WEll My last Monday in Cherbourg

So yeah I am leaving haha it is about time i get out of here.  I am very tired here but i am extremely greatful for the lessons i have learned here in Cherbourg.  To go from nothing to something great in my time here is really cool to see.  My first transfer here i taught 34 lessons.  Second Transfer i taught 35 lessons and found some people and now this transfer we taught 51 lessons!!!!!  WE have been so incredibly blessed i really can't explain in words how amazed i am that we actually pulled off this transfer so incredibly well.  I know have confidence i can go anywhere work my hardest and the blessings will follow naturally! I have no problems lending the reins over to Elder Paul.  He is a great elder and is always trying his hardest.  So we will see.  I also get to go down to Limoges which is beautiful beautiful country side and it is famous for its porcelain!  Kinda cool.  It also is much bigger.  There is close to 200,000 people opposed to Cherbourg's 95,000 people. I am happy with that also it is a beautiful building and a ward down there!!!!! YESSSS!!!!!!  I needed that so badly!  Hahaha

 

Honestly it is nice not having to deal with the stress of serving here anymore.  I love this place to death but you get my drift.  I am sad to leave my amis here but again i have just worked so hard with them and only a couple of them have actually started to progress so it isn't to tough but i will miss them.  I am going to stay in contact with them for sure.  One of the Best goodbye's was the one the football team gave me.  We all took a picture and then all the guys gave me a signed jersey they had all signed and then they also gave me the teams sticker logo!  It is so cool and i miss them already!  Ha when we come back on the mission tour we are going to come back to Cherbourg to Play football with them on the weekend!  And then you can also see how church runs with 16 people!  Woo hoo!  But one of the harder goodbye's was to franck and charlotte.  They have really been like my gaurdien angels here.  They have always helped us out at moments notice and they have always made us feel at home.  I love them and will miss them so so so so so much.  It will be hard leaving the baptismal dates to but at the same time it can be super stressful and i feel good knowing that the most important thing is that i move to limoges and that the lord will make sure that they get baptised.  I love them to death but ca va.  I am going back down to the Orleans Zone which is the zone that Blois is in!  So i might get to have some interaction there.  Also i am going to be serving in the same district and Elder Draleau again which should be really cool.  I missed him a whole lot.

 

Well really that is about it for write now.  Next week is going to be a really good email because i will be telling you about my new situation!  I love you all and wish me luck!  Jusqu'à Lundi!  Bye

 

Elder Jonathan Hoopes

Me and Wilfried

My Grandma watch (yes i wear it!)

The New and improved Team!!! My Boys!

YESSSSSS!

TRANSFER = NEW ADDRESS!

Well we received the transfer email and i will be leaving once again!  I don't know much about my companion but i am going to the lowest spot in the mission!  LIMOGES!!!!

 

My New Address:

 

Elder Hoopes

16, rue de la Cité

87000 Limoges

 

Much easier then my old address!

Alrighty well there is some of information  Love You ALL!!!!

Well Freakin Hey!

So yeah i just got done reading all of the emails and they were freaking awesome.  I was sad to hear about grandma Rowley passing away but the plan of salvation is something that must be remembered.  It gives so much comfort.  Also speaking of God's plan for us, It was so cool to here about Andilyn!!!!!  Welcome to the world little Chou chou!  French things....  Anyway she is welcomed!  What fun news!  Ha also all of the other news from around the house is super funny.  I'm sorry that you are still busy with work mom and DAD!  Geez but thank you for working and sacrificing for all of us!  It means the world to me.  Also i am happy to hear that you had a good birthday mom!  I was really hoping that it would go well!  I love love loved your emails thank you thank you thank you AND......THANK YOU FOR THE FREAKING PACKAGE!!!!! iT WAS LITERALLY AND UNDEFIABLY THE GREATEST EVER!!!!!  I saw the Cheez-its and i about lost it!  I literally screamed for about 37 seconds exactly!  Ha one of the funner moments for me so far.Thank you so much i loved it all so much. I still haven't gotten the shaver charger but Elder Paul has the same kind of Razor that i have so i can charge it on his for the moment.  But yes thank you i love you all!  I need to send a letter to connor and to carson still so i will be getting on the way pretty soon.  Any way thank you for all the emails and messages.  I love them all and right now i am so happy.  Thank you also for putting some much needed money into my account.  I was running low but i have been using it on clothes and things like that literally the essentials. I think i will be ok on shoes for the moment.  I bought a cheaper french pair which is like buying shoes from walmart so we'll see how long those will last.  Hint (birthday) new shoes....eckos from the missionary store size 14 the narrower the better :)  NOT ECHOS with the stupid rhino looking thing on them because those aren't the good kind but the ones from palmeroys or whatever are the good ones.  Don't listen to what the guys say are better.   Just get the Eckos Lol!!!!!  I walk a ton and i have heavy big feet that just tear through shoes.  So yeah thank you. I am trying to be frugal i promise and if that is way to much to do then i will just periodically buy french shoes.  Also there is an umbrella here called a Veritable de Cherbourg and it is the most beautiful umbrella i have ever seen.  It is 110 Euros so i will await your next email to see if i can get that.  At the moment it is not necessary by any means it would be more of a souvenir.  Maybe i can just wait until we do a mission tour.  By the way do you still plan on coming to pick me up?  I would love that.  any way i think that is all the boring stuff now on to my week.

