Happy Hollerdays! 12/28/2010

So, yesterday, I cleaned a goose.
Now that I've got that out of the way, I can tell you about the rest of the week.

Christmas was awesome, due in large part to all of you who sent me ornaments, letters and other miscellaneous goodies. I am very indebted to all of you for your support and love. It's the fuel that makes this marathon a lot easier to run. I'm going to upload the pictures of all the ornaments very soon, I just don't have to time to do it right now.

But again, thank you.

Most of Christmas Day was spent going around to different families and just crashing...I mean, joining their celebrations. There were a lot of different traditions. It's neat to see what so many different families do so that one day, when I have a family, I can draw from those experiences for my own traditions. They ranged from eating on the floor to playing a series of "Minute to Win It" games (which, as most of YOU probably know, is some kind of game show) to playing Christmas carols on handmade chimes.
I did, of course, miss my own family's traditions, such as singing Silent Night on Christmas Eve in front of our nativity scene and then singing Joy to the World on Christmas Morning and placing baby Jesus in the manger. I also, on a side note, really missed the Rosser's famous Christmas Eve Breakfast. No country ham this year!

Bottom line: Christmas is awesome, families are awesome and my Grandaddy's trash is awesome (it's a Hopkins thing).

Just another day in the perfect place. And if you don't believe me, read the sign:
I hope everyone else's Christmas was equally as wonderful.

Until next time!

- ZDT Hops

The Light of the World - 12/21/2010

We all know Christmas is a time of celebration. A time where we celebrate as an entire world, whether our beliefs are Christian or not. Whether we get lost in the commercialization of the season or recognize the true meaning isn't really what's pertinent. The fact is: it's Christmas, and everybody knows it. Some look at this holiday as a time of giving and sharing and selflessness. Others look at it as a time of rebirth and new beginnings as another year comes to a close. But this year, I'm looking at Christmas in a different light. In fact, light is exactly what this season is all about for me.

As He is often referred to, Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. I've kept that in mind a lot this past month as I've read scriptures concerning His coming and His birth. The first scripture I ran into was the testimony of Simeon in Luke's account of the Savior's life. Simeon had been promised by God that "he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ."(Luke 2:26) When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple, Simeon at once knew, through the power of the Holy Ghost, that their Baby was that promised Messiah.

As Luke states: "Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.'" (Luke 2:28-32, emphasis added)

So, even in His infancy, Christ was known as a light to the world. I pondered this more as I read of the account in Matthew of the Three Wise Men who came to Herod, the king, asking "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." (Matt. 2:2) Herod, thinking only of his throne, told the Magi to find the Child and then return to tell him, under the false pretense that he, too, wished to worship this new King. In reality, Herod thought only of protecting his crown and sought to destroy this King of which they had spoken. We find in the scriptures later, however, that these Wise Men were warned through divine intervention not to return, and the life of Jesus was spared. Continues Matthew: "When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." (Matt. 2:9-10)

The Christmas Star. It plays a larger role than many people know. As we already have seen, men from a distant land in the East were told of Christ's birth through the sign of the star. But they were not the only ones who recieved this sign.

Across an ocean, in the Americas, prophets had prophecied of the coming of a Messiah, even Jesus Christ. These prophecies are recorded in an ancient record of scripture called The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. One of the prophets who testified of Christ's coming was named Samuel. Five years prior to the Savior's birth, Samuel stood on a city wall and prophecied of his coming.

The historian Helaman records: "And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy...unto them: 'Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.

'And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.

'Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

'And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.'" (Helaman 14:1-5)

Again, the sign of the Christmas Star, as prophecied by other prophets, in addition to those in the Old World.

The believers who lived on the American continent held fast to the words spoken by Samuel, looking forward to that day with great anticipation. After five years had past, those who did not believe hatched a plan to rid themselves of what they felt were a race of people blinded by foolish beliefs and the traditions of their fathers, even the believers of Christ.

"Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet." (3 Nephi 1:9)

The leader of the church, named Nephi, heard of these plans and, as you can imagine, was grieved for the plight of the people of Christ. He went and prayed unto the Lord all day and pleaded with Him on behalf of His people, asking for deliverance from this awful fate the unbelievers had put upon them. As he prayed, the voice of the Lord came unto him saying:

"Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets." (3 Nephi 1:13)

As the time approached that the wicked had set apart and they began to approach the believers, to put them to death, a miraculous thing occured.

"It came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.

And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word." (3 Nephi 1:15,19-21, emphasis added)

The Lord fulfilled His promise to His people, saving them from their imminent death and changing their apprehensions to rejoicings. The Star had been shone. The sign had been given. The Redeemer had entered the world.

How appropriate was the sign of His coming: The lack of nighttime. The vanquishing of darkness. Christ, as that light, proves that darkness cannot prevail where He is. This was also emphasized in the sign the people of the Americas were given of His death:

"But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead." (Helaman 14:20)

When Christ died, darkness came for three days. The people of this continent were in terrible anguish, not able to see anything, stars, moon or sun, for three long days. It seemed that darkness had prevailed. Evil had triumphed. The Savior was dead. But, after that three day period that He was in the tomb, He rose again! The Easter Ressurection occured. Light came back to the Earth. Jesus Christ had conquered death. He had overcome the world. No longer would light ever have power over darkness again.

I know that Jesus Christ is that light. He can make difficult things easy. He can make burdens light. In the words of Isaiah: "Surely, he hath bourne our griefs, and carried our sorrows...he was wounded for our trangressions, bruised for our iniquities...and with his stripes, we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5) We can always turn to Christ.

I love this symbolism of light. The light of his birth, the darkness of His death and then, finally, the triumph of everlasting light that is Jesus Christ. We will never be alone. Satan and his legions can never triumph. In the words of Paul: "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans 8:37) Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father love us. As John 3:16 states: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." We CAN have everlasting life through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Through Him, our families can be together forever.

