Would you Stop it with the Head Slicing Thing?!

Today's title is a stretch but give me some credit it's been almost 4 months of weekly Hercules quotes, I am amazed I got that far.

Well another week and we had another baptism!! Mehdi is our Iranian friend who is really risking it all by being baptized and we are so grateful for him!

I was also teaching our friend KC last week and every question he asks comes with two more following. He's awesome and truly looking for truth and he accepts what's being taught but I really have to study to answer his questions haha. Some of the times I stick to teaching simple things and he accepts the answer of "it's not really prevalent right now" or "I have no clue", I'll then find the answer and send it to him later in the night, but it's definitely a challenge. I'm learning so much though.

Every week has taught me how God works with people. The work is different because the people are different. This week I had an interview with President Sinclair and he's amazing. The big takeaway was how we create time through righteous principles. By discipleship and delegation we gain time and it's simple. When we follow Christ, decisions are often already made for us thus allowing more time in the 'do'. For example, I never have to think if I'm going to have a drink when it is offered so I can immediately be involved in the work of doing and not deciding. We also find surplus time as leaders when we delegate duties and not try to do everything ourselves. This allows time for other necessary things and growth for the other person. All in all President's counsel was instructive and he really taught me so much as well on the importance of obedience.

Now let's jump into the week.

Monday- Pday. As I mentioned last week we went to Eton and visited a castle and Eton college, which is for the rich rich kids. I could instantly feel how poor I was hahaha. Then I boxed with Elder Terua. He brought mitts and gloves for us to train a little bit. It was so fun!

Tuesday- Instead of going to Uxbridge we decided to do some finding in Hayes. I got a record of getting 4 people's number. It was way more fun than Uxbridge and the people weren't as mean, but it's an hour bus ride so we won't go there again. At least not often. 

Wednesday- We were a bush removal team today. And fencing too. Then we had dinner with an amazing couple named Lillian and Fred. She made us steak with veggies, potatoes and gravy (not mashed). They are so nice!

Thursday- We had interviews and then trainings all day! It was really long but there was a lot to learn.

Friday- Sister Jordan had us over for dinner and she's so awesome! She's 66 but looks 35. She had an awesome afro at church this week with a huge yellow feather coat. it looked like she was in New England in the 1950's. She is so nice and she made us pasta! 

Saturday- This was Elder Petersen's last normal day in Hayes so we celebrated his 6 month mark and bought some new clothes. We have been learning about and embracing the Hindu culture. It's cool.

Sunday- I felt very confident that a lot of my friends were coming to church. Then they didn't. But it's ok because this was the day that Mehdi got baptized, so hooray! I can't post pictures of it because it would not be good for the Iranian government to see that. But I'm so happy he made the sacrifices he has to follow Jesus!

And that's it this week. Thank you all for keeping up with me. I'm sorry if I fail to reply but know that I read everything!!! I love hearing updates about your families! Elder Moss and I will be here in Hayes for a 5 week transfer before Christmas! Wish us luck!!

Your favorite (Hercules ;)

Elder Hixon

Recebar Revelacao!

First full week down out here in Brazil. Super super good stuff happening out here. I am grateful for the challenges that have already arrived and also for the love I have received from my God, my companion, and the members here in Ibiuna. Vamos la!

Okay so this week we hit the ground running. The area had not been worked in too much recently so we decided to contact every non member on our cell phone. And so we did. It was over 200 people! Day after day we sent messages and had conversations and tried to invite all to listen to the message of the Restoration. It was an interesting week, we did not leave our house very much nor did we teach a whole lot. 2 things that are VERY odd compared to the last time I was in Brazil. It is actually a whole new ball game here. I found myself reading scriptures, pacing, staring at the wall, and trying to come up with things to do so many times this week. I almost felt a time or two that I was in jail haha. Which is much different than the last time I was here. Last time I was here it was a sin to be in your house from the hours of 10 AM- 9PM haha. So it has taken some adjusting. And on top of the adjustments, this last weekend Sao Paulo returned back to phase red with this corona virus, meaning they are back to similar lockdowns that they were in about 10 months ago. So, basically nothing has changed since I got kicked out last year in regards to Covid. And despite all our best efforts, we ended up only being able to successfully teach 5 new people from those 200. And these 5 since then have decided they did not want to hear anymore haha. So, here we are left with not much to do. 

