Hello!

Hello!!  How is everyone doing? I am doing good living the same life as before ha! Just not to many new things have really happened.  pascal is doing well!  the ward is doing a good job at making him feel welcome.  I feel like a parent in the fact that i feel like the ward is never doing enough but in reality Pascal is loving it and is doing really well.  He is still a very new member and so also when we review through the lessons with him i expect him to really understand everything right away but he still is learning.  It is just an interesting mind set i guess. Things are still going great between me and Elder Awerkamp.  We are loving being together.  He is so easy to get along with. 

Oh so good news about Annette.  We got to meet her parents who are so incredibly republican it is crazy!  Lol they remind me of Dad.  However they would be front row at the Republican National convention!  Ha so yes we met them.  It is interesting because they are hard core Baptist and well they don't like Mormons very much...AT ALL! When they found out that Annette was taking lessons from us they fought and eventually her father ended up slapping her.  SO YEAH.....  this was a couple months ago and they have began to see the change in Annette's life and how much happier she is now because of us.  So they finally said they wanted to meet us and so we went over there this past Saturday and they had made us Hot Coco and girl scout cookies and crackers and other little snacks and we just spent a really good moment all together.  They really warmed up to us.  Next week we are going to go and have a pic-nic i think.  they are so incredibly religious it is insane!  they are professors of theology and know the bible so well however something interesting is that when we site Scripture they don't have a uniform response nor do they really see it is as individual principles or Doctrine.  So we are really going to be studying and proving the truthfulness of the church through the bible and New testament backing it up with the Book of Mormon.  I have studied rigorously in the New testament about the need to be baptized, grace and the trinity.  It is embarrassing on their part that they have overlooked  so many simple truths!  they are going to learn a lot i think.  I have grown to love the New testament so much through this.  It is so black and white and really just solidifies the truth and doctrine in our faith. So yes that is the news with them. I really think that is about all that has really happened this week.  I will keep you updates if things change next week of course.  Mom, i am eating well hahaha thank you for the compliment and also you letter is almost done and i will be sending that soon.  Carson's letter was so hilarious!!!!  thank you and hey who won the All-Star Game? also about the new scriptures i already did that for him.  I didn't have his named engraved because i couldn't but still i gave him a really pretty set of scriptures.  Thank you for praying for him and loving him even though you haven't met him.  You will in a Year!  Omg!  I will be on the down hill next letter!  Craziness!  Well alrighty i think that is it for now.  Thank you so much for everything i love you all!

Elder Hoopes

HUGE NEWS!!!!!!!

Pascal and Me

The Boys!!!!!

Our Ward Mission Leader and Us

Well Yes As you can see from the Images PASCAL GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!  HAHAHAHA I am so so so so stoked!  It all went through and he was confirmed yesterday and it was all so beautiful and perfect.  I am hoping that our Ward mission leader will send me all of the pictures because they took some other good ones!  I am so Happy for pascal honestly his whole story is just one gigantic miracle and he has engaged himself in the best thing possible for his life.  I am so proud of him.  Keep praying for him because Pascal is someone prone to receiving blessings.  He honestly gets everything he asks for because he does everything he needs to.  Oh i am just so proud of him!  So that is the first big news! Second Transfer news came out and me and Elder Awerkamp will be staying together again for our third transfer!  I am so happy for that!  He really is awesome and we are just getting along so well. Ha So yes i think that is about it as far as huge news goes. Also we are back in great contact with annette!  She is doing really well and she really takes care of us like Mom would if she were here.  She is so sweet to us and she now is seeing the connections between the truth of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith being a prophet.  She is also seriously engaged in that she wants to know the truth.  ALSO SHE has not rejected the things we are saying like other religions. She holds on to ours and realizes that the Book of Mormon is sacred.  So that is her.  Really that is about all that has happened.  It has been a stressful but also a very fullfilling week.  

So yes again i will be staying here i will be here until August 28 (that is the next transfer email).  Mom i got your letter and trust me i will be writing you very soon.  I hit my year mark next thursday CRAZY SAUCE!  Also i have heard all about the news being published about President Monson announcing the temple here in france which is LEGIT!  So cool!  I love it.  Hopefully they will announce it this next general conference.  But yes that is it.  sorry this isn't more intensive but this is about all that has happened!  I love you and HUNTER HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!  18 is the best birthday!

I love you all,

Elder Hoopes

Bonjour Bounjour tout le monde!

