It's A CANADIEN!!!‏

Yes i am now a father in the mission!  My son's name is Elder Reed and he is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada!  My son is so great!  Super BLUE but i love him!  He has so much faith and so much confidence in himself even though he is totally new!  He also is picking up french already which is good.  President Poznanski called us up to see how he was doing and to see if we was speaking as much french as possible.  Elder Reed said "i'm doing my best, English doesn't seem to working to well!" HAHA oh son....  Me and him are really trying to speak as much french outside of the apartment as possible so that he can get used to it a little bit more.  But i have a lot of confidence in him already.  He has awesome drive and is super open to any miracle.  He has no preconceived notions of the French and is willing to do all it takes to baptize.  That's my BOY!  Also one of the most difficult and irritating things that we have to do as missionaries can be companionship study.  He rocks at it.  We have such a great study together.  It is also nice having the new trainer program to go along with in our efforts.  I feel like i am getting back to the basics and this program is more so to train trainers what they wanted their trainers to be when they got out into the field.  This is honestly going to be great.

Unfortunately me and him are a bit ill for the moment.  He is having cold/flu like symptoms and has hardly slept at all this week.  I have a sore neck, tight throat, head ache and some congestion.  On verra bien.  I hope it nothing to sreious.  I know that i am already fed up with it! Things have slowed down a little here but that does give us more time to find people and get things started.....AGAIN. But we'll just pray and hope for the best.  But yeah that is about it for this week. It's been great getting a new companion who is full of life and ready to go and do the Lord's work.  I think everything else is going good for the moment.  Thank you DAD for sending the new card.  I will let you know when i get it.  Thank you for all you do and i hope everyone is doing well also.  I love you all!

Love like a lot,

Elder Hoopes

Elder Awerkamp, me, Son, Elder Nelson!

Elder Keussling, Elder Kellet (his father), me and Son

FIRST PHOTO!

Us at Pierrefonds today

YES

Transfer News

Hey ok so i got the transfer news and this is going to be exciting! I am training and becoming the district leader!!!! How cool is that!?  Also in this new group of missionaries there are 11, and only one is american!  How awesome!? So yes i am staying until at least Jan 2nd for sure.  They are starting a new missionary program where the Missionaries stay two transfers with their trainer so yes i'll be here a bit longer!

Love you all,
Elder Hoopes

Quoi de neuf?

Cathédrale de Senlis

Bonjour Tout le monde! comment allez-vous?! I am doing well!  I am happy that is the last week of the transfer.  I should be resting here which is super nice and i am excited to see what happens.  The fun thing about transfers is you never know what will happen.  On verra bien.  So yeah i wanted to start out by saying really quick.  About the the package you are sending, i am not the biggest fan of peanut m&m's. I can get that stuff here in france as well. The candy i can't get here are butterfingers, reeses, and starbursts, skittles, and smarties. Most other things i can.  Just letting you know.  I just thought it'd be better to tell you i am not a fan than have you keep buying them.  Also i have two bags remaining of the spitz dill pickle seeds so if you could send some Jim Bean Barbeque kind from circle K that would be great.  That is about it though.  and thank you for the peppermint patties.  I love those frozen!  Haha and i want to give some to my comp because they are his favorites. If you slip in a butterfinger and peanut butter twix that'd be good too.  Yeah so umm and Oh yeah my card.  I hope that dad can figure that out! 