That we remember the true meaning of Christmas is my hope this season.

Thank you all so much for your love and support.

Always,

- ZDT Hops

A (Missionary) Child is Born! 12/14/2010

Lots of news here today! First things first! ELDER LANDEEN AND I HAVE A GREENIE! His name is Elder Jacob Morris from Palmdale, California!
We got a call last week from President telling us he was going to try having Zone Leaders train new missionaries and we're one of the first. This means I am now a Zone Leader/District Leader/Trainer. Or ZDT Hops. Haha it's awesome. We literally got Elder Morris an hour ago, so we don't know too much about him, but I can tell he's going to be the MAN!

Next in line: IDAHO JUST GOT IT'S FIRST CHICK-FIL-A! So OF COURSE I had to buy a gallon of Chick-Fil-A Lemonade. It is THE BEST EVER. I can't tell everyone how excited I am at this development. There is a lack of good chicken out here. People think KFC is good. I know, they're severely misguided, but we'll forgive them for their ignorance.

So, lately, there has been something happening in Boise and the surrounding area that sounds a lot like a 1950s horror movie. It's...the Inversion! The Inversion is essentially when the clouds go from above the city to IN the city. It's pretty much foggy all the time. It's actually really cool. I feel like I live in Russia or something because we haven't seen the sun in a week or so. Which is lame, because now I can't wear any of my 15 pairs of fake Ray-Bans. Weak.

This past week, we met a family named the Searles. Josh (Dad), Amber (Mom), Cain (11), Cameron (9) and their little, crazy red-headed girl, Jasmine (2). They asked us to come over because Josh had recently been injured at work and wanted a blessing. He heard from one of his LDS friends that the missionaries gave blessings so he called us. Turns out, it was no minor accident; he had been working on concrete with a concrete chainsaw and it flipped up and hit him in the chest. AND HE LIVED. He told us he felt like God was trying to tell him to go to church, which I thought was an awesome observation to get out of taking a chainsaw to the chest. So, we taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then invited them to go to church and be baptized. They said yes on both accounts, although mom was a little skeptical about coming to church (she has agoraphobia...and if you don't know what that is, look it up...and listen to the song by the same name by Incubus.) But Sunday rolled around and they ALL came. It was amazing. Jasmine, who had never really been apart from her mommy, went to Nursery with NO complaints, the boys ran off down the hall trying to find the classrooms they'd be in for Primary Sunday School and Josh and Amber had a great time in Gospel Principles, the Sunday School for people who are just being introduced to church for the first time. They even participated in the discussions in class and attended the 3rd Hour meetings. So awesome.

I don't have a lot of time right now, so I'm going to save my Christmas message for next week. Know that I love you all and appreciate everything you do for me and that nothing brightens my day and eases my burdens more than receiving letters from folks back home. I try to respond when I get time, so don't think I don't try, but know that even if I can't, I appreciate it very much.

Until next week!

- ZDT Hops

Turkey Lurkey (11/23/2010)

So, before anything else, know that it snowed a bunch here in Meridian! I don't know the actual amount that's fallen, but it's been under 30 all day today, which I LOVE. It's way icy all over the roads and I'm just glad I have a Utah native to drive the car, because driving last winter in Rupert in snowy weather was a harrowing experience, to be sure. But it's winter again. Almost too soon, it seems. I feel like just yesterday Elder Henao and I were walking around snowy Rupert and spending Christmas in Christmas City, USA. Time flies, man.

We drove to Cascade, ID this past week to meet up with the Elders up there and do an interview with someone who wanted to be baptized. It's about a 2 hour drive on some twisty, winding roads on the edge of a river; a way fun drive. Elder Landeen and I took the trip with Elder Anderson and had such a good time just talking, listening to some of the addresses given from the past General Conference on CD and stopping to take pictures along the way. Elder Anderson, at a gas station on the way home, decided to get some ice cream. They charge for the cone and say there's "no limit" on the ice cream amount. Apparently they didn't (and neither did I) know that Elder Anderson is the undisputed ice cream cone-making KING. He put SO much ice cream on that little cone, I couldn't believe it. Here's a picture:This past Sunday, I had the occasion of speaking in church in one of the wards we cover. I was asked to speak on...surprise!...Thanksgiving. After giving much thought, and studying the scriptures and recent talks given in Conference (like on the way to Cascade) I decided my talk would have a main theme, which was: Life's Not Fair.

See, I figured it all out. Sometimes bad things are going to happen to good people. sometimes tragedy strikes when we're not ready. And sometimes we have a raincloud that hovers only over us. But what I realized is that usually, more than we give credit for, GOOD things happen. More often than not, good things happen to good people. More often than not, blessings are bestowed upon us when we least expect it. And more often than not, the sun shines happily upon our daily routine. The message I want to share with whoever reads these posts (all three of you :P) is that life's NOT fair; we have it WAY too good to think that it is. If life was fair, we'd probably be miserable a lot more than we would be happy.

So this season, give thanks. Thank God for family and friends who stand by you and support you when knees are weak and arms are heavy. Thank God for food on tables, roofs overhead and clothing on backs. Thank God that life's not fair. He loves us. I know it. And I know that as we realize the many blessings He's given us day to day, we'll come to know that love more fully. I'll leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings; ev’ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Know that I am thankful for each and every one of you. Please take time this holiday to count your many blessings "and it will surprise you what the Lords has done."

With all possible gratitude,

- ZL Hops

Mer[ID]ian (11/16/2010)

So, I just realized this city has the state's abbreviation in it. Go figure. Another thing I noticed this week is that Elder Landeen says "Sandy" like Danny Zuko from Grease!. It's actually pretty funny. He and I get along splendidly. It's also cool how we came out at the same time, so we can relate to each other in aspects pertaining to that.