Alors, This week has already started so awesome and i thik it is only going to get better! So sorry i am writing this a little late it is just that i wasn't in Limoges i was in Blois on Monday and so that of course was demanding to my time and we weren't able to email.   Omg what a p-day!!!!!  I got to hang out with Elder Youngblood, who is in my Mtc District and another Elder, Elder Coleman who is in Awerkamps district so it was so much fun!  We just road tripped and visited 6 Chateaux in Blois that i had never seen before!  We saw Montrichard, Montpoupon, Montrésor, Vallençay, Amboise and My favorite, Loches!  Loches is a medieval city just like toledo just not as big nor spanish but they had a super old Dungeon, an abbey, and a Chateau from the 15th Century!  So that was so awesome! I took lots of photos! Also we met our Mission president this tuesday in Angers and that was the reason actually we were in Blois was to go out there in the morning!  So yes and he seems really cool.  It is a different feel than President Stahelli but he is so awesome down to earth and thinks like a french member.  He knows what the members here are like and how they think of missionaries.  He also sees the work from our point of view really well because he is french!  It is such a blessing really!  So that was great also one of our newest endeavours is painting our apartment so it doesn't look as nasty as it did before because it was really bad.  So that is why we look like we were painting.  We decided to get the most outrageous look as possible and this is the best we could do for 10 euros. HAHAHA um but that is about it. As Far as Amis go,

Looks like pascal will still be getting baptized this friday!!!!! :) Quick story about fasting.  So last thursday we get a call from pascal saying that he has to go up to Paris and that he needed to change his baptismal date that he had.  I was so bummed but he had to because his father was being operated on urgently so he went up to comfort his family.  He told us that he didn't know when he would be back exaclty.  Well so this sunday me and Elder Awerkamp fasted that he would return in time and be able to get baptized this next week.  Well i called him everyday to see how he was doing and his phone was turned off and so i didn't get to talk to him.  WELL this tuesday i called him and even though things didn't turn out that great with his family he was on his way back to Limoges!  We were in Angers when i called and so we returned as planned and got onto the regular schedule with him.  The only thing we have to change is his interview that will take place tomorrow.  Its interesting because i was worried he would go into a relapse of cigarettes or something maybe even a depression but when i talked to him today he told me that he hadn't smoked in a week and that he was still keeping all commitments!  AHHHHH!!!!! So all that needs to happen is that he gets interviewed and then he will be able to be baptized friday if that goes through!  Such an answer to fasting! How great!?  Thank you also for all of your prayers!  that is so great of all of you!  Also next thing!  We got back in contact with annette and she is doing ok.  We are on our schedule with her again to.  So things are really going well and i am loving this work.  Transfer ends Sunday so i will have news this weekend!!!!!  I hope we stay another together!  Elder Awerkamp ROCKS!  Oh and also the Burrito Party went great!  We got an ami out of it WOO HOO!!!!

So i am glad you had a fun time in san diego!  that sounds like so much fun!  I miss cali but i must say french countryside is ridiculously beautiful and perfect for a roadtrip!  Ha and that jellyfish was enormous!  So cool!  Um also i think that i will be officially done on August 1st 2012.  So yeah plan as you must.  It is no big deal visiting around after the mission.  I will be legal in the country until April 2013 :) hahaha!  That is usually the holdup for doing mission tours.  If you have question you can just call the mission home and they will help you out!  Umm i believe that is it.  OHHHHH  Thank you so much for the shoes they are wonderful and thank you for the random treats!  It made for great road tripping!!  I love you all and thank you again.  I miss you all!!!!

Elder Hoopes

Amboise Castle

Asian Pose

 

Chateau D'amboise on the fortress

Dongeun at loches

Everyday life 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Medieval city Gates

Vallençay

Well Hi!

Ok so from the awesome pictures and videos alaska looked freaking awesome!  I am so glad you had a good time!  Someday!  By the way do you think that you all will come to france to pick me up or will that just be mom and Dad?  Anyway!  I love you all and i miss you a whole ton!  Happy Fete National on pourrait dire!  It's 4th of July how cool!  Lucky for us we have the coolest members in Rachel and Lucas and so they are throwing a big huge Burrito Party for us!  But check this out, there're all.... So we were thinking we could celebrate the 4th of July by throwing a Giant Party and what we'll do is just invite all of our friends to come and the only way that members will be allowed to come is if they bring a friend! So tonight we will be eating so many burritos and just having such an awesole time!  Oh and it will be at the church!  So we will be bringing tons of Book of Mormons and all sorts of other things to give to people and we are really oping to find some really awesome people!  They will all be about 20-25 because they are all of Lucas and Rachels friends!  I am so stoked! 

