybe get his address fro me please. Girls jeans on guys isn’t cool either. Well, oh ya, I buzzed my leg hairs down here because it is so hot.

Today is now the 8th and I am going to the police station to fill out papers with my district. This should be interesting. Write more later. Paz e amor. (Peace and love).
Tchau

Letter to mom:
hey fam- how is life? sounds like everyone is doing good. well i sang in the choir on sunday. we sang the army of heleman. my comp wanted to go and we went that is how we got the pic online. well last week a lot happened. we went proselyting at like a government building and talked to people and gave out some pass along cards. we talked to many different people. they had questions and stuff but it was so hard to understand them? i was humbled because it was so hard. way fun though. we were talking to a guy and about 5 feet away were 3 elders in my district and some crazy guy came up and started yelling at them. we didn’t understand anything at all. it was funny the guy was so mad. then i went to the doctor later that day. it was cool a translator came with me, the guy is serving with his wife at the ctm. but the doc looked at my feet with the high arch and said i need to get insoles to support my feet. i will do that this week so that is good. i need to see how much it is still but oh well. we started teaching the 2nd discussion yesterday it was way hard. but cool. byu almost won, i wish they would have won they needed that game so bad, payne is still the best player on the team though. it cost 200 rais to go to the doc that is about 70 dollars. but it was fun, i rode in a taxi first timer. well sunday was good i got a
good nap. i am so excited for conference next sat and sun when we can listen to the prophets and see who the new apostles are going to be. it is going to be cool. last night we caught a gecko it was way cool, i got some pics of it. i love being a missionary for the lord it is awesome. portuguese is coming along and i still dont understand that much but i work at it. byu needs to win. love you guys and i got to so bye keep up the emails and i love hearing from everyone bye
love elder hicks

Letter to Alisa:
what up,
how is it at home, i hope kurt feels better and jake sounds good. i got the lady to take a pic of our district and it is online now so you can look. i have a ton of pics just on my card. last night we had a gecko in the classroom it was sick i got some pics of it so that is good. hey byu needed to win that game but they played good against a ranked team. payne is still the bomb. it is way hot here. i’m goin to write on the did.net and look at it in a sec. well you and mom need to keep goin to the gym it is good for you. does lindsey go with you guys. she didn’t write me this week, just ryan so that was weird. working out is good. makes you healthier. i dont eat too much any more i am so sick of the food, mainly the same everyday but hey, eu amo meu arroz e beans. brincadeira- jk. well my portuguese sucks but hey. i am going to write the long email to mom now so good luck.
with love
elder hicks

its chill, have fun at work. i got to go to the são paulo temple today it was nice and way fun i love going to the temple. now i got to go but tell ryan i ment to write him but it was nice hearing from him and i love you guys have a nice week
tchau elder hicks

hey
no email this week you are a slacker or fubeca here in brazil. another week is gone. conference next week i am so excited to listen. the most i have ever been. are you going? ryan sounds good and way busy. how is work? mtc is cool, last night we caught a gecko in the class. first time with any thing like that. it was a cool lizard. i got some pics. i am going to write my long email to mom so get it from her. hope all is well. love ya elder hicks

hey
no email this week you are a slacker or fubeca here in brazil. another week is gone. conference next week i am so excited to listen. the most i have ever been. are you goin? ryan sounds good and way busy. how is work? mtc is cool, last night we caught a gecko in the class. first time with any thing like that. it was a cool lizard. i got some pics. i am goin to write my long email ot mom so get it from here. hope all is well. love ya elder hicks

8-31-04

What up family? How is it going? Things here are great. This is a picture of the temple that I have gone to for the last two weeks. It is up on a hill over looking the huge city of Campinas. Things here are good. You’ll get this letter in about two weeks. I will be half done with the MTC. That is way crazy. Right now I’m getting a little sick. So that sucks. Mom, send me a package of some goodies, maybe some crackers. They don’t weigh much. Like Ritz with squirt cheese. Other goodies that I like gummy bears, you know what I like. Tell everyone Hi, like Dastrups. Things great here though. Two kids in another district got hemorrhoids. So I’m way scared of getting them from sitting so long. I have class forever all day. Portuguese is way hard. Send peanut butter, more mints, crackers for snacks, beef jerky. Just some other good snacks. Send in those envelopes alright. $9.00 ones I think. I love you; it will make my life so happy. I write good letters in exchange. So how is the family doing with everything? Probably not as exciting without me there. I just thought about a nice thing. It is that we can take naps on Sunday’s. Way cool huh? Someone record the O.C and keep me updated with sports all right. How were the boating trips? Not as exciting without me who takes care of everything. When this gets there I’ve been gone a month. That is crazy. Longest I have ever been away from home. Weird! But Brazil is cool. This is even Brazilian paper I ma writing on. I know a lot of words but it is hard to say sentences. I can write a small sentence. I don’t understand but a few words in Portuguese but I am getting better everyday. I have already made a ton of progress. Rob, you doing well in school? Where do you work now? Dad, school is crazy as always. Crazy miners. They are so disrespectful, just playin ya. You guys going boating aver UEA? I can’t go this year alright. Mom you love school? Any girls call for me lately? Tell Kimber Hi. Anything else cool or legal (Portuguese for cool) happening there. Calla bolca means shut up. Eu amor voces todos muito grande (I love everyone very much). Eu sci que Jesus Cristo e o Salvador (I know Jesus Christ is the Savior). Eu sci que Joseph Smith foi um profeta de Deus (I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God). Eu amor meu Cobalt E wakeboard (I love my Cobalt and wakeboard). Sou grato par meu familia E cao (Lady) (I am grateful for my family and Lady). Elas amor meu por que eu son muito quente E bonito. HaHa. Well keep it real family and stay out of trouble. Tchau.
Love, Elder Hicks

P.S. Meu familia e perfeito (My family is perfect). Legal, legal Eu falo English, no falo portugese. Sien, sien Ha Ha. Paz (Peace).

