Update! Via Pictures!

this picture is a classic, CLASSIC, Jon Hoopes face.
He promised many of these beauties.

LOVE HIM!

WRITE HIM!

WEEK 5!

Hello all,

     So this week lots of cool things happened.  On tuesday President Holland spoke to us a devotional and it was super awesome!  He came without a talk prepared and really said i hope that i can honestly just teach you by the Spirit today.  And he did!  You could tell he came without anything prepared because he had tons of tangents but it was cool because he taught about so many different things.  Two of my favorite qoutes were "the path to redemption always goes through Gethsemene" and "when contacting and teaching investigators, remember that they knew this message before they came to this earth."  That really hit me and that propelled me and elder wood into our lesson with Shang our other investigator.  it was cool the Spirit literally told me and Elder Wood at the same exact time and so we knew we had to emphasize this fact.  Our lesson went great.  And then with our other investigator Stephen we taught the law of chastity and also following the prophet.  He is much more receptive to everything we are teaching him.  Shang on the other hand is a buddist and so he doesn't know any gospel terms.  So we have to teach him like a child.  But another cool experience happened when we were planning a lesson for Shang yesterday.  We started and we were having trouble finding out anything to teach him.  So we prayed and after we prayed we felt we needed to touch on the law of chastity also and just do it in a porte visit, which means just stopping by while in the neighborhood.  So we just stopped by and talked to him and we found out that he was living with his girlfriend.  It was surprising but a good experience.  He said that his girlfriend would listen to the lessons with him.  So this should be interesting. It was the coolest thing that the visit was inspired and brought to pass throught the Spirit!  It's great working with the Spirit You guys.

     Honestly the teaching with Elder Wood is very difficult.  I feel like i'm having to do everything because i am.  He has never planned a lesson he has never really been social.  It's just hard.  He could prepare an awesome talk but he can't talk face to face with anyone without mentioning the Navy honestly.  And his ear is getting more attention then it needs.  He is playing it off like he will never hear again so everyone is giving him sympathy and his hearing is totally coming back.  It's a blessing but it is just difficult to deal with when i know the truth of whats going on.

     Anyway teaching by the Spirit is awesome but for me the coolest thing is seeing how my tongue is loosed and i can speak good french to our investigators.  Our lessons are 15-20 twenty minutes long solely in french.  We have now taught 8 lessons in French and honestly its so great.  The Lord is really looking out for me.  The lord is really loosing my tongue and helping scriptures come to me that i haven't ever really thought of.  I don't know its just so great.

The MTC is Great but in 30 days i'll be in Paris and I'm so stoked! 

Thank you for the letters Keep them coming!!!!!!

Avec l'amour

Elder Hoopes

Update!

Elder Hoopes doesn't have much time to email so he says he probably won't have time to send specific emails for the blog until he gets to Paris. So he asked me to just put in little updates from the letters I get from him! I'll put some quotes of what he says in his letters to me below so you can see! :)

"So I have to be honest, my english is starting to struggle pretty bad because I'm thinking so much in french. Ahhhh!!! C'est tres defficile! {It is very difficult}. Anyway so I'm sorry I haven't emailed you for the Blog. Until I leave it may be easier to just update from my letters. {ps... he tried to spell "easier", spelled it wrong, crossed it out, and then spelled it right... and then said- "See how  I tried to spell easier twice? BALLS!!!!!"} I get 30 minutes to write my family and today I took all the way down to 40 seconds! It was intense! If you go over 30 minutes it kicks you out of the computer and it doesn't even send the message!!! It's the suck."

"So just so you know all is well with me. The language is going great. I've born my testimony in French more times than I have in English. French is beautiful and I'm so glad to speak it. Ha me and Elder Wood are doing great. We've grown a ton. But he is having issues with his ears so we have been in and out of the doctors office so keep him in your prayers."

Tell me how everything is going with everything.

WRITE SOON!

Love, 

Elder Jonathan N. Hoopes

Pictures!

These 3 boys all got to leave on the same flight together! 

What a blessing.

From left to right:

-Elder Eric Garlock {Ukraine} 

-Elder Jordan Overstreet {Sweden}

-Elder Jonathan Hoopes {France}

Elder Garlock...

...if you would like to know more about Elder Garlock's mission visit:

elderericgarlock.blogspot.com...

and Elder Overstreet!

HE MADE IT!

Well Hey,

So, thank you for the emails you guys have sent me.  Just so you guys know it is much easier for me to write you guys if you use Dearelder.com because i get those letters everyday.  and i can either write you by hand or wait til the end of the week.  They have the missionaries on a timer here so i have to Rush my emails.  But thank you for writing.  Mom has been doing dear elder and it is so nice compared to email.  or send me personal letters that'd be awesome!  Ok so the MTC is still the same nothing has changed.  I have eaten salad and lettuce wraps up here for 9 days strait and lets just say i've been deflating alot if you know what i mean. I've been doing really well in french. We've already been contacting and taught lessons in French.  It's awesome.  I want you guys to know that when you really work hard at something and then leave the guiding to Christ and Spirit all things are possible i know that to be true.  Also keep reading preach my gospel and The Book Of Mormon.  It really is the most acurate book of any book on the planet and a man will draw closer to God by reading it.  So yeah my teacherss names are Frere Howell et Frere Luke.  There wonderful and we've drawn very close.  I've been able to grow close with them and they truly teach by the spirit.  Ok next my comp.......my comp....DIE!!!!! It has been so freaking difficult with him.  He has an ear infection so he can't do all the crazy runnin but he is a drag and an uptight naaggy brat to say the least.  He wants to do whats right and all but on tuesday i had to yell at him to shut up about our room being messy.  He is OCD when it comes to cleanslyness???? if thats a word, oh i just spelt it wrong.  I've never heard the word "nastiness" used so much.  It's honestly been so hard.  But on the plus side of life i have been getting revelation about truths and other principles daily.  And God has answered my prayers when i've asked.  The other night i was praying about Elder Wood and i asked how to be more charitble.  After i asked i just waited for a second the words to the primary song Love on Another came to my head.  I knew that was an answer but not the answer i needed so i asked again and then closed my prayer.  i went to the bathroom and literally minutes after the prayer my roommate elder Nelson walked in and talked to me.  He said he felt like i needed to talk and the crazy thing is he knew it was about my comp and he told me how he has been able to charitable to him.  I was seroiusly a direct answer.   I loved it! trust me when i say got answers prayers.  Alright i need to go so please write me back let me know how things are going back at the house.  I love you all.  And i miss you more than you know.  I look at you guys's picutres everyday.  See ya!

Love, Elder Hoopes

P.s Again write me through Dear Elder.com its much easier!!!