Elder Jonathan Nat Hoopes: The Coolest Story Ever

Ok so First of all i have to say this is going to be one of the best places of my mission. I absolutely LOVE BRUSSELS!!!!! Such an incredible city but also at the same time so much potential to improve! I am so excited to work here and Elder Gubbay is just such a stud! He is French, lived in Spain his whole life and then moved out to Dubai. He is super legit, hard working, obedient and patient. I love him. Also the Elders we live live are fun as well. One is named Elder Smith and Elder Marquez. Elder Marquez is from Mesa and knows the Chapmans and the Shawcrofts. Pretty cool hey? Also i am having to learn how to speak spanish because of how many spanish speakers there are here in Brussels. So on verra bien! Maybe i'll come home speaking two other languages. So yeah just things are great and the work up here is just starting to explode! We are expecting big things! I am so excited. I felt as if i just got recalled on my mission really. It is just a totally new experience and i am already loving it so much and feeling all the great blessings coming from it. I love it.

So missionary work. We are doing a lot of finding and contacting but also teaching a lot. It's iin large part thanks to what Elder Gubbay and his companion did before i got here. So now it is our responsiblity to keep it going and make this place just absolutely EXPLODE! Do you want to hear a miracle? This is the Coolest story ever. Ok so i don't think i ever told you guys the story of back when i was in cherbourg but when i was there one day we had to go to Caen for interviews. Upon arriving we found that some of the other elders had brought some amis to the interviews. Well these investigators were not just any ordinary amis. They Were refugees. The leader of the two named Saledine came from a prosperous family in Sierra Leon. He somehow figured out that christianity was true and converted however his muslim father was not happy and searched to KILL HIM. So he flees the country to Greece were he is held in a refugee center there. Well one of the roomates in that room knew about the missionaries and they all took the lessons. They were 14 in total. this one who knew the missionaries was named Isaac. so they are all taking the Rendez-vous and are even going to get baptized. 3 of them did however The rest did not. Why? Because one week before their baptism, they are shipped out to other countries to live. Some to Germany, some to france, some to netherlands so on and so forth. Well In the train up to Caen Saledine is praying so much so that he can find the missionaries and be baptized. Upon arriving in Caen, they get off the train and go to the tramway and there is standing the missionaries, going to interviews! How cool! they were baptized by Elder Reuckert Two months later. Fastforward to US!!!!!! So this thrusday we meet a man named Umaru. He was contacted by Elder Gubbay and his other companion on New years. We meet with him and he says Com and preach the word of God to my brothers in the refugee camp here! We are 500! We didn't think that was a good idea because well one there are tons of Muslims there, 2nd he seems a little off. So we said "Umaru just bring a couple friends to the next rendez-vous and then we'll see." So then this saturday we go to see him and he has brought a friend named Andrew. Andrew says he is also from Sierra Leon. We asked if he had ever met the missionaries and he said to us "Yes I have. I have read the Book of Mormon and I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God." He were STUNNED! We then asked where he had met the missionaries. He said that he had met the missionaries in Greece. I made the connection and sure enough he was one of the original 14 that took the lessons and one of the ones who couldn't be baptized. We asked him if he would be baptized this saturday and he accepted. He will be baptized on this Saturday! How incredible!!!!!!! and one cool note is that he is one of the last ones be found by the missionaries. All of the others, found and baptized in their respective countries! HOW INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! I was just so incredibly thankful for this experience and also so humbled that the Lord would be so merciful as to help us in his work. Just such an amazing story!

So sorry that took up a ton of space but that is just so cool! Carson Happy Birthday! I love you so much! Mom thank you for the video! It was hilarious! Who is "new brother not from mom brother?" Anyway he should be getting something from me soon. Ryan is still in all my prayers and i hope that he starts making more progress. I will be sending home a package soon with stuff i don't want to carry with me any more but i will tell you when i send it. Anyway i love you all so much and i pray for you daily!!!!

Love Elder Hoopes