One thing I am learning so much about when it comes to being a missionary is accepting the revelation that my mission president has for me. As long as I am trying to do what he has asked, i will be blessed accordingly. I have 4 mission presidents in my mission(5 if we are counting President Milder haha) and each one, though trying to do the same thing which is to invite all to come unto Christ, have asked very different things of us. My first mission president focused more on our relationships with other missionaries and how that could help us find, teach and baptize. My second mission president used a lot more of a hands off style approach. Not in a bad way but more in a "I will teach correct principles and allow you guys to govern yourselves" meaning youth leadership really had a hold on how things operated in the mission and president rarely gave mass correction. My third mission president focused SO MUCH on member work. It was integral and in fact was something we had to report each week. We needed to have at least 21 lessons with members each week and then report lessons we had with people being taught that had members in them and such. Very very member focused. My 4th mission president(the one I have now, though chronologically he is number 3 we are making him 4 because I am hoping I finish with him) focuses on 3 things that he believes will help us find, teach and baptize. And okay really quick, when I say these mission presidents, "believe this is the way" I really mean that they have received revelation for the mission and this is how it is to be done. So President Horsley(my current mission president) believes in 3 steps: Ceasing your spiritual rebellion NOW in whatever thing it may be, seeking personal revelation through diligent study, and then teach with power and authority. He has felt strongly that these are the 3 steps we can take as a mission to better find, teach and baptize. Sorry I just took you on a long tangent to basically say that I am learning not every mission is the same and not every mission can function the same because revelation from God to His servants is personal to each and every situation(or in my case, mission). 

And I did not really have this perspective until Sunday night when I was talking with a member, Kilton, about how I was a little frustrated with how I feel like I am just waiting around to teach and am waiting on referrals from the church. He then taught me the principle I just tangented off on. In fact he also had 4 mission presidents in his mission and each one worked differently. He explained to me how if I were to just truly follow and do what my leaders have asked me to do(through revelation), that the work would go exactly as God intends it to. Which brought me a lot more comfort. Because step number 2 on the Horsley Baptism Formula is to receive personal revelation through diligent study. Which now I have AMPLE time to do. So, I have been brought comfort and even clarity and direction as I now go forward in my time here in Brazil.

That was a lot to tell you that I am learning again and again how important is it to listen to, and trust our Priesthood leaders. They have keys, priesthood permission and power, to help us find more joy in this life and do God's work here on the earth! 

That is all for this week:) I am happy here. Life is good! Go pray for your Priesthood leader and try and do what he tells you to do! He has been praying for you and has been receiving revelation for you!   

Love you all! 

Elder Hixon

The Big Pendulum

Hey everyone!

I know God loves us. So much so that he allows us to experience joy and sorrow. Even when we follow all His commandments! What a blessing! It's like a pendulum, it always swings back. When good things are happening in your life, be grateful because tough things are coming. When things are tough, be excited because good things are on the way. A quick example of this is with Charlene and then Tiago...

Baptism fell through. What a heartbreak really. Poor Charlene. She believes everything and follows all the commandments but for some reason isn't quite ready to get baptized. It is quite saddening. But oh well. We will work with her a little but not all that much anymore as we have other people we need to work with. We've been playing Dad in that house for a while. We've patched holes in walls and changed tires and reminded the boys everyday to take their medicine and basically stabilized the home. Now we are stepping out and we are hopeful Charlene will see the difference between having the church in her life vs. not having it. Her boys are too autistic to really understand or be their own forces for getting to church. So it's all up to Charlene. 

Then on Sunday the Brazilian family was finally able to meet with our bishop which was just amazing. They love bishop and due to a lot of legal complications couldn't really meet with us again until they met with Bishop so we are beaming with joy! We have gotten passed the legal problem and now are able to teach them regularly. I think that's the real reason I'm staying here one more transfer. I'm grateful for the bond we've made with them. Tiago says that he feels like he's been friends with us for such a long time so it's really cool. When you run into a receptive and open person/people the process is so beautiful. 