Also speaking of stoked, Pascal!  He is doing really well still progressing and everything!  He fasted this sunday with us so hat he could stop smoking and also so that he could find a new apartment!  I am so proud of him.  He is trying al tat he can to stop smoking and it is so awesome to see.  I think what could help even more then the Patch and Meds is just a simple desire and drive of self confidence to overcome this. I know he can do this.  Keep praying for him.  He will be interviewed on the 9th and if all goes well He'll be baptized on the 15th.  Oh i hope this goes through!  If i see another baptism fall through i am going to go nuts!  1/12 would be nice.  Pascal official asked me to baptize him and i of course accepted and i can't wait.  Oh Pascal!!!!  This sunday he participated so well in Church and even on Saturday he cae to a Ward service project with all th Elders Quorum and all that.  INTEGRATION!!!!  Church also was so ballin BECAUSE we had not one, not two, but 5 AMIS AT CHURCH! The most i have ever had was six and that was in Blois!  I was so happy and now things are going well with our little African Family because they came to Church.  I don't know if i told you about them but they are actually legit and it is Lydie and her two kids Grace (10) and MiraD (short for miracle of God (Dieu)) who is 14 months.  I hope they get baptized also.  Jeff is doing well to everyone actually is doing alright.

I really hope that i can stay here again with Awerkamp preferably!  He rocks and we just get along so well.  By the way mom transfer day is not until the 20th of July.  I will know if i am moving the 16th.  Really the ward here loves me and they want me to stay longer.  They have asked me.  Even Lucas and Rachel really want us to stay!  I would love to but i understand the Lord may need me to do work like i've started here somewhere else so i will just go where he needs me to go! But really that is about it. 

So yes the pictures haha. The ones with the giant skeletons!  We were just planning for the following day and i heard drummers so i looked out the window and i found this going on!  CRAZINESS!  It was radical!  It was like a play but a satanic ritual without satan you know!?  It was just so cool!  I love that about france just so many random cultural experiences!  Anyway that is about it!

Well until next week!

Elder Hoopes

Constantin Destroying

Dieu Merci Michel's Departure

Fire Pit

Music Party

Rain Rain go away

Smores

Outside our window

......Alaska huh..............cool......... :(

I just realized that once again i forgot my camera!!!!

OK SO WHAT IN THE FREAKING WORLD IS GOING ON WITH YOU GUYS GOING TO ALASKA!!!!!!!!!!!  AHHHHHH!!!!! That is my dream!!!!!  I have wanted to go to Alaska ever since i was in second grade and now they get to live the dream!  Yes once again i know i am in france but still you are so lucky! Send me pictures and lots of them! I am so jealous but its all good i guess and Hunter is intimidatingly huge but still you guys are so lucky!  It sounds like things back home are still kicking like normal!  I miss you guys alot and i miss just hanging out around the brothers like i used to.  Mom and dad i miss you a ton too and i miss everything you did for me back home.  I guess the only good part about hunter being enormous is that i will get all of his clothes when i get home in JUST OVER A YEAR!!!!  Hunter is massive and it is driving me nuts! Any way thank you for everything and mom getting me the new shoes and all that those will work out great!  Also this transfer ends july 18th just so you all know.  I might being staying a 4th because of some big things that are now happening that i will explain in a moment!  :) So Connor is Playing football huh?  That will be so much fun!  Mom you don't have to worry about him getting hurt because the only the people who play on the line get hurt.  The running backs and the wide receivers are the studs and have nothing to worry about! Connor is so awesome.  Omg that kid seizes to amaze me!  Dad asked me about the gift of tongues and i haven't had any real gift of tongues moments except for the fact that i learned french in about 12 weeks.  I am really speaking near perfect french the only thing lacking is the vocab but that comes slowly.  I can literally understand anyone though so no worries there.  I can't believe that i hit my 11 Month mark tomorrow!  That is incredible and after that the countdown begins until i get to see you all again!!!!