So yes i thought it'd be good to start out talking about conference.  It was so great honestly!  I loved it and was sad when it was over.  The prophet had some great talks and i loved Elder Holland's, Bednar's and Brother Callister's Talks!  They just laid it down.  I felt inspired and wanting to be better afterwards.  It was also a nice reminder of how the church really is.  On the mission for me at least i have been soaking up the scriptures!  LIKE SOAKING UP!  The funny thing is i miss the messages for me quite often because i think about amis, and people who we meet on the road.  It is alw(dangit i just hit the send button on accident)ays nice to hear the prophets speaking to me in ENGLISH!  ALL CHURCH THINGS THAT WE DO ARE IN FRENCH!!!!  All zone, district, and church meetings are in french and it is true sometimes it is harder to recognize the spirit in a different language.  I understand the language really well and all but feeling it is something else.  So yeah I really enjoyed conference and am sad that it is over.  I only have one left.  And so does Hunter before he leaves on his mission!  Oh great is that!  Also you know what i thought about.... I thought it was fun that mom listened to Priesthood Meeting because Elder Holland's call for more senior missionaries made me think one of Grandma and Grandpa but also YOU mom and dad!  You guys would be so great somewhere!  That honestly would be so much fun!  Also During this general conference me and my Companion mad pancakes for the entire ward and told them to invite their friends!  It turned out being a really good success.  There were three amis who came and also a couple less actives which is SO GOOD!!!!  They also loved the pancakes and ate so many. It was so american! Haha So yeah anyway those are my thoughts on conference!So as far as the work in Compiègne goes.  Things are going good.  I think i have finally fallin into a good rythme of contacting people.  before i was always a little nervous but after seeing many different spectrums it is feeling more natrual to stop anyone.  I think i mentioned how we've been trying to stop every lady with a stroller, well that is going well and i feel almost an impulse to contact them when we are driving or in the train or something like that.  It's funny.  We also this week have really been putting in the effort to set up rendez-vous on the spot so that contacting them later doesn't become the issue.  This next we have 5 rendez-vous set up with people we met contacting.  SO that is good.  Our amis are doing well also.  Patrick will get baptized the 16th as planned and as far as the other two, they need to be more solid.  Right now we are teaching Two families.  One with 4 kids and one with 6.  How awesome would that be to get them all baptized!  Oh i am excited!  So yes i think that is it.So yeah i am so grateful for conference!  the Paris temple was announced (mentioned) and i feel like the situation there is a little like the Phoenix Temples.  And the temple being annouced for Kinshasa! Wow..... I'm going to be so honest.  The africans i have met NOT ALL but most from KInshasa are some of the laziest people on the planet.  I am so glad that the missionaries there are having a better time with them than we are here.  Congolese people can be difficult.  But not ALL.  Just some.  But honestly to hear that the blessings of the Lord are literally stretching out to all the world is such a blessing.  I love IT!  But yeah i think that is it for now. Thank you for your prayers.  I love you and miss you deeply (but not to deep) ;)  Thanks for everything you do for me!  Elder Hoopes

ITS GOT PATRICK AND ME ON IT!!!!

My new Shirt! Thanks AMBER!!!!

Hey so yeah just real quick feel free to send my emails to whoever you want you don't have to keep the stuff for example that are directed at each family member but yeah i don't mind i'd love for the family to receive the emails.

Anyway ok so comme j'ai bonjour!  How is everyone doing!  I saw that carson was doing work on the baseball field!  I couldn't be more proud of that beast!!!!  And i loved hearing about the visit to see the family!  this last week was like a giant hoopes family gathering!  I love that!  Ha Dad i think that is great you got to go see grandma and grandpa!  If you did that to me i would be confused, happy, then mad!  Ha they are lucky that they have more liberties with family because i know for us missionaries we have to compartmentalize our thoughts because if we think to much of home that can take us over and then it is difficult!  But for them they can do whatever they want!  Seniors are so lucky!  And all i could say when they got mexican food was just.....of course they would! HAHAHA I figuered they would've already found their place there!  So good!  I am so thankful for grandparents on a mission though because seriously they are so fun to talk about out here.  When i say that my grandparents are serving a mission everyone gets so excited and thinks that is like the funnest thing!  So yeah i love that and i am so glad to hear how well garret's farewell talk went.  I think that he is going into David Kingsley's mission if you remember my red haired friend! But yeah so good for him honestly!  I am so happy to know that he is going on a mission.  I hope the family knows how much i miss them and think about them!  They really are so great!

So mission time things are still going well.  Remember that one miracle i shared last week? Yeah he is the worst!!!!!!  He wanted to have a rendez-vous just to get his hands on a Book of Mormon just so he could tear it apart and prove to us all the false doctrines that we believe.  I am so glad he was courageous enough to try and save our souls from the horrible hell that awaits us for following the devils church.  what a sweet kid.....  Honestly he just tore it apart and i just looked at him directly in the eyes the entire time speechless.  My comp did a good job at keeping things under control because i nearly flipped the table and went off in his face.  UGH!!!!!  Such a waste.  This kid would've been great.  The saddest part is that in all the things he said, he was wrong!  Not even in interpretations of scripture but just pure fact and common knowledge.  I was so thankful for the fact i read the new testament and spent time with annette in Limoges.  Nothing he said was new to me.  It's no wonder there are thousands of Churchs on the earth. Their attempt at salvation is said without the restored priesthood.  good luck nelson!