I'm grateful for the ups and downs! It makes life more fun and interesting. Love everything you go through in life because why not:)

I had one insight this week that I found in the book of Mormon that really helped me through some of the lows. Perhaps it will help you too. We all know the account of Nephi breaking his bow. Everyone is ticked. Except of course, Nephi. Nephi has been righteous before the bow broke and even as the bow broke. And then of course we know Nephi even continues in diligence as he asks his father where to hunt and makes a new bow for himself. So basically Nephi is doing everything right. Even though everyone around him isn't. He is literally the only person there (I don't know if any of us these days can have a situation like this) that was choosing the right. So what does the Lord do for him? Before I answer that, remember that Nephi and his whole family are literally starving. No food and had been traveling and traveling and were very unsuccessful at getting sufficient food. So he is probably exhausted and tired and hungry. So it is only is fitting that the Lord tells him that the only food he can get is on "the top of the mountain". The Lord asks Nephi to do something incredibly difficult even after he has been doing basically everything right. The Lord always asks for sacrifice. Nephi was not exempt from hiking a whole mountain even though he was starving, tired, diligent, humble, and faithful. Interesting huh? It helped me realize that sacrifice is just part of the gig. And what better way is there to live. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. So when the Lord asks for sacrifice, you better believe he will follow up with blessings as we faithfully sacrifice. It helped me a lot. A sweet tender mercy from God to teach me that the other day in my personal study. 

Love you all!

Elder Hixon

Happy!

Hi!!!!!!!

Life in Fairfield continues. It's snowing and getting colder and colder. But it's kinda fun! I've never had a snowy Christmas before so this is exciting stuff! 

As in terms of the work... 

We have another baptism this weekend for C--------. Pray for her. She's nervous. She still feels remorse. 18 years ago she got in a car accident that left her paralyzed and killed her mother. C-------- was the driver. She feels bad about it even still. It breaks my heat that someone could still feel remorse and guilt for things that happened almost 2 decades ago. And this remorse and guilt has been something that has been a stumbling block in being baptized. Her boys were baptized about a year ago but she has been shy about it. We have been pretty bold with her and in some ways are helping push her into it but it's because we know with all our hearts it is what she wants and needs. The Spirit made manifest to us that she was our next baptism. Weeks ago my comp and I fasted for who in our teaching pool we really needed to focus on and work with and as clear as day C------ name came to our hearts. I'm grateful for the guidance of the Spirit. C------- has also had a stroke and another car accident since that first accident. She has recovered from her paralysis in a few ways. She walks but struggles. She has adapted quite a limp. Muscles in her eyes are failing and her health deteriorates. She is mid 40's and has 2 kids at home though. These 2 kids are 25 and 20 but they have the brain capacity of teenagers. She works a full time job to try and help the boys. She has never been married. Just used and abused and left with these boys. Her past is pretty tough. We prodded a lot this past week and my heart yearns for C------- healing. Not so much physically but mentally and spiritually. So, pray for C-------. That all goes well this weekend. She could be a vital asset for the team of God. We need her! 

That's all I have in way of reporting. Due to legal problems we are having trouble teaching the Brazillians. Also the other elders were going to baptize a girl named D------ and I had to do the interview at her house. Well she definitely had word of Wisdom issues still so her and I made a deal that I would take the cigarettes and sweet tea home for 3 days so she could feel how it was to be without them. Unfortunately her ex husband heard about it and told her we stole from her and are using her(he is very manipulative and abusive so it's tough) and she believed him so she hates us now haha! 

I was thinking about one characteristic of Christ that I wanted to have. I feel that Christ could experience a negative situation without becoming negative. For example, as He drank from the "bitter cup" he avoided becoming bitter. Even though in some ways He probably could have rightfully been bitter. I started thinking about my life. How many bitter or stressful or anxious or annoying circumstances can I be in without becoming as such? It was a cool thing to reflect on. I'm going to try and be better. To not become the negative that my circumstances might be in. I'm grateful for the Savior. I absolutely loved President Nelson's message. I've already watched it 5 times since. I can't get enough. It brings the Spirit and helps me be more grateful. I love the posts. Changing the environment of social media has helped me feel more encouraged to do the work. Seeing all the good has really lifted my spirits and the spirits of many many missionaries! 

I'm happy to be a missionary! I'm so grateful for the technology that allowed me to facetime my sister earlier this week and see her sweet new born. I love my family and am eternally grateful that they are the ones God let me be with. Be grateful this week! Avoid becoming negative!!