So Updates about Limoges.  I want you to all know that your prayer efforts have been answered and that our efforts are finally paying off for the better.  Jeff and Pascal both have Baptismal dates now! Pascal is fixed for the 15th of JULY!!!!!!!!!!  I will be baptizing him i think!  Hopefully he will have a member do it because that would be better in the long run but when we fixed the date with him he said it is really important to me that you are there for the baptism Jonathan.  So i just am so touched by that and his story is an incredible miracle!  The Book of Mormon has TRANSFORMED a Homosexual, Depressed, Agnastostic, into a Straight as an arrow, Up beat, hopeful, believer in Christ!  I love Pascal so much and his transformation has come through and by the Book of Mormon.  Oh it makes me so happy.  JEFF!!!  We fixed a date with him for the 13th of August.  I think that all will be well with him he just needs to find that firm testimony in the Book of Mormon that will change his life like pascals!!  So yes he is now in line to do that.  Other miracles are happening and i am so happy to be a part of them here in Limoges.  Limoges is still my least favorite of all the Villes i have served in But the work is continual and it makes up for my dislike of how limoges looks.  Yeah that is the only reason i am not of fan of Limoges is the feel of the Ville but in general it is ok and i am loving the work.  So yes that is Limoges for the moment.  It has been getting really hot out here.  The only thing that toughens my up is saying well i could be in arizona right now!  Hahahaha seriously that heat is so gnarly!  Any way well that is all that i have to write about today.  I look forward to hearing from you all soon.  I love you all so much!

Love Elder Hoopes

So ok what is up with Connor just picking up and flying out to philly! that
is so ridiculous!!! but understandable.... Happy birthday Connor! Oh
Goodness.... You're 15 now!!! That is so fun. I was telling everyone out
here that it was your birthday in Limoges! HAHAHAHAI think i am gonna to
start hearing about a lot of just pick up and go trips. You guys are so
lucky. I Am lucky to be in france but it is almost just like living a
normal life here and just going out to work everyday. It is weird i think
that this week i really hit an interesting point out here. I have forgotten
and don't know how to distinguish reality anymore. I know it sounds crazy
but honestly. I do so many bizzare things, talk to some incredibly strange
people, i am living on my own, i am changing the lives of others, studying
and trying my best to become better with God, just our day to day activities
are so unique it doesn't feel real. But on the other side of things i had
my life and everything before it and i am always thinking about that. Waking
up is the worst because i wake up from dreams of home and dreams of me
interacting with people from both worlds of my universe. It is just so
strange i really can't express it clearly. Next month on the 28th i hit my
year mark on my mission. OMG!!!! I have been living in France this whole
time wow.... I really miss everyone. I miss back home a lot. It doesn't
help not getting many letters from friends anymore but that comes as you are
on the mission i suppose. I love hearing from the family. Mom and dad your
emails are so good for me. Thank thank thank you. But i think you know
what i am trying to say. I feel so far away!!!!

Anyway on to brighter things. Today has been fun. at 10:30 we went to the
Church and we played Ping Pong for 4 hours..... I am very sore i must say.
I have gotten so good. I never really played until this transfer and i have
only been practicing with him and he is incredible but already we are
playing so competitively!!!! It rocks! Also just as news i am staying
another one here in Limoges with Elder Awerkamp. It will be great. It is
so much fun with him. So yeah he will be my first companion for more than
one transfer. So yeah and my other favorite elder in our district will stay
Elder Barker. Also on saturday as you can see from the photos we got
destroyed by a pigeon!!!! Omg! It literally exploded on us. So yeah there
is the debris and shrapnel from the blast. Also i included a picture of Pas
De Guerre. Pas de guerre in french means against war or not for war.
Everytime he talks to us at the parting moment he says to us,...."pas de
guerre" I don't know if he even has a name. I asked if we could take a
picture with him and he said "no, no, no it's not necessary" so i snuck this
picture while we were in the park and we saw him in the distance. Ha but
yeah hahaha. Ummmm

Ok so our amis are doing well. We are really wanting a baptism here so we
are really going to get more serious about the things we teach and also our
boldness. It is necessary and also i need to tighten up the loose screzzs
and be more obedient. Elder Awerkamp isn't the most obedient like he isn't
bad just very chill and sometimes i get to chill or just disregard the
rules. I really am trying to be good just sometimes i am not on my game
1000 percant you know. Anyway that is Limoges right now. Mom thank you for
the rust remover it worked wonders!!!!! I love you all so much and i hope
to hear from you soon! à bientot tchiao!

Elder Hoopes

This is Pas de Guerre, our favorite hobo

Well Hi!