For example, in the same vein as last letter's comment about Christmas, every six months, the Church has what's called General Conference. During Conference weekend, the Prophet and the Apostles of the church prepare talks on different subjects that they feel the world needs to hear about. It's a pretty special thing since it isn't just for members of the Church, but anyone who wants to watch and listen. Anyway, like I said, it happens every six months; in April and October. We were driving some Elders in our Zone around (which, if you haven't already gathered, is a major theme of our time/conversations) and they commented on how cool it was to see Conference on their missions. For one, this was his first; the other, his second. Elder Landeen and I both noticed how we had only one more to go before going home.

Don't worry, we don't sit around all day thinking about home and griping or anything. Just, every so often, someone will say something and you'll realize how much is behind you and how seemingly little you have before you. In all reality, it helps motivate you to stay focused for the time you have left.

Today, we played dodgeball for 3 hours. As I sit here and type this, my whole body aches, but it's such a good feeling. There's something about dodgeball that's different than most games. I think it's the nearly constant flow of adrenaline for the duration of every game. You're either dodging, ducking, dipping, diving or...dodging. If you're not doing one of those things, you're usually out. I think another aspect that makes it so great is the balls you use. Whatever sport you're using them for, you always feel like a kid back on the playground. Think about it: foursquare (my favorite), kickball, dodgeball, etc. They're all awesome!

To finish, I'd like to share a quote from James E. Faust. It's a really inspiring video and if you have time, please watch it:



In a world so quick to change, it's good to know the Gospel is something we can hold on to. I know Jesus Christ lives and I know He and our Heavenly Father love us more than we realize.I love you all very much and appreciate your continual support!

Yours 'til Niagra Falls,

ZL Hops

Lead, Kindly Light (11/9/2010)

So, I transferred late Tuesday night into the great city of Meridian, Idaho! It has around 50,000 people and is one of the wealthier areas of Idaho. I love it here. It's like Star. I know we didn't live in a rich neighborhood or anything, but being around people who are in the upper middle class is just more my thing. Probably why I wasn't called to Argentina. (Also, I don't know if you guys know the company Scentsy, but the owner/founder lives in one of our wards and is an AWESOME fellowship-er. He brought a whole family to church on Sunday!)

Elder Landeen is from Sandy, Utah (Like Elder Henao!) and was initially called to serve in Mongolia. Since then, the communists took over and told the church they'd have to pay to have visas for missionaries over there. Of course, the Church won't be subject to extortion, so they had to pull out all non-Mongolian missionaries. Elder Landeen came out July 8th, 2009, which may sound like a familiar date since it's the day I came out! We get along really well. Probably better than any other companion I've had. He's definitely a good friend already, like Elders Henao and Arnoczky are. We live with the Bearss family (pronounced like the alcoholic beverage) in Garden City, a small suburb of Meridian...which is a suburb of Boise...it's complicated haha.

So, as some of you may or may not know, I was recently called to be a Zone Leader. That means I'm now in charge, along with Elder Landeen, of about 25 missionaries serving from Meridian all the way to McCall, Idaho, about 2-3 hours north. We attend all of their District Meetings and help them out whenever they require assistance, while STILL keeping missionary work going in our own Stake. We cover five wards right now. I am also serving as the District Leader of the Eagle District, which means I have to provide a two-hour training meeting every week for those Elders and Sister, like I did in Twin Falls.

Being at 16 months is weird. To me, it's the last pure month before home starts seeming close. 17 months seems too close to 18 months, which means I only have 6 months. Haha, that sounds really stupid, but it makes sense in my head. 16 months is also the two-thirds mark of the mission, for those of you who aren't gifted in math, but it still doesn't seem like I've been out that long. It's funny, today Elder Landeen and I were talking to some Elders from our zone we were driving somewhere and they were talking about how strange it was going to be to have Christmas away from home. It hit us that this would be our second, and thereby last, Christmas on the mission. That was a weird feeling.

We also have had Elder Begg, a good friend of mine that I served around in Rupert, serving with us for a few days before he gets the Big Transfer. He'll be reassigned to his home in Odessa, FL. It's funny, I met him when I was but 3 months old in Rupert and now he's going home. There's certainly an odd vibe about him as he's excited/sad/nervous about going home. I feel that way in tiny bits from time to time, knowing that this is all going to end in 8 months. I'm excited, of course, to be reunited with friends and family once again, but seeing the change that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings to people's lives on a daily basis is an experience comparable to almost nothing else. It is truly a privilege to be called of God to serve Him and help others see the goodness He has in store for them. It brings to mind one of my new favorite scriptures from the Old Testament: Nahum 1:7. "The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him."

I know the Lord DOES know those that trust in Him. In the analogy of a great friend, if we'll be trust in Him, have faith, hope and charity, and let Him drive the motorcycle while we sit in the sidecar, we can never go wrong. He will direct us into paths of righteousness and happiness. This much I know.

Until next time, my friends,

ZL Hops

Letter 9/21/10 - Food Service

Hello Folks,

So, a few weeks ago, I went to the Twin Falls County Fair. Scratch that. A few weeks ago I WORKED the Twin Falls County Fair. There's a local restaurant called Papa Kelsey's that sells subs and pizzas and they had a stand at the fair. Because the Kelsey family houses a pair of the missionaries, we all agreed to work for free during the week.

Thus was my introduction to the food service industry.

We arrived around 9 in the morning, ready to work. I'll admit, I was a bit apprehensive to be working in food services, as I never had previously done so. Nevertheless, I was willing and ready to do whatever it took to do my best and make the Kelsey family name continue to shine in the Twin Falls community. Plus, if I'm ever going to live in New York, I'm going to have to learn how to work in food. That's literally a requirement to live there.