Did Justin bring those shorts by. Hopefully, keep me updated about sports. I want to go wakeboarding but oh well. My comp boats and boards. Send Package par favor (please).

hey linds- i wrote mom a cool long email get it from here. sounds like everything is good with you ryan. tell ryan i wish him the best of luck with the jobs. how is work goin. you get to see a temple every day that is so cool. and you get to drive a car still. well i got to be goin. things good in utah? get email from mom. write now i am talkin to a guy in port.
it is so hard. i had a tiny conversation. it is so cool. on pday talkin to these people is so cool. my testimony has grown so much since i have come here. love ya wait hold on we were just talkin to this guy and told him that we will give him a book of mormon next week when we come back here. to the internet shop. but how cool is that all of this happening while i was writing this email to you. bein a missionary is the greatest thing ever. i love it so much. got to go. love ya elder hicks

I decided to try out my own update and let everyone know how things are going on with us. Ryan has been super busy with school and job interviews. In the field that he is in, accounting, they do the job interviews during September and October. So far he has interviews with KPMG, Deloitte, PWC, Ernst & Young, and Grant Thorton. These interviews are very time consuming because they have a social event the night before plus the interview the next day. He also has a regional firm in Portland that would like him to fly out and interview with them. We will keep you posted on how things go and as always - prayers are very helpful when looking for a full-time position. I think he will be glad when the first interviews are over and we know what to expect for the next round. As for me, I am just working - nothing that exciting. We didn’t get conference tickets this year, so we might have to plan a dinner (Mom). I am looking forward to going out to eat on Saturday before the Relief Society conference and Ryan is looking forward to hanging out with Kurt and Jakob. Hope all is well with everyone else.

hey didens- i wrote mom a cool long email get it from her. sounds like everything is good with you kurt. how is life going. things good in utah? get email from mom. right now i am talking to a guy in portugese. it is so hard. i had a tiny conversation. it is so cool. on pday talking to these people is so cool. my testimony has grown so much since i have come here. love ya wait hold on we were just talking to this guy and told him that we will give him a book of mormon next week when we come back here to the internet shop. but how cool is that all of this happening while i was writing this email to you. being a missionary is the greatest thing ever. i love it so much. got to go. love ya
elder hicks

hey family- how is working and school? today has gone by way fast. it has been a good day. i got to play some ball it was fun. it is way hot here. i’m sweating way bad right now. i got the first package today it has been at the post office since last wed. i had to wait. i was so happy, it was so cool. another week has gone by. how is work for everyone. i didn’t get an email from you mom so there better be a letter. packages are way cool. so is mail.

well this week we are practicing the first discussion and teaching to brazys, then on friday we are going to a park to proselyte to brazy in portugese. i’m way nervous, it is still way hard. rob, curt’s ap is elder sullivan, he is in cuautepec. its way small i guess. i haven’t got rob’s letters yet. how is byu for you rob and the life with the wife? how is school going for everyone? i’m way excited for this week with everything that is happening, it is going to be way interesting. i am going to buy a few things like post cards and other stuff to send home in a package probably next week. so it will be there in a while. so the concert was good, how is eric doing? it is so hot here. this last week went by fast.

i got to speak in church and that was fun. i am getting better at speaking i wasn’t really afraid at all. the spirit is so strong here. there is such a big difference with the spirit in my life now and before as i become more righteous and obey all of heavenly fathers commandments.

i love it here in brazil talking to the people is so fun. they are so nice. with the digital camera i am probably going to get some pictures developed next week. and then send them home. today is a walk the shops and purchase a few things day. well my portuguese is getting better i still know nothing. how is lady doing. it is funny there are alot of dogs walking the streets. brazil is such a cool place i like it. i love being a missionary. right now we are talking to two brazilians about the gospel a guy and girl in the internet shop. we just got a girls address to send the missionaries there. we just gave out a pass along card and the guy said he would call. all of this just happended right now as i am writing this email to you. it is way cool. i hope the guy calls. that is way cool though. it is way hard to speak Portuguese to them i want to say so much but i don’t know how to say it all. well that was way exciting. the guy spoke a little english and that helped us out with talking. i love being a representantive of jesus cristo. i owe him so much, i have thought many times how big of a sacrifice giving up this two years away from family, some friends, and life, but this is nothing compared to what the savior has and still does for me. i have really learned about the infinite atonement. i want to serve my best every day for the lord. i love bein a missionary for the lord. i love serving him. by these words you see how much my testimony has grown just in this month and a half i have been gone. it was way cool talking to the people about our religion. we got the referral so that is good.

byu needs to start winning already. beck needs to be healthy so that they have a quaterback. well we got to get going. i will write more next week about experiences and everything. thanks for package it is awesome. love you all

elder hicks

mom send this email to everyone