Cochino!!!!!!!!!

  Ight yall, ill save yall the trouble and just tell yall that cochino means pig cool???  therell be an explanation later.   So whats good every body?  everybody happy?  anybody do anything super freaking dope?  because if so i definitely want to hear about it, duh... 

    So this week was so incredibly incredible, not really actually, my mexican companion (dont worry i still love him and am not planning on killing him.. yet)  had the bright idea to eat some good old fashion streeet food... actually it was an incredible idea, because the food was sooo sooo sooo good that it was almost worth the consequence of a pretty gnarly stomach infection and hours and i mean houuuuuurs logged onto the toilet!!!  oh well, one thing i learned this week, the work does go on, so im over it.. and im definitely gonna eat some of that goodness again dont you worry :)

     so what was the last day i told you about, last monday?  perfect tuesday is a great place to start!   we went on splits with the zone leaders (because elder sumano is a district leader)  and we had a pretty good time!!!  i got to go with elder vanslootten and show him the area because elder sumano has a terrible sense of direction!  hahah it was actually really cool, sumano was stressing hardcore but i was cool as a cat and we went to work!!!  it was really so refreshing to do splits and see someone elses style of teaching, that dudes got so much love for the people, i hope when im 20 months into this badboy i can speak and teach as well as he can!"!!  but yeah, all around it was a good learning experience, except for that night, that was pretty raw, thats when i got hit in the face with the stomach flue, man i read like 5 liahona magazines that night alone if ya know what im saying ;)  

     Wednesday i litterally thought i was going to die, like for real.  I felt like my insides were going to explode, it was so cool man, like i never thought a person could feel that crappy like ever, man long live mexican food woooohooooo!!! 

     Thursday was better, i went to the doctor, he said a bunch of medical stuff in spanish, i didnt understand a thing, i went to a pharmacy and bought some good old fasion antibiotics and it was pretty cool because i didint need to have a perscription, like for real i loved that!!! i talk a lot of smack on this place, but like for real i am starting to fall in love like in love in love and its awesome!!!  but anyways i popped some pills said a prayer and we went to work!!  We met this one investigator his name is miguel, he is the biggest mexican ive seen so far, 6ft 240... but i mean, this guy is a g, hes such a good investigator, hes going to be a bishop after he gets babtized, hes been going to church on his own for 6 monthes now and the missionaries never even contacted him because they just thought he was  amember!!!  the problem is he cant get babtized right now, half of the couples here arent actually married, i guess because of the laws or something divorces are like impossible or something, so hes in his second "marriage" but not really... were trying to figure something out tho because this guy really is so so so so great, hes such a good man, so were excited for him and i pray so so hard for things to figure out themselves for him because he deserves it!!!!

     Friday i did the same thing, wake up feel like your gonna die, pop some pills, say a pray, go to work!!!  Sounds miserable, i know, it was, but we were blessed hard core for our efforts!!!  we got to meet with my favorite family the tapias of course, and like we taught like 6 of his cousins too!!!  they are all so short, but so so funny, we have such a good time with them!   Gabriel, the first guy we contacted there also gave me a bunch of homemade sorbet ice cream for my stomach, idk whether thats actually like good for a stomach infection but i dont care, it tasted so good that it didnt matter hahahaha, we also met with familia carrillos (recovering alcoholic) and they are so awesome, their desire to change their lives around and follow christ is so inspiring, every single lesson we have with them is so spiritual like i could try to explain but it would do it justice so i{ll just leave it by saying the force is strong with those ones hahahaha

       Saturday i finally started to feel a little better, we ate with this hermana in our ward, grandma dale she reminds me exactly of you, except mexican, but like she was so funny and so helpful!!!  the faith of the members here is so strong i really am so blessed for their examples!!! also, we got to walk on the side of the freeway for like 20 minutes... let me tell ya, if youve never walked down a free way having semis pass a foot and a half to your left going 80 miles an hour then your missing out, because that stuffs a rush... lowkey, highkey, every key, so what im telling yall is if your looking for a good time, go hop on I 15, or the closest freeway near you, and just start walking... but like dont hug the curb cuz thats cheating, theres no side lane here so just walk on like the line or something like that and then youlll know exactly how much fun elder hicks is having in mexico... oh sidenote, the police in the united states actually do there job, so make sure there arent any cops around or youll probably like idk get thrown in jail or something.  