Upon arrival, Alec Baldwin greeted us and told us the responsibilities we would be in charge of. We could either work in the kitchen or register. I didn't really feel like being in charge of money, math and standing in one place, so I said I'd man the kitchen. Alec said that would be a good idea (Ok, so it wasn't REALLY Alec Baldiwin, it was one of the Kelsey Sons, but he looks JUST like him!)

So, he lead me back into the little trailer/kitchen thing and introduced me to Lincoln, which was the giant sandwich oven. I will, from this point on, refer to it as Lincoln. So, my job was to assemble each sub, feed it to Lincoln and then wrap it in foil afterwards. Then, I would mark the foil as to what sandwich I had made. The code was as follows:

P = Pizza Sub
H/C = Ham and Cheese
T = Turkey
3M = Three Meat
IC = Italian Combo

After each wrapper was marked, I would then put a smiley face at the end, because everyone needs a smile. We also made little personal pizzas; cheese pepperoni and combos. Here are some photos of me and Lincoln tearing it up:


A tradition I started once we started getting a good flow of customers was that everytime we'd get a sale, when the register "binged" we would all yell "HEY!" at the top of our lungs. It made working seem a little more fun. Also, we were allowed to have free food and drinks the whole time we worked. Nothing better. By the time 5 o'clock rolled around and our shift ended, I was a bit bummed. It had been fun working the Papa Kelsey's stand and I eally didn't want to go. It seemed odd to me that I had so much fun doing what other people wouldn't do unless they got paid. But hey, now I know what food service is like, and you know what?

I can't wait to do it again.


Yours in pizza subs,

DL Hops

Nuh-VAH-duh

Dearest People In the Normal World,

Recently, I have done some fun things. I went to Nevada, learned to play pinochle and tried my hand at the food service industry. Over the next three weeks, I will explain these things, one event at a time.

So, one lazy Friday afternoon, Elder Mitchell and I had nothing doing. We had contacted most of the people we had set to see, and most people were out of town on account of the Twin Falls Fair in Filer, ID. (Yes, the Twin Falls Fair is not in Twin Falls. See also: Raleigh, NC Temple) Twin was empty I mean, it was DEAD. No cars or anything ANYWHERE. Labor Day and the Fair made the townspeople disappear faster than folks do on the Twilight Zone. So, we called the other Elders serving in Twin (Elder Wall and Elder Gossling) and invited them to join us in going to lunch.

In Jackpot, Nevada.

Jackpot is somewhat of Mission legend, in that it is the southernmost part of the mission and the only part of our mission in Nevada. It just so happens to be in my district, too. Missionaries often speak of Jackpot and how it is an oasis in the midst of the desert. Only an elect few have been there, according to the stories, and if you are fortunate enough to go, you won't be disappointed. So they say.

I'm here to tell you what Jackpot is REALLY like.

We drove about an hour and saw literally nothing, except a rad Camero and a horse staring into a house, which was pretty funny/creepy. I've included photos for reference. Enjoy.

But, when I say we saw nothing, I mean it. I even got Elder Wall to be a second witness to the lack of interesting things on the way to Nevada. Here is his opinion:

-----------------------------------------------------------------

From:Matthew David Wall matthew.wall@myldsmail.net
To:Mike Hopkins mike.hopkins@myldsmail.net

Date: Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 4:21 PM

"the drive to jackpot neveda sucked. there was nothing to look at other than a champed up camero from the 80s. and jackpot was pretty wack. nothing to do there unless you gamble... and even that doesnt seem like too much fun to do there"

-----------------------------------------------------------------

It is the tiniest town ever. Ok, maybe not ever, but still. And it's so isolated from everything else that if you were to go to GoogleMaps, type in Jackpot, NV and then click "Find Nearby..." Google would laugh at you. It's hardly an oasis. It's an oasis in the way spilling your water bottle in the middle of the Sahara is an oasis.
But, we finally got there and went to the Four Jacks Casino, where the missionaries get food for free. YEAH. Gratís! We got to the state line and got pictures and then went to the Four Jacks, which was located in what looked like (and practically was) a strip mall. Ok, maybe I'm the only one who expected this but, the name of this town is Jackpot. To me, that means all it's about is casinos. Which is true. But these casinos are PATHETIC. I mean, the arcade in the back of a Cici's Pizza showed this place up. We get there and the waitress comes up and it is soon made very clear that she knows next to no English. She goes in the back to get someone who does and the smallest, meanest Hispanic I've ever seen in a greasy beater and asks, very abrasively I might add, what we want. We tell him food. He snarls and goes back to the kitchen. We sit around for about 10 minutes and start to wonder if we're ever going to have our orders taken. The waitress finally shows up and we order. I got a buffalo burger (♫Buffalo burger.♪.in my belly.♪.talking 'bout the buffalo burger.♫.in Jackpot Nevada♫ (Little Bob Marley throwback there.)) and it was actually pretty good.
Elder Wall and I then went to go to the bathroom, and when we went to wash our hands, the soap dispensers didn't work because someone had removed the handles of them. On our way out of the bathroom, a sketchy guy passed us and in his hands were the handles for the soap. Go figure.

We all got up and left, and as we did, I snapped a picture of the interior of the Four Jacks. This is it in all it's glory. One tiny little room. Although they did have my favorite machine "Betty the Yetti" (Yes, Yeti with two "Ts") for only a penny. WHAT A STEAL!

Well, moral of the story: don't go to Jackpot. People will tell you it's a hit, but it's really a bust.

Happily yours,

DL Hops

Letter - 8/24/2010

Helloooo people of Earth!

