Dear... Everyone,
This week has been absolutely amazing! If you couldn't tell by the title of this e-mail, but yes, amazing! So after we e-mail and do all of our personal stuff we get to work again, so we go to lessons and do all that fun stuff. After talking to less active members and knocking on doors I pass out my first pass along card. Not a huge thing but still pretty sweet. Tuesday, not much happened, just lessons and teaching investigators. Wednesday, I go on my first exchanges because my companions are zone leaders and had to go to Richmond for a meeting, I'm going to talk more about my companions in a bit, but I go with Elder Carpenter, and Elder Harris, two great missionaries. We go to a little mobile home neighborhood and begin to knock on doors, not much success; I get my first door slammed on my face though! Sweet right!? Right before my companions get back, around 4 we go to the last lesson we have scheduled together, her name is Ashley, long story short they committed her to baptism! Soooo sort of my first one, but we also gave her a blessing and I was able to stand in on that, powerful stuff. Later that night there was a huge thunderstorm!! Thunderstorms are so sweet here! Even though they are super cool, it was my first power outage and it was pretty intense, so trying to plan and study that night was a little rough but it's still gotta happen. Thursday was a really frustrating unsuccessful day. Pretty much everyone canceled and we just didn't get to do much that day. Friday we had a zone meeting so that was cool, I was able to meet all of the other Elders in our zone and I had the spiritual thought so I talked about the importance of bearing testimony. It was really good. :) Not much else happened that day, a few more cancellations but it wasn't all that bad. Now Saturday! The longest, but it was awesome! So every Saturday we get to play Saturday sports which starts at 9 am, which means that we have to wake up at 5:30 am to exercise, workout, study, and plan. At Saturday sports we play ultimate frisbee!!! How great, it is so much fun to play, so when I get back home I won't miss a beat. ;) The members and leaders who play are so great and it is just so much fun! After that we have a lesson with Meagan Lake who is the relief society president and we just wanted to help her as best as we could, I shared with her the beginning of Enos talking about prayer and receiving revelation through sincere prayer. The lesson went over great! Then... The highlight of the day!!! Natalie Sikes, a progressing investigator I've only met with twice, but Elder Brockbank has only met with her twice before that, she is set for BAPTISM!!! September 18th! It's amazing and she is really confident about the whole thing and after we set the date she said she felt more relaxed and ready. It is so amazing! I was bearing my testimony about not having a perfect knowledge, we don't need a perfect knowledge of everything in the gospel because that is impossible, I said how I'm just 19, I have a lot to learn, but through faith in Jesus Christ what she KNOWS IS PERFECT! I shared my testimony about Thomas S. Monson because that was what our lesson was about, modern day prophets. Then baptism just came in! So good, we were lead by the spirit, she felt it, we felt it, oh... so AMAZING! Alright, I'm running out of time, we only have an hour to e-mail. We met with Lisa White and she is progressing so much, and Sarah Richardson is on the very edge! Pray for them please. Later that night as we were getting home there were drunk guys outside in the parking lot yelling and swearing, then some older lady was walking by and started yelling and swearing at them for being worthless, she told us to call the cops afterwards and the cops showed up and took one of the guys away. Pretty crazy stuff. Then... One of the companionships didn't call in that night, so at 11:00 we have to head out to Waynesboro which is like half an hour away and check on them. We get there at 11:30 and their car is unlocked and they won't answer the door. We throw stuff at the windows and nothing happens, 30 minutes goes by and we say a prayer. I check the windows and I just slide one of them up and we crawl in, there phone is on the couch and they are upstairs asleep!!!!! So that all happens, we get back home and finally get to bed around 1 am! So from 5:30 am to 1:00 am, it's kind of a long day, then having to wake up at 6:00. Pretty rough. Sunday was good, we got a new bishopric in the singles ward and I gave a blessing to Marcus, it was really sweet. That night, we helped moved a non member couple into a new home and I saw FIREFLIES, oh it was the coolest thing ever! But ya, so it was a really good week. Now a little on my companions... Elder Brockbank is a professional wakeboarder, snowboarder, and dirtbiker!!! He's legit; also he is the greatest missionary/companion. He is also from Sandy Utah. Elder Comer plays football for BYU, he plays corner and he is so cool, he is so bold it is awesome! He is from Springville Utah. They are the greatest and I am learning so much from them! Well that's pretty much it, I love you all, study the scriptures, be sure to pray, and always have faith, it is so important! I studied a bunch on faith today, Ether 12 and Alma 32, talk so much on faith, also read the Bible Dictionary on Faith. I love you and enjoy your week!
With Love,
Elder Hopkins
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