Elder Hixon

Quicky!

Not much time this week. We have transfers today. I will be receiving a new comp to be with me here in Cotia. He is a Brazillian. It will be way way way too fun. I am beyond excited. I will miss Elder Handcock! He was an awesome Comp... But... on the last day in the MTC I wrote in my journal these words, "Last day of the MTC!! Super excited to leave. Everyone was crying tonight and I got a little sad as well. But I did not come on a mission to make friends, I came to help Save Souls. I need to always remember the real reasons I do things". So... bye Elder Hancock. It was great but, I am here to help Save Souls.

This week was another full of Tender Mercies. I will share a quick experience and relate it to an experience with our Savior. 

Just this week we had a young man named Lucas return home from his mission early. This is the first time this has ever happened in this ward in Brazil so it was a little tough on him and his family and stuff like that. But I was able to talk with him and his parents and add some comfort and mourn with them a little but also be encouraging. It was so unique. The Lord did not waste any time putting my experience to use. My first area in Brazil and I am already with people that are having similar experiences as me. He is amazing. Once we are willing to use whatever we have to help the Lord, he will provide the opportunities. Agency is powerful. We can impact opportunities and miracles by the way we conduct your lives. It was touching to be able to share similar experiences with Lucas! I am grateful for the Hard things in my life that the Lord will use to further His work. I love being useful!!! It is all I desire. 

In the scriptures we can read about Peter. Once Jesus Christ died, Peter went back to being a fisherman. In some ways he came home from his mission. He left the sacred calling that he had received. He went back to his home on the boat. How does the Savior react to this? He does not discuss about Peter "coming home" from his mission. He does not ask "What are you doing?" or "Why weren't you better?". Jesus Christ asked Peter about the love he had for his Savior... which of course is Jesus Christ. Then he commanded him to "Feed My Sheep". How can we respond to those who, in spiritual ways, "come home from their missions"?  We can respond with the love of the Savior. We can remind them what it looks like by our actions and encourage them to get back to work. To minister and to be better than before. It is all we can do. Love, and encourage others to work with us. This is the mission. The worth of Souls is Great. 

Keep working and make this week a good one in the sight of the Lord.

Elder Hixon

Zion

Yes. Cotia is Zion. I remember being told that on my first Sunday here. And thought yeah yeah everyone says that about their ward.... But wow. The members did not lie. 

Well, this week was a week without rain. Which was quite odd. Okay no there was rain, but it was very very minimal. No one even called it rain here. Just mist is what they called it. So it was a bit hot. We approached about 100 degrees here with some dang humidity. Probably like 8,000% humidity but who knows. We do not have smart phones or weather apps or anything. So I am just gonna go with 8,000%. 

We were also able to start back up our English Connect class. It is fun to help teach English. At the end I shared a story in English to help them learn while my comp translated it. The story consisted of learning the importance of continual preparation and continual spiritual nourishment during and before our trials. I talked about my time at Buesing Corp. and how hot it would get and I talked about how one day I was working and it was veryyyyy hot. We were approaching hour 11 of work and basically everything felt like it was on fire. And I asked myself, "How am I still going right now?" To which the Spirit strongly answered "Because you prepared for this and are continually drinking water. This is much like the world today" And I was able to learn the importance for us to be spiritually nourishing ourselves always. There will be times in life that are a lot hotter than other times in our life and if we do not prepare for this times and then especially if we do not continually spiritually nourish during those times, we will fall. It was a good experience to remember and learn this lesson again this week. 

I also confirmed Sophia as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints this Sunday. Wow it was pretty scary to give a blessing in Portuguese in front of everyone. But, as always, the Spirit provided. It was interesting, I did not magically inherit the gift of tongues and said words that I had never heard before, but through the Spirit I was able to use what I already did know to convey different ideas and emotions throughout the blessing. I loved it!