I feel like I haven't written in five evers! I am now in Twin Falls, Idaho, the largest city in Idaho's Magic Valley region. Sadly, there are no warlocks, trolls or any other magical things around. Just farms, oh and an IHOP! You know that if there's an IHOP nearby, I'm happy. Things have been really great. We live with a family named the Vippermans along with their daughter and son-in-law Ari and Derek as well as THEIR son, Brody. It is a fantastic place to live and I absolutely love it. It's fun to have people around to talk to in the morning or when we come in at night.

We've been biking a lot lately; actually, every day since I got here. Our car is in the shop. One of the missionaries who was here before me thought it would be a good idea to throw the car in park going 30. Yeah, brilliant, I know. So we've been biking anywhere between 12-20 miles a day, which I LOVE, because now I don't have to worry quite as much about what I eat since we're burning the calories. Yay, clear conscience! Also, one of my Zone Leaders was a Fitness major (or whatever major you would be in to be a personal trainer) and is making me a workout plan that requires no weights or anything, since I have none. I don't know about everyone else, but for me, the combination of eating right and doing some kind of exercise really makes me feel 100%. It doesn't mean I'm going to be ripped or anything (I mean, this is ME we're talking about) but you just feel better about yourself overall. You should try it.

So, apart from biking and also learning all sorts of songs for the uke, hings have been really busy. I'm now a District Leader, which sounds a lot more important than it really is (apart from the fact that I now have the sweet nickname of DL Hops.) I'm in charge of a weekly two hour meeting for my district, which consists of four companionships. Essentially, I just try and teach them how to be better missionaries after doing a lot of study on the same subject myself. Kind of weird, since I don't feel like I should be telling ANYone ANYthing about how to be better.

We've been meeting with a lot of different families and pretty much every hour of the day is filled with helping people overcome all sorts of personal problems such as alcoholism, family disagreements, loneliness, unemployment and a plethora of other things through Jesus Christ. It never ceases to amaze me how people's problems can be solved when and if they swallow their pride and ask for help from God and Jesus Christ. The way I always put it to people is like this: God is sitting up there with a giant, Santa-like bag full of blessings, just waiting for us to ask Him for help so he can give them to us. It may not necessarily be exactly like that, but I know that God is perfect and He is our loving Heavenly Father, and if He's perfect, then He loves us with a perfect love. All of us. Equally. He only wants what is best for us. I know that, and I know that you can know it as well if you sincerely pray and ask Him for help. He'll be there every time.

Ok, enough soapboxing for now, I hope everyone is doing well. I also (for any of you who I haven't already talked to about it) started writing part of the book I've always wanted to write. I typed up a synopsis, but it's really hard to explain exactly what I want on a page or two. that's why I'll be writing a book and not an essay or short story. But, I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. I've always been scared to try and write a book because it seems so daunting, but I'm going to do it to prove to myself that I can. See you on the New York Times Best Seller list haha

Lastly, if you've written me a letter recently and I haven't gotten back to you, please forgive me I'm trying to find time to write, so know I haven't forgotten about you, I'm just super busy. That's a poor excuse, but an excuse nonetheless.

Thanks for all your support!

Consistently yours,

DL Hops

Baptism by Fire

We had a crazy thing happen this past weekend. We had a baptism. That's not the crazy part though. We went about two hours before hand, as we often do, to fill the font before the actual baptism. So, most font controls have four parts: a handle controlling water flow to the font, two other handles controlling the ratio of hot and cold water and a gauge telling you how hot the water is. The thing about the font we used this past weekend is that it DID have the water flow control valve, but did NOT have controls for the temperature. It did however, have the gauge to show us the temperature.


So, Elder Kraus, who was with me at the time, and I start filling the font and go to set up chairs, returning about 10 minutes later to check on everything. Steam pours out of the door as we open the font entrance and we know something's wrong. I run in and check the gauge.


105. Not good.

I run into the kitchen in the church, looking for bags of ice that so often frequent the freezers of the church, only to find a half-empty bag mocking me, the ripped plastic forming some sort of sadistic grin knowing it will be on no service. I threw it in anyway.

Upon return to the kitchen, I found a large (I mean LARGE) pot that Elder Kraus and I immediately began filling with cold tap water with pitchers, since it didn't fit in the sink. Once full, we dumped it in the font, making lovely wakes and quite a ruckus. We looked at one another, grinned, high-fived and ran back to the kitchen. Sadly, we realized the pitcher-fill method was far too slow, so we set about finding a more effective way to move water to pot. Elder Kraus picked up a nearby cafeteria-style tray and angled it as to redirect the water into the large metal container we had used. It worked...but was very messy. Being missionaries, we would only settle for effectiveness, plus we needed something to where we could "Set it and forget it" so we could finish setting up chairs.

Atop the fridge rested a utility drawer for the freezer. I snatched it up and rested it on an upturned bowl on top of the tray and it cascaded down the drawer into the bucket nearly flawlessly. Nearly. Residual water sprayed on the floor, but not enough to reformulate a plan, so we rushed back to the room to set up the chairs. We arrived back in the kitchen just in time to stop the pot from overflowing, took it to the font, heaved it in (it was very heavy) made a wake, grinned, high fived and went back to set it up again.
It then dawned upon me to use the mass amount of pitchers in the church kitchen's arsenal to make giant ice cubes (ok, they weren't cubes, they were pitcher-shaped, but what else am I supposed to call them?) to chuck in the font as a last ditch cooling effort. We stuffed 7 pitchers in the freezer and began the long process of fill, heave, wake, grin, high five, repeat.