        Sunday really was the best day of the week, we went and taught the tapias early in the morning, and so lemme tell yall about their house, so like they actually have like 5 houses in the neighborhood but they all do all their laundry and cook all their food in the middle house in the courtyard if thats what you wanna call it, and whenever we teach them we dont go into their house we go into their coutyard grab a few seats and teach whoever wants to listen while everyone else is cooking, cleaning or doing laundry... welll during our lesson sunday morning (it was way good by the way) antonios (gabriels brother, way good investigator way good guy) 4 year old daugher who was sitting down with us in the lesson pointed and screamed "cochinaaaaaaaa" hahaha we all looked to wear she was pointing and there was her 2 and a half year old lbrother buttt naked with soap all over his body running around laughing his head off while his poor mother was trying to chase him while caryrying her baby... hahaha oh my gosh, that was probably the funniest thing ive ever witnessed, we were all laughing so hard, like awww day makeer!!!  hahaa church was fantastic, when i got here the ward was dead but we were finally showing some signs of life and it felt so good to see some of our hard work pay off!!!  hahaha

     and today i went shopping with my fruty companion, hes awesome but likes to shop thats all... lexi, the answer is yes, i found a shopping buddy for you...

heres my address if any of yall are feeling extra loving and would like to send me an awesome letter 

ELDER KEEGAN JAMES HICKS

MEXICO, MEXICO CITY EAST MISSION

AVENIDA 510 (POUND SIGN)90, COL. SAN JUAN DE ARAGON

DELEGACION GUSTAVO A. MADERO

CP07950, DISTRITO FEDERAL MEXICO

    

      i dont have my scrips today, but scrip of the week is the entire chapter of hebrews 11... yeah, some of the coolest things ever have happened because of faith, read it learn it love it.   l LOVE YOU ALL.

ELDA HICKS

mama, es godzillaaaaaaaaaaa‏

yall wouldnt believe the looks a 300 hundred pound gringo gets in mexico.   i wonder what thats have gone all these little mexicans heads when i walk past saying "buenos dias..." hahahaha youd think theyve never seen a cololege football game before, oh wait, thats cuz they freaking havnt!!!  hahahahahahahahaha  the best is when i walk up to someone wearing an american football shirt and try to talk about football with them, ya, they dont know, they just got that shirt really cheap cuz the broncos gave em away for free when they lost the superbowl ;)

    so, second week in the field, whatssss goodie!!! hahahaha i shouldnt have even gone to the mtc, the spanish here is so much faster, so so so so so different then what i learned, its almost like im learning a whole new language, again!!!  im doing good tho, i like it, i feel like freaking nacho libre when i talk in español, makes my friggen day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   so, were working hard, we showed up to a new area and a dead ward, its been really fun to watch it change over these last few weeks, it feels like were performing cpr on the area every day, but for some reason its working, idk why!!!!  hahahaha

     so, last pday was rad, had a balloon fight with the zone, and had pizza... wtf... i thought papa johns night in the mtc was the last pizza id be eating for 2 years, so yeah i only had like 14 pieces... lowkey pissed when a dominoes car pulled up asaking if we wanted pepporonni or cheese!!!!!!!!!!   hahah its all good, this place isnt as backwards as i was expecting, well, yeah it is, but they have dominoes pizza so its definitely a countryon the rise

     martes (tuesday) was a fantastic day, we got to teach gabriel tapia, a miracle investigator, we just felt like we should knock on his door, and we did, and yeah, he wants to get some jesus in his life!!!!!!!!!!!!  this guy is so prepared for the gospel, its mind blowing, and the best part, all of his family wants the gospeel too, and they all live in the same house, or in the neighborhood, because his brothers, sisters, cousins, and parents, and aunts and uncles own the entire neighborhood, its so tighthahaha his brother is a homie, he lived in newyork for a few years so i talk in him in english a little, his english is super ghetto, but hey mine too, i hail from the freaking ghetto streets of the sojo!  hahahhaaha we also did something way tight, we found an english school in our area, and of course i volunteered, and of course we contacted a billion of the students, and last but not least of course i laugh a little bit when they cant pronounce english vowels... they have the strongest mexican accents, i wonder why?  hahahha but seriously tho i enjoy the school so much, and they hook it up with something to eat every time we teach too, its dope!!!  i gave another blesssing in spanish, yeah im getting better.