We will have another baptism next week! With our favorite 80 year old girl Maria! I love the women that are of a more senior age in my life. Grandma Hixon and Grandma Poppleton and Grandma Steck (Yes, I have 3 grandmas, it is kind of awesome)! Maria really struggles to remember things. But she teaches me much. We had a miracle happen with her. She had been smoking cigarettes for almost 70 years of her life. She wanted to stop but did not know how, so we went over there and ripped all the cigarettes up and she has been clean and happy for the past 2 weeks. It is marvelous! The Lord is showering her with blessing. Her husband has been deathly ill and stuck to his bed for years and does not speak. Since she gave up cigarettes, he has become way more animated and his health has improved. He can sit on the couch now and speaks more than he ever has! And there is still more to learn through the story of Maria. She does not know much about prophets, revelation and all that stuff. We have taught multiple times but her mind is too gone to remember it. But what she DOES know is that Jesus is her Savior. She knows that it was through His power that she could stop smoking and that her husband is getting healthier. She knows it and desires to follow Him. This to me is the most marvelous part about Maria. It is so simple. Christ is our Savior and we need to follow Him. There are lots of details in life that can complicate this and there is a lot more to know, but what we NEED to know is exactly that. Jesus is our Redeemer so let´s follow him. 

I want to finish this letter with the story of Paracido. He is amazing. 

He was met by missionaries a little over a month ago, 15 days after they met him he was baptized(he could have been baptized after 9 days but fell ill and could not make it to the baptism) and received the Aaronic Priesthood shortly after. 2 weeks ago he received the Melchizedek Priesthood. Yes Golden. But the 70 years leading up to this moment were not. He was addicted to drugs for about 50 years of his life. He quit 10 years prior to his encounter with missionaries. Because of a drug filled life he was not blessed with a great job. He could not hold one very well. A lot of his money went to drugs. He has lived a life full of poverty. Even now his house is just one room (It is the picture with the old guy in the suit and the Book of Mormon). Any time we go over, he feeds us with everything he has. He has about 2 pairs of pants, 4 shirts, a hat, a suit coat and a recorder. He in fact has been working on playing hymns with his recorder for us. Paracido is a man of Joy. Even with so little, even with practically no family, even with not much food, he is joyful. He has found the Gospel of Jesus Christ and has truly taken it and ran with it. He studies each day deeply. He loves to share what he learns with us when we go over. He is at church every Sunday and is a ward Missionary. This man has truly embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ. To close I want to share a story from him.

About 10 days ago he was at work. He has found a job that is Monday-Friday where all he does is hand out fliers all day. It does not pay much. It honestly does not pay for what he needs but he is grateful for it. But anyway, he was at work and someone came up to him offering him a new job. It payed 100 more reais than the job he now had which definitely would help him. He continued to talk with this man about the logistics with pay and work hours. The one thing about this job was that it would probably take up a few Sundays. The guy had told him he would try and not work him on Sundays but that there was no guarantee. When Paracido heard this he abruptly said "Can you buy Salvation for 100 reais?" To which of course the man answered no, and Paracido then said "Then I am happy where I am goodbye". This is just one example of the faithfulness of this man. There are many other stories. But this is a story of valiance. He valiantly stands where he is. With little to no money. He gets paid the equivalent of about 30 american dollars a week. He stands valiantly as the world continues to bombard him with every reason to stoop down and let go of his faith. He stands valiantly even when he is tired. Because he know who his Savior is. He knows Jesus is the Christ and he is our only way back home. Choose the Right, come what may. I am more than grateful to learn from Paracido and the amazing people here in Cotia. This place really is Zion. They are becoming of one heart and one mind, because at the base of everything they are learning that Jesus is our Savior. I love this Gospel and I love this work. There is nothing like it on the face of the earth and all can participate. 

Make this week a wonderful week in the sight of the Lord. We can truly be "Joyfully Marching to our Home" as our eyes are fixed on the Savior and His abiding love for us. 

Elder Hixon

A Sweet Reunion

We are back in the Beautiful country of Brazil. I am more than excited to be here. The world is green and the people are so kind. It was so amazing to return. Flying in was awesome. Looking out the window and seeing all of Sao Paulo. It amazing what happens when we return to places we truly love. Which right there is a gospel principle in itself but y'all can work that one out yourselves.

I am serving in the Cotia ward. This place is pretty sweet. It is a mix between my jungle countryside home of Ibiuna and the city life of Sao Paulo. My companion is Elder Hancock. He is a BIG BOY. Played basketball in High school and is just my giant white bodyguard. I feel extra safe with him here haha. No one is going to mess with us. 

