My mission truly is amazing. On my first day my mission president took all of the new missionaries to a Handcart historic site. We were able to read accounts from real pioneers about their journeys. Almost every pioneer trek began in our mission. Joseph Smith sealed his testimony with his blood in this very mission in Carthage Jail. Joseph Smith also spent a lot of time teaching and doing missionary work in some of the very same areas we live and serve in now. President Sturm likes to call this mission a blood stained mission. There have been many people who lost their lives due to their devotion to the church in many of the areas in our mission. I have felt their testimonies even still as I have been strengthened and encouraged by the lives they lived. Our pioneer ancestors truly are people we should look up to and learn more about as we attempt to be pioneers of our own time. I've also met 4 other people named Simon. So you could totally say that the Midwest has amazing taste in names!
I do not have much to share this week. It is hard to have a ton of variety with all that is going on but the work still goes forward. We are figuring this out as missionaries. Technology really is an effective way to do missionary work. We just need to become better at it. We are still in the pioneering stage. With that being said, anyone and everyone reading this(which I do understand is probably just my mom) please let your friends know about us! If you have any friends or family or ANYONE living in Iowa or Illinois, please PLEASE let them know about us! We have Facebook pages we want them to be a part of. We need them to like the page or comment or follow so that we can come in contact with them. The way we have been doing missionary work right now is to pretty much friend request every soul in Iowa/Illinois and try and reach out to them once they accept our request. We also create video content for our Facebook area pages and need 200+ LOCAL likes for Facebook to start noticing it and pass our page around. With that being said, if you do not live in Iowa or Illinois, do not like our page. It will throw off where Facebook sends our page. There are local pages where you live that you should be liking and following and inviting your friends. I can promise you as a full-time representative of Jesus Christ that this is the BEST way you as members can assist in the work of the Lord. We have all been called to this work. Please participate. It is easier than it's ever been because of technology! Take part and feel the joy of the work!!
I am grateful for the opportunity to be on my mission again. The 3rd time truly is the charm! I feel more blessed now than I ever have! We are blessed as we have faith. And Faith is a decision, not a feeling! The times we grow the most will be when we make a choice in faith when we don't want to. It will not always be burning in the bosom and fiery bones. In fact more often than not it will not be that way. Choosing Faith sometimes is hard to do but I can promise there are more blessings to be had than we could ever imagine.
I love this work. I love this Gospel. I love my Savior Jesus Christ! God has a plan for me! I know this to be true.
Love y'all!
Elder Hixon
