A Christmas Gift to the Savior

Hello family and friends,

So here's a quick update.
    Last Tuesday my companion from Cambodia went home. We're still not too sure why. It's very sad. What's even sadder is that Elder Sam2 is also probably going home now as well. Initially, he said he was going to stay regardless of what his brother did, but it’s been really hard on him. He cries and just feels like he also wants to go back to Cambodia. His family has been calling him all week. The good thing about Elder Sam2 is that at least he will listen and respond to you when you talk to him. Once again, we're trying to do all we can to help him choose to stay. In fact, he's meeting with President today, here in a little bit. Please pray it goes well. (Or went well depending on when you read this). God sent the Sams here for an obvious reason: we need them. They truly can be of such great service for the Cambodian people here in Long Beach. But I know whatever happens, Gods work will move forward in this area and things will work out, as they always have.
   Right now I'm with Elder Low. It's great so far. He's a really cool guy. I've actually never been companions with him before, which is weird at this point of our missions (he's just two transfers behind me). But I still know him well, since we've both been in the Park Ward for a long time. We actually might room together at BYU after the mission, which would be really fun!
   It's been great to get things going in the area again. God is blessing us at this time and we truly see Him guiding us in our work. The other day we felt we should bike down this alley for no real reason. Sure enough, there was one of our investigators who we'd been unable to talk to for a while. It was amazing how we crossed paths. He said he'll definitely try to come to church again, and that he wants to start meeting with us regularly again. Cool. Right after that, we saw a Cambodian house that had the lights on. We decided to knock the door. They were busy but said we could come back. We still had a great little discussion on the porch. We're excited to go visit them on Thursday with our Elders Quorum president.
   I love the Christmas season, a time to celebrate the Savior and His birth. This month’s first presidency message talks about ways we can give back to the Savior and show our gratitude for His gospel. What better gift to the Savior than by sharing the gospel with someone before Christmas. I don't remember the exact words but Elder Ballard promised us that if we show our faith by trying to find someone for the missionaries to teach by Christmas, the Lord will help us do just that.
Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Hicken