He is helping me get back into the Portuguese swing of things. I forgot how hard it is to understand when Brazilians speak Portuguese haha. With an American, yes I can understand. Put a Brazilian in front of me and it is a whole new ball game. I love it.

This week was already full of many miracles. The Lord knows us and loves us. I want to share 2 quick things. 

The first thing is what I am learning from my mission president. He taught us in a stake ward council meeting about the importance of Following First the Prophet, then the Spirit. This meeting was interesting, all the ward councils in the stake met at the stake center and were taught rather than a regular Stake priesthood meeting or Stake Adult session. But he explained how the Prophet gives us commandments to follow. Like for example, Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. This is commandment that we have been given by God through a prophet. And in a sense, the Prophet gives us the limits of the commandment. The prophet does not always spell out the commandment and the do's and don'ts but he gives us a commandment as the Lord sees fit to give. But it is within these limits of the commandment that we follow the Spirit. For example, with keeping the Sabbath Day Holy we have need to partake of the Sacrament. That is one "Limit" the prophet has given us in order to keep the Sabbath Day Holy. And as we make sure we follow that "Limit" or requirement, we are then able to receive even personal revelation on what else keeping the Sabbath Day holy looks like. We may feel that we in fact do need to work this shift this Sunday to provide for a family, or maybe we feel that we can watch this football game today because we feel it brings our families closer and the Spirit has approved. But we must first follow what God has primarily asked through Prophets. Because when we do not follow what the Prophet asks us to do, how can we expect to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost to be guided? We can not. We need to be obedient and in so doing we will be able to receive further and more personal direction in our lives. President Horsley is awesome. 

The other thing that happened was a tender and sweet answer to my prayers. Saturday morning I was feeling a bit discouraged. As what happens with many new missionaries when they arrive to the field. I was missing my family extremely that morning and felt that I was not ready for the day. The week felt long and the language was tough. I again asked myself why I am here? The constant changes from Brazil to home then to Georgia then back to Brazil, I did not like feeling as if I could not settle anywhere because would soon pick up my bags and leaves everyone I had come to love. So for these reasons my heart was troubled. But that morning I turned to prayer. All I asked was for comfort. I did not realize how great the Lord would bless me that day. Later that day we had that Stake Ward Council meeting I talked about earlier. Where each Ward Council in the Stake gathered together at this building to listen and be edified by the Stake. Again, it was a great meeting but I still had some feelings of discouragement and sadness. But right after the meeting my prayer was answered more than I could have ever imagined. 

We were sitting closer to the front and so as the meeting ended we stood up and were getting ready to leave. As my companion and I grabbed our bags and turned around and started leaving I saw something I could never have imagined. My old ward of Ibiuna. These people were my closest friends I had made in my short time in Brazil. I had thought about them everyday since I had been away. And there they were. Staring at me and beckoning me to come to them. Feeling like a little kid I hurried over to them and received many hugs and warm welcomes. They all exclaimed "Elder, we have been waiting for you. We knew you would come back". My heart was filled with joy. The Lord is true to His word. He loves us all. Only He could have known my first week in Brazil would be when I would feel discouraged. Only He could have given President the inspiration to put me in the same stake and neighboring ward as Ibiuna. Only he could have inspired the Stake Leaders to invite all Ward Councils in the stake to that very Saturday, my first in Brazil. Only He. He knows me and loves me. And for that I am forever grateful. I will never forget my Ibiuna Miracle. My sweet reunion with these wonderful and amazing people. I love the opportunity to be here and to proclaim God's love. He lives. As does his Son Jesus Christ and it is in His name that I testify that we are known by our Father in Heaven. 

Onto another week in the Service of our God

Elder Hixon

Back in Brazil!

Elder Hixon arrived in Brazil safely and happily!

Dear Hixon family,

It was a pleasure to meet and interview Elder Hixon in our home this morning. He arrived at approximately 11 am and we spent the morning and afternoon together with the missionaries that arrived today. We focused on the Savior and His saving doctrines. We also provided them with mission guidelines and answered questions. The assistants to the president and mission secretaries were also present and gave trainings.

Afterwards we visited the Mission Office and a local Stake Center where he met his companion. We ended the day with a tour of the São Paulo Temple Visitor´s Center and he went to his area. It will be a privilege to get to know him and we know that he will be a wonderful and powerful servant in the Lord's work. Thank you for sending us such a wonderful missionary....