On a bright note we have 3 baptismal dates as of last sunday.  We are working with this family and we've only set a date with the Husband.  The three kids and wife are soon to follow i hope.  Another is young student who is super cool!  I really see him having the biggest potential and then there is patrick who we saw this weekend.  This weekend was the baptism of an ami from soissons but who is taught by the elders of Meaux.  That being Elder gull and my favorite missionary ever ELDER NELSON from the MTC!  It was great to see tham and to also see patrick all excited about the baptism!  So yes they are doing well.  We are making more efforts to baptize here in compiègne!  I know it will sound crazy but i want to have ten people baptized here before i leave.  I don't know i just want to see that happen and to be honest i think it can!  We will see what the Lord has in plan for us.  I honestly am still loving the mission!  Honestly things can get hard here in the field but after 2 days or so things work out and you realize that there is nothing to worry about.  We are just sticking to it and i hope that all will continue to go well.  

So yes i think that is all.  Couple things connor getting a concussion!  Ouch!  I hope that he is ok!  Garments. If they didn't work out send them to the mission home instead or even here if you want.  So yeah!  Tell everyone hello for me and that i would love to hear from them because i would!    I love you all!

Love, Elder Hoopes

P.S i'm online :)

A butterfly i saved!

Ball Room at Napoleon's Palace

Emperess's Room!

Napoleon's bed room

Notre Dame de Paris

Old Destroyed Longpont Abbey

Bonjour Bonjour Bonjour!

Hello everyone! So yeah things here are going really well.  I think me and my comp have found a good click and so we are really riding on that and now things are going super well.  The work here is really starting to blosom!  It is nice because i am starting to get concerned with being able to actually fit in all the rendez-vous that we need and that has only happened in a 3 week space of time. It is so nice. Within the past 3 weeks we have gotten 15 new numbers and have 7 new amis 3 of which are families and 3 others are missionary age!  I am so pumped to see what happens here in Compiègne.  It is so good honestly.  We are really seeing the hand of the Lord in the work here.  For example take this last saturday.  We went contacting in the road and we're talking and talking and finally i contact this girl and in the middle of the contact this man walks up in between the contact and starts talking with us because he knew the missionaries and likes talking to them in English.  So i was not happy at all.  the girl left and i lost the contact.  I was just like thinking to myself this guys is crazy and he is just wasting our time, which he was in fact. I told you how i have made a goal to contact every family i see with a stroller or something to that extent, well while takling to this guy 5 Families walked by!!!!! 5!!!!!  Ugh and he was so blind.  He just kept saying i want to stay free.  Religion locks you down.  So i used the kite analogy that dad always says in regarding to anything political and i asked him if being an anarchist would really mean you were free.  He understood but was very closed to the idea of being happier in his life. Tant pis! (to bad) So i left talking to him upset and just expressing myslef to Elder Wood and i was just done contacting.  So we were heading home and as we were walking i got this impression to not let this young man who was walking towards us go by with out asking about prophets.  I said "ok" and just contacted him in the middle of my frusturation and as soon as i oped my mouth in French all the feeling i had just flew away and i started talking to this guy.  So i said

-"Hello we are missionaries The Church of Jesus Christ and we are talking with people about what they believe.  Are you believing?

-Yes i am

-Great what do you believe in?

-Oh i am protestant

-That's Great! Have you ever wondered why prophets are no longer on the earth?

-Actually i was just posing myself that question.

(.........Oh my gosh)

-We are here to testify that there are still prophets on the earth.

-I am going to the post office would you like to come with and after we could talk in the park?

-Of Course!!!!

So we go with him talk to him and turns out that this guy had had a religious revival you could say in his life and just need God and so converted protestant only a year before.  After a little while he realized he never found what he was looking for.  After presenting the restoration he was super interested and wanted to talk more!  How awesome is that!!!! So yeah that is our big story this week.  We are planning on having 4 new investigators this week and shooting for 12 new numbers!  We'll see what happens!  Also i have never mentioned yet but there is an ami with a baptismal date in Soissons area that we are teaching and we will be baptizing him the 15th of October.  And we are hoping for more soon.  We have almost a sure potential of 4 baptisms in The next two to three months! so yeah things are going well.  By the way Soissons is a city in the department next door.  There are no longer missionaries there so we are in charge of the branch and some of the amis over there.  We were actually there yesterday for church!  So fun.  In the branch there are only 10 adults and close to 30 children!  It is out of control.  And after not seeing the missionaries for a long time they were so excited to see us and we just talking with us all during church! But yeah so that is Compiègne right now!  I am loving it.

