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

Rupert Thanksgiving! 11/24/09

So, things that happened this week:

We went to the local Mexican place: Aguila con el Taco! (Translates to Eagle with a Taco) and the food there was way good! All the stuff they make is really authentic and delicious. The waiter was very attentive to us (since we were the only ones there) and talked with us for a bit too.

The small window in our bathroom is partially broken out and lets in a LOT of cold air at night (when it gets down to around 15) and we were getting fed up with a cold bathroom and apartment every morning. So, we did what any intelligent pair of young men would do. We duct taped the window over. But, that was a bit unsightly, and now, we had no view of outside (when the curtains were opened) when taking care of our lavatorial responsibilities. So, I devised a cunning resolution to our dilemma. (See the pictures to grasp the magnitude of awesome that my solution displayed).
This past Wednesday, I had the privilege of having a meal I'm sure is unique to my mission and probably Rupert. Venison Sloppy Joes. Top that, Guy Fieri.

Elder Smith and I decided to enter the Pinewood Derby in one of the wards that we cover. Here are the pictures of our car! We wanted to name it something to do with speed, so we searched diligently through the Bible and Book of Mormon and found the perfect title. "The Word of God." Helaman 3:29 was the inspiration (Caps added for emphasis) "Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is QUICK and POWERFUL, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a STRAIT and NARROW COURSE..." Quick and powerful sounded like attributes our car would need to navigate the straight and narrow track and defeat our enemies! Unfortunately, we lost every race. But hey, the other cars had tons of time put in to them, ours had barely an hour of labor put into it and was colored with Sharpie, so I'm proud. Note the license plate.Last but not least, I scored the coveted Final Triple X in bowling (Also known as the Armageddon Turkey) today. Although, the rest of my game left something to be desired. Oh well, practice makes perfect, right? Right.I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for all of you who care enough to write and e-mail and let me know that you're there for me! I'm also thankful for having a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to have sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die so that I can be forgiven of my sins and imperfections (of which I have many, as we all do). Don't forget to be thankful that we have this wonderful Earth to live on and wonderful families to share our time with. I'm thankful for my Mom and Dad who so patiently raised me and always took the time to let me know how much they care about me, I could not ask for better parents, teachers and friends than my Mom and Dad. Also, my sister, Alex, who is one of my closest and best friends as well. Although we may not have always liked each other, I know we've always loved each other and always will. And of course, Alex's husband and my only brother (even if it is only in law :P) Trevor, who has given me invaluable advice on my mission as well as in life. I would form a PGA with him any day (don't worry, it won't make sense unless you're him) And finally, but not least of all, my grandparents, who have supported me throughout all my endeavors in my life. They are an irreplaceable source of encouragement and they mean more than they know.

I can't list everything I'm thankful for, it'd take far too long, but I am thankful for the many of you who have and continue to write me while I'm on my Mission. It is such a source of strength that you can never fully understand until you're out. Thank you.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

-Elder Hops

Pictures - 11/10/09

I received all of these pictures from Elder Hopkins today in an email! I am so excited to share them with you! Captions are courtesy of Mike himself! Enjoy:

The Temple at about 7 AM, before our session.The temple afterwards
All four of us outside the Temple (L to R: Elder Begg, Ware, Smith and me!)
A shot I took of the snake river off my tag
Shoshone Falls! It's HUGE! It's hard to appreciate without being there
Falls again
Me after conquering IHOP's largest breakfast
The face of victory! (Notice all the plates and A1 and syrups I utilized)
The classic heel click after leaving the Temple
Contemplating how to improve the score (They had an instant replay feature where you can see your last throw...notice the sweetkicks.)
The professional...from 1930
We're glad to see that Elder Hopkins is doing well and enjoying life as usual! :)

Hello Rupert! 10/27/09

Well, I'm here in Rupert, a town of supposedly just over 5,000 people, although I don't believe it, I've barely seen more than a couple hundred. We've moved into our new apartment, which is easily one of the filthiest places I have ever seen in my life. The last elders who lived here CLEARLY did not understand the principle "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" After a few DAYS of cleaning, scrubbing and detoxifying our apartment, we felt at home. It's a nice little place, where we sleep on mattresses on the floor and have a toilet that sways when you are using it. The apartment also has no heater, save a small floor heater we bought that warms one of the rooms fairly well. The interesting thing is about this abode in which we live is that I love that way that it's falling apart. I absolutely love it. For some reason it just makes me happy knowing that I'm in easily one of the most run down of all the apartments in this mission. I know it doesn't make sense, but it's true.