 

So today was fun.  We finally had a fun day because this week has been trying.  We did teach more lesson than normal but it was difficult too.  We got Fruged or cancelled on a whole bunch and also got dropped by claudine my favorite amie.  She had to stop with the lessons because er husband was not happy with her at all....  Also i told you about Sarah who needed us to bless the house?...  Well we went to her house twice and she wasn't there and in between these visits we actually saw her and she is having some problems with the government and her residency all of a sudden.  So we are being tried but I WILL NOT LET CHERBOURG BEAT ME!  Cherbourg has killed lots of missionaries and i am not going to be one of them.  I really real REALLY want to see someone i teach get baptized but that is according to the Lords time and the people agency.  I kinda am not going to talk about Blois for a while or at least the Baptism situation because the two lazy and pagan missionaries there righ now aren't doing crap and Ousmane and Chris have still not been baptized.  I can't stand it.  Max and Harlotte have not been seen by the missionaries and all the other amis were forgotten at the moment so until a good solid missionary goes in there i am going to hold off on talking of them.  Here our ami situation is good but could improve.  We are trying really hard to be obedient and do what is write but sometimes we can only do so much.  We did meet a really cool guy named Sebastian though who is really tight.  WE met him on tuesday and then had a rendez-vous with him the next day!  It went really well so we will see what happens.  I really want to baptize though.  So i just hope and literally pray so hard that that will happen.  I just want someone i love to be baptized!  I guess that is that.  As far as other things not much has happened.  Elder paul is good and works hard.  We work so hard together but sometimes because we have some of the same intrests in music and sports sometimes the spirit of the conversation shifts and i don't like that to much.  But Elder Paul is a really great guy and we are getting along really well.  Almost half way through already!  Haha  We will be in Paris next week and the week after so i am really stoked for that.  But yeah i think that is it for the moment.

 

I really hope all is going super well and you can all feel my love.  I will send letters soon!  I promise!  I love you all!

 

Elder Hoopes

I'm Staying!

 Ok well i am going to stay in Cherbourg!  I am going o be Co comps with Elder Paul!  Love You All!

Elder Hoopes

Elder Jonathan Hoopes 
19, rue au Blé/ Impasse de la Prison
50100 Cherbourg France

Bonjour!

Ok so this email will probably be a lot better than the last one because i can type again on a good computer!  So this week for the most part has been pretty casual.  Not to many things new but there are some cool miracles!  We are still working our hardest and really trying to find those who are ready for the gospel so yeah on vera!  Ok also mom you should be getting a letter in the mail!  Also I AM SO GLAD THAT YOU GUYS FINALLY GOT THE PACKAGE I MAILED!!!!  I know it was kinda dorky but hey whatever it rocks just as hard!  :)  

So ok fun things that happened this week!  They do this thing here in france called Les Galettes de Roi.  They are big pastries with a little prize inside and it is called a feve.  It is in celebration of when the wisemen went and saw Jesus after his birth!  Well  I have know won 4 times!  I have crowns and everything!  Hahaha  that was just a fun little thing.  Also at football this week  I gave out two more Book of Mormon's to the guys!  I am the QB so they listen to me and respect me a lot!  It is really fun getting to play football with them and also be a missionary!  Ha this week i was the only QB and so i was running all the drills with the team and after practice the coach was talking to me and he said that he hoped that i wouldn't leave the Ville because he thinks i am super good!  I love It Woo HOO!  By the way speaking of giving out Book of Mormon's, Me and Elder Draleau have given out thirty since the start of our transfer and that is more than half of all given out by the Zone and mind you we have 6 other companionships in our Zone!  Pretty cool right?!  If it wasn't for the Book of Mormons then we wouldn't be having lots of success.  Cool stories!  