So i am so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My comp is so legit and absolutely
hilarious! He knows so many people i know and he loves like all the same
things as me just not as annoying as some as my past comps! He is so cool!
He is so happy to be in limoges and he wants to get working and so that is
fun! This transfer is going to fly by! He is so fun! It was nice to go
into Paris and to pick him up! Paris is so nice! Also i Got Smart PERSON
GLASSES! 9 Bucks at CHATELET!!!!! LOL so the pick up went well with him
but the funny thing is that he actually grabbed someone elses luggage so we
then had to go to Orleans to drop off that other Elder's bag and then we
will be going to Tours tommorrow after District meeting in Potiers to get
his bag! So yeah it was a funny mix up! It has made for a lot of
travelling! But it is fun also! Then this Weekend end we are going to
Angers for our Zone Conference! So yeah that is that!

Ha we are doing good work already and he speaks a good amount for someone in
there fourth transfer. Last week since the time he got in we taught 9
lessons. That was more lessons than all the lessons he had taught in his
last area in two transfers! We are being so blessed and having him is
really opening my eyes to how incredibly blessed we are. WE are teaching so
many lessons and are finding people left and right and they are all so
cool. The people here are really open and the members liked me more than i
thought they did. It can be tough just walking into a ward who just came
from having bad elders. So things are going good. We are having a good
time. It is crazy to think that we are already in May. Can you believe
it!? I am still trying to wrap my head around it! I hit my 9 month mark
last week and it was a pretty cool moment i must say. I hit my year mark
not to far according to missionary time which i am convinced moves at an
incredible rate! Ha so good.

We just got done teaching two lessons before coming to do emails. We are so
tired. It is our P-day! We want some rest but its ok! I would rather have
this area on fire than to have it struggling to breath like when i first
came here. We are so grateful for these blessings. I can't even explain
it. I dont want to sound prideful because lets face it we still dont have
any baptismal dates or anything like that but we are definately trying to
help our amis get to that point. But just the fact of finding people and
having a chance to teach these people is so incredible to me i must admit.
WE are the busiest i have been so far on my mission and even though i am
young and still trying to figure everything that we need to do i am loving
it! WE are having to organize people by priority! Before we just searched
and searched and would teach anyone and i mean anyone! I have walked into
homes so ignorantly having no idea what to expect so many times. I'd say
here in limoges only 40 percent of the time they are crazy or Pyshcotic. Oh
how the Lord watches over us! LOL!

Not much has changed with us and our amis except that Dieu-Merci-Michel
loves me so much! Ha he is so funny! Late to all our rendez-vous but
funny! I asked him if he had read the introduction and testimonies in the
book of mormon and he just goes "Jonathan.......i'm sorry......but i can't
lie to you.....you are my brother and a servant of God....and i'm sorry. I
didn't read" LOL!!!! I thought it was hilarious! He was about to cry! Ha
oh Dieu-Merci! He is so humble and tries so hard to follow the
commandments! He is so good. Ha we were just like dude its cool like
seriously you are just about the same as everyone we teach! Oh this guy! So
yeah! We also Found two new people Jeff and Pascal. They are both french
which is a change! ha but yeah things are going good! We also just got a
referral from salt lake! How cool! So yeah good things are happening!

So yeah that is my week! I will try calling around 11:15 your time. I
might figure something else out possibly Skpe but i don't know. We will
figure it out. It dad wants to call through skpe and everything if he is
out of town our number without the Country code is 06.71.00.26.07. I hope
that works you can call me for free but if i call you i have to pay money
for a phone card. So how about this! Call ME AT 11:15 YOUR TIME. THAT WILL
BE AROUND 8:15p.m here! I will try to find a place to skpe but if we can't
we will just have to settle for a phone call. We'll see. I am going to
email a little later in the week to find out if i can skpe! Sorry Mom i
know you have to sleep....

So ok! Thank you dad for sending all the videos of everyone! I loved
them! and hunter your pics are so sick....not tacos....haha JK! Also mom
for dinners members feed us occasionally. Every tuesday we eat with a
british family in the ward, who we teach french to. So yeah and also about
the Package i sent i went to go see where it was and the stupid french gave
me the wrong post info so it returned back to Cherbourg. Elder Paul sent it
to you guys for me last Wednesday! I hope you get it soon! Well i love
you all so much and i'll talk to you this weekend! Love YOu!

Elder Hoopes