Finally, an hour and a half later, the font was filled by 105 degree water and cold tap water via my and Elder Kraus' heaving. Becky (the young lady we were baptizing) shows up just as we're removing the pitchers from the freezer to add the ice. She looked at us, 50% shocked, 50% frightened and 100% confused and asked "just what we thought we were doing." We looked at Becky, looked at one another, then, with Kraus' solemn comment "It's for your own good," we let fall the ice into the font.

It took less than five minutes to melt.

Letter - 6/22/10

Hello Blog Readers!

So, some crazy things have happened since I last wrote. I now have a new companion, Elder Eging, who is ALSO from Ohio. Elder Arnoczky went to Middleton. He's a big boy now. They grow up so fast! But I'm confident in him and it's been interesting to see him learn the ropes and how much he's grown.

Ok, so on to the big news. First of all, I went over to Emmett, ID with Elder Kraus for a day and the people who fed us dinners fed us quite a delicacy in these parts. They're known as Rocky Mountain Oysters. If you don't know what they are, Google it or something. Do that now. Ok, are you done? Yeah, hopefully you still respect me. They tasted...interesting. Not really what you expect, but then again what DO you expect when you go to eat something like that? I will say this though: they were a lot smaller than I pictured them. haha So gross. But hey, I have a cool story now, eh?

We also had three people get baptized the weekend before last. It was a dad and two of his kids. The Pollock family. Jason (dad), Breanna (Daughter) and Jalen (Son). It was a really powerful experience to see a family join together in the Gospel like that. It's experiences like this that help me remember why I came out on a mission. For those of you who don't know (and hopefully I haven't mentioned this before) my parents are converts to the Church. One day, some missionaries knocked on the door a few months after my parents were married and my Mom answered and let them talk to her about the Gospel. I know that my life has been better because the Gospel was in it. I don't know (nor really, do I want to) where I'd be without the Church in my life. I realize a little more now the changes people have to make as a family in order to come closer unto the Savior and it's really inspiring to see them all do it together.

Much thanks to everyone who sends me letters or packages or e-mails. It means a lot to know that you're thinking about me, because I know that I think about you all quite a bit. Never forget how much Heavenly Father and Christ love each of us!!


Don't Eat Rocky Mountain Oysters,

Elder Hops

Letter - 6/1/2010

Hey everyone!

Elder Arnoczky and I are doing very well! It's his second week here and things are going great. We get along really well and I couldn't ask for a better son! We joke around a ton, work hard and have fun. We both have started a new diet: 700 calories only before dinner. We figure that's a pretty good number since we're trying to stay under 1500 calories a day, and we never know what we'll be getting from the members for dinner. We also run 3 miles a day - one in the morning, two at night. It's a good thing to do and always helps us feel healthier and is a good habit to get in to.

Side note: Pictures are on the way as soon as I can get the photo CD made and sent off!

In other news, things are warming up around here, much to my dismay. You all probably know I am not the biggest fan of hot weather. But, at least it's a dry heat, right? Eh...right. Our car's air conditioning is not really working either, so being in a car isn't much of a help in the war on heat.

A pretty crazy thing is happening in July. Our Mission President, President Yardley, is going home and we will be getting a new one, President Cannon. A mission president is the man who is more or less in charge of all the missionaries in the area. Through prayer, he is inspired to decide where each missionary will be transferred to in the mission and what companion they will have. It will be a sad day when President Yardley leaves. He truly is a wonderful man, as well as his wife, Sister Yardley. They served in their positions for three years. So, essentially, I will have one mission president for the first half of my mission and a different one for the second half. Kind of sad, kind of exciting.

Well, not much very new things going on. Oh! Except that there is a family here who we've been working with that it's been fantastic to see how they've grown together in the Gospel as they've learned about it. I spoke a little in my last letter about families and how important they are for us and to our Heavenly Father.

-Elder Hops

Letter - 5/25/2010

Hello one and all!

Everything with my son is going very very well. I think I may understand in a minute way how it feels to be a daddy! Just a bit. For those of you who don't know I now have a "son" - a missionary who I am training. I am his "Dad." He calls me Papa Hops and sometimes Popkins. He is awesome. His name is Elder Derek Arnoczky (Ar-nah-ski) and he is from Cleveland (Actually a small town west of it called La Grange.) Ohio and is a big Browns fan. Luckily, we haven't gotten in any major fights over such subjects as football (Since the Steelers and Browns are huge rivals) but I'm sure we will later in the year when football season starts up. But anyway, he's a really good missionary and we are getting a lot of things done.

A lot of the people we have been teaching lately are families, both couples without and with children. I think it is such a blessing to be able to teach these people about how our families are not only with us for this life, but can be with us for all time and eternity. What a blessing to know that those we love (even if we DO sometimes want to tear each other's hair off :P) will be able to be with us when we return to live with our Heavenly Father. I am so thankful to my Elder Brother, Jesus Christ for performing the Atonement for me, where He suffered, died and rose again so that I can be forgiven my sins. Anyone who knows me knows I love my family and would never want to be apart from them for a really really long period of time. I take comfort in knowing I will be able to be with them forever.

On another note, I have a lot of new pictures on the way that Alex will put up on the Facebook, so be on the lookout for those, and also thank her for her doing that for me! Also, thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes, whether in electronic, written, or package form! It made for a great 20th birthday celebration! I know I haven't written in my blog for a while and I'm sure everyone is mad at me, but it's ok because I'm 2,000 miles away haha.

I hope everyone enjoys/enjoyed:

• The Stanly Cup Playoffs
• The Series Finale of Lost
• The Resistance by Muse
• The blink-182 CD when it comes out

Among many other things in my behalf since I will still be gone. Hump day is fast approaching (the year mark) and time is still flying. I just want everyone to know how much it means to have continued communication with you now and in the future. Thanks so much. Letters and e-mails are the gasoline we run off of!