Ok so the First is Sylvie.  We gave her a Book of Mormon two weeks ago.  But after the first time we saw her we didn't see her for about a week and a half because she was out of town and everytime we passed back her house she wasn't there.  Well then a couple nights ago as we were planning Elder Draleau had the impression to pass by the next day at 6:15 exactly!  So we did just that, we went back and knocked her door.  Luckily she was there because she was just about to leave for the night.  We talked to her at the door and asked if she had read at all and she goes, "Well yeah i'm not done yet I've only read half of it so far!  I really like it a lot though."  We were like.......WOW!!!!!!  That hasn't happened to me yet on the mission and it hasn't happened with any of the Book of Mormons yet, like not many people are reading.  So we were so shocked and we are going to see her this Thursday!  

Then we had another pass back with a lady with this lady named Claudine!  She is so cool we taught her one of the best lessons we have ever taught and she got really excited and into the lesson and now we are going to see her on Friday!  It is so cool to see the blessings that come from simple testimony and from really searching for the elect.  Hopefully both of them are super stars!  Also cool news!  Remember Ousmane from Blois?  Well he is going to be baptized this Saturday!  How cool?!  I still am hoping and praying to see a baptism!  It'll come though i know it!

But really that is about it.  Me and Elder Draleau are getting along really well still.  I dont know if i am staying or moving yet so we'll just have to see.  I had the feeling i was staying in Blois and then i movedso you never know.  I'll let you know saturday if i Move!  Well I love you all so much and i hope all is well and that you are all happy and being blessed!  Au Revoir!

Avec L'amour

Elder Hoopes

Well Hello again!

Well what a week!  It was an absolute rollercoaster!  First off, if you want you can forward my letters to the family.  Secondly Hunters Paintings are so sick!  I've showed all the missionaries im around and the all think they are so cool!  My favorite one is the Hand Flowers one.  I like the other ones and i think artisticly they are solid but the Hand Flowers are so so so COOL!  I really wish i could buy it off of you Hunter.  When i get home i want one of you paintings in my house!  Thirdly Carson's Birthday!!!!!  Luckily i was able to recognize Carson's Birthday out here!  We were walking on the road exactly at 4:47 and i Yelled HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  So now me, Elder Draleau and a lot of weirded out French People know it was your birthday!  Happy birthday carson!  I found a scripture that reminds me of you and your stature.  It's Mormon 1:2.  It is simple but pretty cool!  So yeah i think that is it for now on that stuff!

Like i said this week has been something else.  We have seen short comings and so many Blessings!  First just to get them out of the way short comings......  We had 4 innactive rendez'vous drop us, lost contact with two other amis, only taught one lesson in the presence of a member, and had a recent convert who prayed out of a book tell us he wont change and he is comfortable not receiving the Melkezidick Priesthood.  kinda sad.  But anyway not focusing on that so many good things happened and once again it is only because Heavenly Father needs work to be done and we are really just puting faith in Him.  This week we gave out nine copies of The Book of Mormon and set up return rendez-vous with all of them!  It is sick!  Also we got let into one door by a 19 year old guy named Jonathan!  Cool right?!  THEN we enlarged our teaching pool to around 20 people now and received a refferal!  I am so happy!  This last week did have lots of struggles and trials but ca va.  That is life as a missionary!  Also two other cool things.  News from Fairytale Land Blois!!!!  Ousmane has another date for baptism and willl be baptized later this month!  Also we found a man named Chris when i was there and i never got to teach him however We found him and now he has a date for February 5!  Sick right!!!!  I am pretty content on peut dire!  So yeah it has been quite the week!  But things are going well and i am really loving Elder Draleau!  He is such a nice guy and he really works super hard and has a ton of Faith.  We are making a really good team right now! 

That is pretty much it to be honest not to much else.  But really i have to testify that miracles will always come after the trial of your faith.  The work here for me is not done until i leave so i am not going to say that this is our highest point yet but here i have seen it really low and reallly high!  When i see it high it is when we are obedient, prayerful, and ambitious in exercising our faith.  When its low i am not being the missionary i could be.  So yeah that is my little thought for today and this week!  I hope all is going well back home and i miss you all really bad but it is ok!  