Moving On!

Last email in THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!! 

Next Monday I will be boarding a plane and headed for Brazil. Few things have ever had me so excited. 

I am very short on time. A few things I learned this week. 

The Lord knows us. He knows our fears and our heart aches. I learned that sometimes we don't always feel that way. But that is necessary to grow our faith. 

My family is the best. Nothing else to that one. 

Georgia is full of great people. Members or not, there are amazing people in this world who need the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I am a child of God!

I love being a missionary. I have really enjoyed my time here in Georgia but am also ready to leave. Goodbyes are good and necessary. 

Make this week a great week in the sight of the Lord! 

Love y'all!

Elder Hixon 

The Power of Families!

I've been transferred. It was hard and unexpected. I fully expected to see Elder Wheeler go and I stay and become a trio in our apartment with the other two elders. I Only have 20 days left in Georgia so I felt that it would be the most effective thing to do. But, alas, I was transferred! Had to say goodbye to the people we were teaching including our Brazilian family. I trust that the Lord has a plan for them. 

I am now in Cedartown Georgia in a trio. My companions are Elder Yardley and Elder Dunn. The easiest way to describe the two. Elder Dunn is short, white, and likes to build stuff. Elder Yardley is big, Asian, and likes to break stuff. It's a good combo. They get along well. Which is good. In a trio, I want the other two to get along well, and I can just be happy for that reason. So we're a good happy trio. 

The work is slower out here than in my last area. We cover a branch. Our area is about 50 miles wide and 20 miles tall! A big space of land but not many people. We are in the process of teaching a few people and found a sweet Hispanic family on Sunday. Their hearts are open to receiving the message. It warms my heart to teach families. I really like teaching individuals, but there is nothing like teaching a family. Families are central to the creators plan. 

In that respect, I learned something that touched my heart this week. Earlier this week, I found myself reading some teachings by President David O. McKay. Here is something he says that moved me

"When God becomes the center of our being, we become conscious of a new aim in life—spiritual attainment. Physical possessions are no longer the chief goal in life." 

This helped me better focus this week on things that really matter. On my spiritual goals and spiritual desires. And just about every spiritual goal I have, has to do with my family. Be it my current family or my future family. Our families are here for us to learn, grow, and have joy. True joy. My testimony of families grow each day. I have seen that as we teach families this Gospel, we see their hearts soften. They look at their kids and feel a desire to help their kids because of the love that is within a family bond. I saw it just on Sunday in the eyes of Darwin. The father of 5 kids. While we testified of this Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ his wife and him were deeply moved due to the love of their family. I testify that as we more closely look to gain spiritual attainment through our families, we will be moved to change, and come closer to our Savior. 

Y'all have a great week!! Only 1 more general letter 'til Brazil!!!!!!! 

Elder Hixon 

Holidays and Transfers

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! This week was busily not busy. So it was goodly not good. Yes, holiday weeks as a missionary can be odd. This transfer has been exciting. To have Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all in the same transfer is awesome. Many opportunities to invite others to come unto Christ.

I was able to talk to my family this Christmas. Yes... we technically can every week but I don't do that. I try and keep holidays special in that aspect so we only talk on certain holidays and birthdays. My family doesn't want to hear from me that much anyway haha. We are also transferring later this week. I will be leaving Stockbridge. Not exactly sure where I am headed but I won't be here anymore. Also... VISA! Yes my Visa cleared this week!! I will leave for Brazil on the 20th of January! So I am way excited.

I do not have a lot of time this week but I will share one thing I learned this week.

What I learned this week is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly is for everyone. It is not a Gospel that can be for everyone, it is a Gospel that IS for everyone. There is not a Soul on this earth that the Gospel isn't for. Every single person on the earth needs it. Not later, not in the next life, but now. Many will reject it, but they need it now. It has been interesting to really come to this realization. We all need this Restored Gospel. And we need it right now. We all need to have more faith. We all need to repent more. We all need to come closer to our covenants. We all need to be living worthily to have the Holy Ghost with us. And we all need to endure to the end. I am learning that as I invite anyone and everyone to partake of this Gospel, my joy is more full and I feel more purpose to my existence. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. He is our Redeemed and our Advocate. He loves each of us more than we can even comprehend. I testify that as we do anything to come closer to him, there is immediately more joy in our lives.