Many things here are different. First of all, Rupert has a very distinct smell. For those of you who have been the the State Fair near where the animals are, THAT'S what it smells like. However, much like the condition of our apartment, instead of disliking it, I enjoy it very much. It's really nice to be out of Boise where people are very prideful and unfriendly to a small town like Rupert where anyone will help you out with anything you need. Already, Elder Smith and I have recieved:
1 - Apples picked from an tree in someone's yard
2 - Homemade huckleberry jam
3 - Made from scratch cookies
4 - Elk burger meat
5 - A meal made solely from things owned by the family (Chuck roast from a cow they owned and killed, corn cut from ears they owned and of course, potatoes from their farm)

They also have a very strong following in the Church here. Attending membership is easily 2 to 3 times more than in Boise and the youth program is MUCH more active than in my last area. The other Elders in our area are Elder Begg and Elder Ware, from Tampa, Florida and Hueytown, Alabama, respectively. They are awesome. All four of us get along very well and get lots of work done while still sharing plenty of laughs. Well, I have to go for now, but pictures will be on the way soon! (Pics posted in the previous post!)

Take care everyone!

-Elder Hops

Pictures!

Things are gettin' squirrely around here in Boisetown. Time for a transfer, we thinks!

Elder Hopkins, King of Boise!


This is what it is all about!

Elder Hopkins in caricature. Notice the clean cut hair and
the chiseled chin. Woo Hoo!

Chow Time!


Elder Hopkins and Elder Keith just before Elder Keith returned home to Raleigh, NC

Letter - Thursday, October 15th

Well, the last few weeks we hadn't heard much from Mike, but he did tell us that he's been sick with food poisoning! I think he's all better now, since it's been over a week and a half since he said he started feeling sick. Anyway, we had also heard from him that he'd be staying in Boise for a while longer. Then, we got this letter from him today, updating everything:

"So, About Tuesday...

We went to send e-mails but the place we were at had the internet crash, and so we didn't get the e-mails sent. I actually printed off what I was GOING to send and will send it to you (mom and dad) in a letter.

Anyway, turns out I'm not staying in Boise, but instead am going to Rupert to shotgun an area. Shotgunning is where you and another Elder enter an area that is new to the both of you. Essentially, we'll be the first Elders to be in this area in a while. I've sent Dad the GoogleMaps of Rupert. It's a car area, so I'll be going to Wal-Mart this week to return my bike. I'll miss it.

So anyway, I was upset at this transfer call at first because my first baptism and my first confirmation would've taken place this next transfer if I had stayed. But, I know that me going to a brand new area shows that President really trusts me.

Anyway, my new companion's name is Elder Smith. I'll be transferring to Rupert next Wednesday. Neither of us are going to know the area at all and it's a really large area I've been told. I will need the Garmin (GPS). I've been weaning myself onto the cold weather by sleeping with our windows open the first few days it started getting cold and that was really nice, because it's in the 40s right now and I'm still in short sleeves!

So, that's what's been going on in my life the last week or so. Again, sorry for the delayed e-mail. Know that I am striving to write you as much as I can in the limited time I have and I love you each. Our family picture is right next to my bed and it's almost always the last thing I see before the lights go out. I miss you and love you all very much, these past 3 months have been very frustrating to be quite honest, but I know this is where and what I need to be doing, and that, as they say, every trial makes your future wife more attractive :D

Always,

Elder Hops"