      wednesday was tight, i had another one of those experiences where the holy ghost is just like, yo, little homie, elder hicks, you should knock on that door.  i did, we contacted him, turns out hes a recovering alcaholic, like fresh recovering.  he was 3 days sober and having such a hard time and had been praying for some help, yeah, thats when the freaking mormon missionaries showed up!!!  so cool, im so grateful for that one, actually going to go visit that homie tonight and preach, yeah im stoked!!!   

      thursday was good, lots of tender mercies that i know you want to read about but that im too lazy too type in so when i get back in like 2 years or so remind me and ill let you all read the entry for febuary 13th 2014.

      friday...  hahhaa i totally even forgot about the holidy valentines day until i asked my companion why there was like a bajillion mexicans runing around with roses, dont worry i got a valentines gift, a little bit of the moctezumas revenge.... hahaha dont worry, momma hooked it up fat with anti diarrheal pills, that stuff is the life blood of missionaries in mexicio, i feell so much better now, havnt gone for like a whole 5 hours, i think thats a record ;)  hahaha and dont worry, im not as sick as elder maluia, hes in the hospital, pray for him, he needs some help i think.

      saturday was a good day, taught a bomb inactive family (and lots of others, always, this is just the highlight)  theyre dad just passed and my heart hurts for them so so so bad, im grateful for the plan of salvation and that we were able to bring that message to them, i love love love that family, cant wait to check up on them tommorrow.also had my first experience with drunk mexicans that think they know english, let me tell ya, that was quite the hoot.

       late saturday night we got the bomb dropped on us that we were speaking in church, aww yeah, i was so stressed hahaha but i had almost no time to prepare, so i just prayed for some help... and guess what, i got it.   I decided to speak on service, and i haad like 3 scriptures to share, and the rest just came to me while i was speaking.   my companion said i spoke perfect spanish, and that i spoke with a great accent, ahhhh i am so so so grateful for that one, such a testimony builder right there... it was incredible..

       today we went downtown to a mall, for 3 hours it littlerally felt like iwas a citizen of the united states of america living in america again, except everyone was mexican, and every thing was in pesos, oh well, esta bien!!!!  loved the burger king, ahhhh nothing like some good old fashion american fast food to make your day!!!

so ive been sucking on the scripture of the week thing, so today were getting back on target, john 13:34-35, read it, learn it, love it!!!  

Stay up sojo

Elda Hicks

Primero Semana en el campo‏

whats good gringos?   you miss me?   lemme tell yall, i miss you too...  hahaha so ive been here for about a week now, let me tell yall about it.

    So we flew in on monday, and president anaya had no idea who i was!!!  lol, i guess they lost my name so i wasnt on the list of new elders coming in, so i walked up to him, whipped out the best spanish that i could and you know what his reaction was?  lol, he tried giving me to the other mission presidents from mexico city, i kept saying president president im yours but he didn{t hear me, his english isnt that great so ill give him a break!!!  

    so our mission is only about 10 minutes away from the airport, cool huh?  but ya know what?  i litterally thought i was going to die in those ten minutes, those things we call rules of the road in the US, ya they dont apply here, its litterally just a bunch of mexicans driving as fast as they can wherever they can, in the bicycle lanes, in the middle lane, in the opposite lane and in the middle of the lanes lol, what makes it even more exciting is how everyone just cutes in front of people, president litterally at one point took a left hand turn at an intersection from the far right lane, so awesome. BY the way, i{m convinced that the combi drivers here (bus drivers) could beat every single american nascar driver in a race, by a long shot....  too make it even more amazing, between all this chaos i havnt seen one freaking accident, i have no idea how, or why... but thats how it goes down.  most dope.