Take care and I'll write again soon! (Yeah, right :P)

- Papa Hops

Happy Birthday Elder Hop

Letter Week of 4/6/10 - Transfer to Star, ID

So the time has come finally for Elder Hopkins to be transferred. "Where will he be going!?" I'm sure is the question on many of your lips. Well the answer is finally here! I am going to be going to the City of Star, Idaho. Now, please, don't get too excited as Star is less than 1 square mile total and has a population just over twice the size of the graduating class of 2008 from Wakefield High School. I'm not sure as of yet exactly how much area I'll be covering and if I am in charge of surrounding areas as well, but I am excited to be back near Boise and out of Minidoka county and returning to Ada county (where Boise is.) So, although I will be in an even smaller town than Rupert (assuming, of course I live within the city limits) I will have access to civilization, unlike the city I have been in the past 6 months. For example, Elder Henao went to the Wal-Mart here to try and purchase a GPS. They were out of stock of the one he wanted and so we had to wait and save up mile on our car to drive 45 minutes to Twin Falls where they have a Target to get him one. That can be a bit frustrating. Or when you want more ink for your Parker pen and the only office supply store that carries it is...45 minutes away in Twin Falls.

I have had the privilege of meeting very many kind hearted and wonderful families here in Rupert and I feel I would be doing an injustice to even begin to try and thank them individually, for fear that I may pass over someone. This is a special community and will continue to be so in my heart for what I'm sure will be years to come.

I experienced a few adventures this past week, many of which involved cows. Many of you, I'm sure are either intrigued or afraid after that last sentence. I can assure you everything worked out for the good of myself and the cows (So, Dani, if you're reading this, no cows were hurt in the making of these adventures.)First, at dinner on Sunday, the father of the family took us out to see the pigs and cows he owned. I even let a calf suck on my fingers, which, if you've never been able to do is quite a neat thing to do. I was also able to have a very fun outing to the Zollinger Dairy this past weekend. The Zollingers are a fantastic family that live around the Declo area. Their son, Stirland (Please forgive me if I spelled that one wrong, buddy) took me and Elder Henao around their property to show me how a dairy works. It was beyond fascinating. First, we drove to where they actually milk the cows. He showed us how they sanitize the udders and all the fun things that goes into milking a cow. In fact, contrary to what you'd think, the cows love to be milked! They were lined up! Anyway, after a little encouragement, I was coerced into drinking some milk, straight from the cow. It was fantastic, albeit a little warm. But nonetheless it was an experience I enjoyed and would do again in a heartbeat (preferably NOT in a suit next time!) After that, we climbed a tiny ladder to the top of a grain silo and had a commanding view of the surrounding area. It was quite a sight to behold. Then, we went to where the big storage tank is that holds all the milked milk (that sounds funny to say) is and were able to drink from the giant valve that lets it out. Very cool.

--

I have wept in the night
For the shortness of sight
That to somebody’s need made me blind;
But I never have yet
Felt a tinge of regret
For being a little too kind.

I love that poem. I always think about how too often, we treat one another with sarcasm and with harsh jokes and comments. I know that I, myself fall victim to that way of speaking all the time and I have a bad habit of playing Devil's advocate and arguing with people just for the sake of arguing. But I know that this helps no one. Sometimes I marvel at the way we, as friends and loved ones, treat one another. Obviously, I do not profess to be any better at accidentally speaking this way in my life, but I realize that it is an issue that I need to work on. I think that these lines have truly helped me see the power in kindness. There is no reason we should try to tear one another down. We're all in this race of life together, so rather than tripping each other, I think we should support one another so we can all get to the finish line and have joy that we succeeded together. I vote we all try to be kinder to one another; what's the worst that could happen?

Thanks to everyone for their continued support, I love you all very much!

- Elder Hops

Letter - 3/16/10

Hello everyone! Yes, I am in fact, alive and well, still in good old Rupert, Idaho! Things have been just great out here, although there hasn't been much change to report, as I am still with Elder Henao and we are still having a blast and doing lots of work. We recently have had the opportunity to do a lot of service work in the mornings for and old couple named the Rasmussens. Brother Rasmussen needed help with yard work, so Elder Henao and I leaped at the opportunity to shed the suits and get into our jeans and t-shirts! So, the first day, we just shoveled and wheelbarrowed (that is now a word) a ton of mulch into his garden. Then, we moved a ton of cut trees he had from a storm this past fall to a GIANT burn pile which I hope I will be around to see incinerated.

Then, we helped him move around his food storage the last few times we were there. Now, I know what you're thinking. "Oh, a couple buckets of wheat..." Wrongo bongo. This guy had SHEDS full of food storage stuff. SHEDS. With an "S." As in multiple. It's beyond incredible. So, we do all this work for him every other day for about 2 hours (10 AM to noon) and then his wife makes the BIGGEST lunch. It's the greatest, because they're both about 70 years old or so and just charming and in love and everything an 70 year old couple is. It's adorable. Anyway, so they make this big lunch, and let me tell you: there is NO better feeling, in my opinion, than eating a burger or sandwich or anything when your hands are covered in dirt after doing a solid few hours of manual labor. EVERYTHING tastes refreshing. When there's a salad, it's amazing. When there's peas and carrots, it's amazing. I love it.

Also, we have had the ability to meet some very great people out here. It always seems that the members of the Church in our area want to make sure we are well taken care of. For example:

Normally, we are fed a meal by a family every night except Tuesday (When we make our own food) But this past Sunday, the people who were supposed to feed us unexpectedly canceled and Elder Henao and I were without food. We normally only keep just enough food around for breakfast and a light lunch, and we didn't really have any food to eat and we didn't want to buy any since it was the Sabbath. So we called up a really great family in our area named the Copelands (Greer = Dad, Kay = Mom, Kris = Son) and asked if they could feed us. Kay said that Greer and Kris had gone to Arizona to see Spring Training for a few days and that she could maybe make us a small something and bring it to us. We suggested we meet at a church building just down the street and we could eat in the kitchen there. We were expecting some sandwiches and Kay.