I LOVE YOU

Elder Hoopes

Ok so this year has gotten off to a pretty crazy start!  This week i Travelled over 820 miles.  I played piano, blessed sacrament, taught priesthood, and bore my testimony, I have seen both rain and snow here this week and the work here is skyrocketing!  

So first my trip i had to take.  So this last wednesday i had to get legal in Belgium.  Well he have district meeting on tuesday in Caen and then there is no train that leaves Cherbourg early enough to get to paris and then go to brussels in the morning so i had to stay the night in PARIS!!!!  So tuesday we went from Cherbourg to Caen, Caen to Paris spent the night then in the morning on wednesday Paris to Brussels, Brussels to Paris and then Paris to Cherbourg and we caught our train to Cherbourg with Just two minutes to spare which is lucky and a blessing because the next train that left for cherbourg was three hours later and would put us into Cherbourg around 11 at night!  So yeah it was pretty hectic!  But we did get to see lots of Paris on tuesday!  We had about 4 hours of free time that we could use to explore and stuff so we went to Champs Elysées and to the Eiffel Tower and the Arc du Triomph.  It was pretty sweet!  We saw some cool things!  Ha this one lady came up to us and started yelling at us in SPanish and french and i was like What?!!!!!  Turns out she was a member that wanted to be Excommunicated and she was from Columbia with her Family (They took a picture with us before we left HAHAHA) and yeah she starts going off on how we worship a Prophet and dont read the bible!  We obviously were like lady you crazy and i left her with a scripture from the Bible to study when she gets home!  Romans 1:16!  Ha it was pretty funny actually!  But yeah then brussels we couldnt really see because we went strait to the consolate and didn't see anything else before we headed home.  So that was a bummer but yeah that was that trip.

New Years we didn't do anything we just had a pday and we caught up on some much needed sleep.  But anyway speaking of the work here.  Things are clicking!!!!!!  Me and elder Draleau have decided to be strickly obedient and not waste any time.  The blessings are already coming.  When he came in we only had 3 people in our teaching pool and after only 4 real days of work we now have 10 Sold people we are going to teach!  Also the less actives and other innactives are starting to let us in and some are coming to church!  Really it is such and amazing blessing.  So hopefully this next week we can have lots of success!  We are just relying on the spirit and on its guidance.  COOL STORY TIME!!!!!!

Ok so this week at our district meeting President was there and we were all having interviews and he gave us a training on Spiritual planning.  So we decided to put that into action and try it out.  So we started planning and in the middle of the planning we prayed and asked Heavenly Father to tell us where we needed to go and who to find.  So we thought a little bit after the prayer and thought and thought and we both got two little feelings.  I felt we needed to porte this specific apartment building the thrid white Batiment and Elder Draleau felt we needed to go to the pier.  So we planned on sunday to go and do those things.  So sunday rolls around and we do just a tad of planning and then we have a RDV at 3.  Well it was 2:30 and we had to go.  So we start going to the RDV and we just felt like we needed to go contacting just out by the Pier before we left.  So we hurried over there because from the pier it is then 15 minutes to the RDV so we just decided to hurry.  Well we get there and we contact one guy but he wasn't interested.  So then we go to turn back to the RDV but i felt something pulling me and telling me to stay out on the Pier.  It said "go back, go back, go back."  So i told Elder Draleau i felt we needed to stay 5 more minutes.  So he agreed and we walked out there and keep in mind there is no one around.  Its sunday you know.  Well all of a sudden this guy comes walking up so we contact him and turns out he is interested and wants a Book of Mormon.  So we placed a book of Mormon and are going to see him later this week!  Cool huh!  Then Later on in the Night we went Porting and we went to the Third white Building.  We knocked and knocked and knocked but nothing.  So its time for us to leave and we just decided to do the last floor.  Well the last two doors we knocked were interested and we placed Book of Mormons to both of them and are seeing them next sunday!  Cool thing is they are Neighbors too so it is easy to just pass back and do RDV's with Them!  So yeah how cool is that!  The spirit literally told us where to go and what to do!  I know that the Spirit will guide us when we are obedient and when we strive to leave the best we can by keeping the commandments.

So yeah that was a super cool spirtual experience this week!  I love this work and finally in Cherbourg things are happening.  It is realy just because we have know become worthy vssels for the Spirit.  I love love love IT!!!!!  Totally worth two years away from home HAHAHAHA!!!!!!  Well i miss you all so much and i hope you get my package soon because i sent it a while ago!  Anyway i love you and miss you all!

Love 
Elder Hoopes