    So the mexico city temple is georgous, and so is the weather, its about 70 here, nice and sunny, hows the snow treating yall back in the 801?  oh and dont laugh at me either, because even those its 70 right now it doesnt get much hotter then 80, so ya you could say this place is paradise, if there was clean watter to drink..   hahahaha no i have not gotten sick yet, but i am so freaking excited to just get mad sick and have to sit on the toilet for days on end.  jk, im not, but when it happens, i will survive.

   so we spent the night in president anayas home, ya know, i was basically expecting nacho libre, so when i walked inside his mansion my mind was freaking blown, believe it or not mexico city isnt an exact replica of nacho libre...   

   tuesday morning, we got up and had a bunch of meetings, u know the usual and went to have transfers!!!  my companions name is elder sumano, and hes so tight!!!   hes from cancun but he went to a private school so his english is freaking superb, its nice because hes taught me so much english, and you guys wouldn{t believe his ability to teach the doctrine man its so so so so so so so so so good!!!

    so we didnt get to our new apartement until about 7 oclock tuesday night because were on the very edge of our mission, so tuesday night we made about a trillion phone calls and planned because guess what, were starting a new area!!!  well, not really that new, they only closed it down about a month and a half ago because the past missionaries were super frito (fried, meaning they dont do anything)  so weve just been focusing on the ward because as of right now it needs some help!!!  

     we live about a minute walk from walmart, yes they have those here too along with mcdonalds, kfc, and an infintismal amount of taco stands!!  its pretty cool!!!  

     so the language, the last week ive been babtized by immersion by the spanish language.. the problem?  yeah, nobody wants to pull me out of the water, oh well, esta bien, ive been learning so much, i mean im still mind blown when a little mexican walks up to me and tries talking to me half the time but its totally fine, i think its funny!!!  the gift of tongues is real, how do i know that?  well, our very first appointment i was asked to give a blessing, i have no freaking clue what i blessed that girl with, but everyone said i did really well, so im grateful.   ive come to the conclusion that if god wants me to say something in spanish hell help me say it, its happened every single lesson this week where all the sudden boom elder hicks is a freaking mexican and he speaks spanish, so cool!!!  

    the food is so good, like ive lost 15 pounds and i dont know how cuz the food is so incredible, even more incredible is the fact that you can litterally buy anything you want off the street, so many tacos, hamburgers, hotdogs, tomales, and on on and on... hahaha

    oh you want to know how ive lost weight?  im pretty sure we have the biggest area in the missinon, and its on the side of a mountain... not quite sure, but elder sumano and i both agree that we walked close to 10 miles on wednesday!!!  and its like that every day, so tight!!!  well actually nothing on me is tight anymore, ive already poked a new hole in my belt and im pretty sure after my training (furst 3 monthes) im going to need a whole new wardrobe..  sorry mom.  

    so our investigators are incredible, i wish i had time to tell you about them, but i dont, next week will be a much bigger, and a much better update from me i promise, love you all, miss you all... i love letters!!!  just send em to the address on my last instagram ya the address thats in freaking mexico, i don{t know how the whole stamp situation works, but youll figure it out!!!  oh, also, i love you guys, just wanted yall to know that, until next week

    -elda hicks

 

P.S. Here is his Mission address

Elder Keegan Hicks 

Mexico, Mexico City East Mission

Avenida 510  #90, Col San Juan e Aragon

Delagacion Gustavo A. Madero

CP 07950 Mexico Distrito Federal

MEXICO

Quick Update

Hey Everyone! 
This is Keegan's sister Kylie. just wanted to get you guys a quick update on Keegan. He left for Mexico on February 3 (yes, the day after the superbowl, and yes we did go to the airport, and yes we went to the airport at 3 am.) The time we spent with him was great, you could really see the change in him and how excited he was to go serve the people of mexico, and as he was in the MTC we got to  know his companions and he couldn't have been placed with two better men. you could really see the love they have for this gospel and for Christ, and they were all so excited to get to mexico. I don't know if he will have a lot of time to email everyone, but i know he LOVES letters. Just send them to the MTC until I get his address for you all. Thank you so much for supporting Keegan as he goes and shares the gospel with those in mexico, and keep him and the people he is teaching in your prayers!!! Thanks guys!