About 30 minutes later, we arrive at the building and Sister Copeland shows up with her mom, a friend and a TON of food. It was amazing. We had chili, chips and salsa, salads, and cookies and Creamies for dessert. They brought everything, silverware, a tablecloth and even a Diet Coke for me :D It really meant a lot for them to take their time to do that for us and it's humbling to see the good that's in the world. It also made me think of the way Heavenly Father works in our lives. When we ask God for just a simple thing, he often blesses us with more than we are even able to handle. He loves us more than we can ever know and there is no way we can ever repay him for what he does. I think that's why sometimes in life, we feel the best when we do selfless acts of service for others. When we go and help with no expect for reciprocation, we truly get in tune with that love that we so often receive from our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ.

So, my hope is this: don't lose faith in people. Don't give up on humans just because there are a few bad apples. As Gandhi once said "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." I really love that quote. I find that when you put your trust in people, they realize the faith you have in them and respect that 9 times out of ten. I think the hardest part in life is relearning how to trust after that tenth person abuses it.

I love you all, and hope everything back home is going well for each of you. I appreciate the prayers and letters you send my way, as well as the help you give to my parents. I am truly blessed to know the people I do.


Rocking the 208,

Elder Hops

An Inspiring Story - 1/13/2010

Well, everyone, it's been a while since last I posted a real summary of what was going on over in Rupert.

I have a new companion now, and his name is Elder Henau (Hen-now) and he has been out a grand total of 3 months, which makes me senior companion. It's kind of crazy to think that I was his same "age" when I first got into Rupert. He's from Sandy, UT and we get along just fine. Of course, I was sad to see Elder Smith go, the two of us had been through a lot together, coming in to Rupert and gaining member trust and starting the work back up after the last set of Elders had not really been doing what they needed to.

The area has truly grown on me, and although I love the city at heart, I also love being out in the middle of nowhere with people who love to help out and are always asking what they can do to further the work. It will be a sad day when I eventually have to depart from Rupert, but for now, I know I have at least 6 more weeks ahead of me in this area.

In food news, I had a new dish: lengua. Yes, it's cow tongue. Yes, I've had it. twice. It's quite tasty, although sometimes you get a piece where you can see the taste buds :]

I've been trying to think of how to blog better and more often. I have been able to see many miracles in this area, both on a large scale and on a personal scale. I'll share a few over the next few weeks.

Valentine and Quitting Smoking: We have an investigator named Valentine. He comes from one of the most terrible backgrounds I have ever heard, and for his sake, I won't go into detail. Let's just say he had it rough his whole life. Times 100. Anyway, we had always been warned by other Elders in the area not to associate with him and at first we tried not to as best we could. Then one day, he came to our door and asked for money for food. Being missionaries, we are no strangers to a) People assuming we have a lot of money because of our suits and ties (Which we definitely DON'T haha) and b) Less fortunate people asking for money for "food." As he stood at our door, I told him I didn't have money, but that we could help him out in a different way if he would let us come over. He said that would be ok. As he left and I closed the door, I thought about what I had just said. "Why did I say that? Everyone says to stay away from him and I asked to come OVER!?" I thought. I told Elder Smith the appointment I had set and he was equally surprised. But I felt that I had said those things for a reason, so we went over at the scheduled time. Turns out, he was an absolutely golden investigator, with a thorough knowledge of the Bible and an eager want to learn about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. He said there were some changes he had made in his life when he saw us move in two doors down and how nice we were to the people in the grocery store and around town, so he thought he'd come ask us about our church, but got nervous when he knocked and instead asked for money. He was relieved when I suggested we teach him instead. The only problem he said he still had to overcome was smoking. After a few weeks of teaching, he said he was down to 8 a day. Although that was an improvement, I decided I would fast the next day (Tuesday) for Valentine to overcome his problem completely. When we returned home from our lesson that Monday evening, I knelt in prayer and pleaded with Heavenly Father to help Valentine overcome his problem. We didn't see him again until Friday. The next day went by very slowly and it was difficult to fast as Tuesdays are our P-Days...kind of our day off. But at the end of the 24 hour period I had determined not to eat, I was grateful to Heavenly Father for helping me through it and felt comfort in my heart that I had done so. Friday came and we met again with our friend. He said that on Tuesday night, he decided to throw away all his cigarettes and not buy anymore and hadn't smoked since. That was the same evening I ended the fast for him. I know that through my faith and also through Valentine's faith in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father, this miracle came to pass. Since then, he has decided to be baptized and is scheduled to be on the 23rd. I am very thankful to my Father in heaven for the blessings he pours upon us when we approach him in faith and ask in a just cause.

I know that prayers are answered. I know that we can all receive help to any problem, great or small when we come in humility to Christ and accept that we need his help in order to improve our lives.

Thanks as always, to everyone who helps me by sending words of encouragement my way. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful support and know that you are always in my prayers!


Until next time

- Elder Hops

Christmas Ornaments - Thanks Everyone!

Hello!

These are the select pictures I took of all the ornaments everyone sent me. I decided to put them on the tumbleweed tree instead of the paper tree my family sent me. Thanks so much to everyone who sent me ornaments!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic 2010! I know I have been having a spectacular year so far, and hopefully will continue to do so. I'll do a pretty good "catch-up" post next week, but for now, here are some of the ornaments that helped make my Christmas absolutely wonderful!
Thanks again!

Elder Hops