I love you all! Have a Happy New Year!!

Elder Hixon

Elder Hixon  and Elder (...) slept out on the balcony so that could have a cold Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

This week was full of tender mercies and great blessings. The Lord truly does bless us each and every day and it feels like he blesses us even more when we take time to count our blessings. Gratitude is THE attitude of a joyful person. I am learning that more and more as I see the lives of so many faithful people in this world. I love McDonough Georgia!! 

We were able to teach our Brazillian miracles this week. It was one of the happiest times I have had so far being back out. It brought so much joy and peace to be able to talk to them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the language of Portuguese. What a blessing it is to be a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no joy quite like the joy of sharing the Gospel with other people. It is unique. 

In sacrament meeting this week, each member of the bishopric spoke. It was powerful. Each of them spoke on an aspect of Christ. The 2nd counselor spoke on Jehovah of the Old Testament, the 1st counselor spoke on Jesus Christ and his mortal ministry, and the Bishop spoke on Jesus Christ in our lives now and forever. It is always inspiring to talk of Christ and listen to words spoken about him. He has always been and will always be Our Savior and Redeemer. 

We did our final night of Hot Cocoa on Saturday and were able to give away a few Books of Mormon and discuss with some people about our church. It was fun, and cold, and wet. It has been raining for the past 3 days non stop. Which has been a blast. 

The Lord is good. Christmas is wonderful. In 3rd Nephi chapter 1 we read about a people who have quite the trial of faith but they remained faithful and were blessed exceedingly. The witness comes after the trial of our faith. Always. God is unchanging and that is His way. So let us welcome trials into our lives with glad hearts because as we remain faithful, our witness WILL come and we WILL have joy and peace. 

Feliz Natal!!

Elder Hixon 

Lit the World!

A good week in McDonough.

Well we will start with quick highlights.

#1 Ate a Baby Octopus... very chewy. The tentacles or arms or whatever you call them were very very chewy... the head was cake to eat.
#2 We gave away about 250-300 cups of hot chocolate for free at the McDonough square! It was also during the parade so it was super fun!! Gave away Books of Mormon and all the good stuff. We lit the world!
#3 I nailed a bulls eye while playing with our new magnet dart board in the apartment... pretty cool
#4 We did an Escape the Room. But it was a lot different than normal ones. It was a huge camera museum that the people occasionally turn into an Escape the Room type of thing. Pretty fun.
#5 TAUGHT OUT FIRST LESSONS THIS WEEK FINALLY
#6 I have a NEW NIECE YES BABY PENNY BEST THING OF THE WEEK

That is basically my week. I do not have a lot of time today. But we taught a few lessons this week. We taught an older man who played linebacker for Alabama way back when. We also taught a sweet single lady who is going through a TON right now but is very receptive and kind and wants to feed us. And then we taught another lady who also has a lot on her plate and was not very receptive but hey, we taught. The names I will use for these folks is Martin, Lauren, and Reagan. When I get in Brazil I probably will not use fake names but I feel that here in Georgia I will need to. It was a week full of biking and meetings. It is amazing the amount of revelation that can come to you while you are on a bike. It has become one of my favorite things. A time to almost be alone, because we can not talk to each other that well while biking, and a time to think and ponder.

One of the biggest things I am learning(definitely have not learned or mastered it at all) this week is that we can truly choose to be happy. In the Christmas Devotional on Sunday the wonderful reminder that Joy does not depend on the circumstances of our lives but the focus of them. I am learning that I need to have a better focus on the Plan of Salvation, and being at the center of that plan is both the Family and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Maintaining an eternal perspective is critical in our ability to feel and appreciate both Joy and Sorrow. As many of you might have also studied in church this Sunday, the talk by M. Russel. Ballard which is titled, Giving our Spirits Control Over our Bodies, struck me deeply. I thought of even more ways my Spirit could be even more in control of my Body. It has been a very neat thing for me to think about the events of my day during my nightly prayers, and see where the Body was in Control vs. the Spirit. Then to repent and try to change it the next day. There is Joy to be had as we continually repent and try to become better.

Alright well,

Have a fantastic week

Elder Hixon