So other things.  I have been running 2 miles every morning and i am already losing weight!!! I started seeing signs of stretch marks and i panicked into a running frenzy!  Haha and i should get your letter today mom and thank you for sending the others!  Keatons story.... Too Hilarious!  The poor kid! Does allison know?! HAHAHAHA too good.  Dad, I dream in english and french most of the time in english.  But it has gotten to the point were in my dreams i sometimes i can't tell.  The language is doing really well and i feel very confident in that respect.  I can translate French to English really well now.  So yeah that is going really well. but yeah anyway i hope that everything is going well.  I miss you all a ton but i realized that i will be home in 6 transfers. Crazy sauce!  Life is going well and i love you all

A bientôt,

Elder Hoopes

So how is everything going back home.  Things are going ok out here.  Life is not the same and i am really struggling to adapt.  My new companion and i don't mesh real well and i think the fact that we are co companions is tough for him because he is 9months older than me in the mission.  I don't laugh like i did with Awerkamp thats for sure.  So yeah i am just kinda surviving for the moment.  I think honestly i just need to be more humble i think doing so would do some real good for me.  I have been realizing that i need to just grow up.  In many of my aspects, thoughts, desires, and goals.  I have to accept that i am not a kid anymore.  There are just so many things in my head going around and around you know.  Well that is ok i guess. Ha i am emailing Elder Awerkamp at the same time as writing this and that is making me happy LOL!  

So anyway Dad thank you for sending the video of Connor playing football.  I am so proud of him.  That really is so cool!  Also i am anxious to hear from you guys in the letter you'll be sending.  I got the one you just sent with all the of the families little notes.  I loved that so much.  I got it in 6 days mom just fyi. Weather here by the way is getting cooler but the problem here in France is that it rains seriously as much as washington.  That is really how the weather is here in France, Washington.  Ha Oh and i think that is awesome that you guys got to here from the old missionary who stopped by.  Ha he came by just to see if things were all the same in Limoges and they were.  He was really nice and he said he would like to call you guys and say i was still alive.  Ha that was really nice of him.  Speaking of Limoges Things are going really well.  Pascal is fitting into the ward and going actively and everything and Qionng-ji is still just the best!  She Fasted two weeks ago to recieve and answer to her prays and she said she felt really good and was able to better concentrate on the spirit.  She needs to GET BAPTIZED!!! I got special permission to stay in contact with her and Annette but even still i don't know how often i will write but i think that will be good.  I think i am going to send them a postcard.  So yeah things are going good there i've heard.Here in Compiègne Things are going great in just 2 weeks we have now received 11 new numbers.  I really hope that things start really moving here because i think this place could explode.  This last Sunday we had our missionary sacrament meeting and afterwars there were two members who came to us one asking for just a book of mormon and some tips to share it with her friend and another asked if we could go to see her friend who was in some serious need of comfort so i can see that these members one trust us and also are willing to work with us and two want to make things grow here.  So yeah it is really good.  I have eaten with almost every single member in two weeks already!  Ha i think they see the change coming as well.  One of the less active members here has been reactivated.  He is so awesome, he just has lived a difficult life but he is convinced that joy only comes from the principles of the Gospel so he has started participating again.  I met him my third day and we are already working a ton with him.  I really love it.  I love Compiègne really i just look forward to next transfer :)  But yeah that is about it for the most part.I love you all and will talk to you all later. Elder Hoopes


P.S The gift from the member in Limoges was from Denise Faiderbe!  :)  She is so funny.  She is 75ish and we call her accident because we asked where she was born and she said well "my parents were young living in the north of france.  They weren't planning on me i was just an accident!!!" Lol we couldn't stop laughing.  she is so hilarious but so sweet at the same time!

Chateau De Chantilly

Le PizzaQuiche

My First Tongue... LOVED IT!!!!

Napoleon's Imperial Palace

HELLO FROM Compiègne!

Well Hello everybody from Compiègne!  So 4 words to describe my new city smaller, less, huge, and potential.  Ha this is a big change for me because it is SMALLER.  I feel like i am in blois again.  There are LESS members than Limoges and Blois, and right now they have LESS Amis than Well all my villes.  Our area however is HUGE and you know how i love driving in France well i am now the one driving.  The Lanndscape is so beautiful up here and again it is completely different than any other area that i have served in yet.  This is a mixture of Normandy and a feeling of Blois also.  Mom you mentioned the forest and the forest here is huge and so incredibly beautiful.  In the pictures i sent there is the Castle of Pierrefonds and there is where the TV Show Merlin is filmed (we couldn't go inside because they are busy filming the show right now, kinda cool) and where walt Disney got the base for the castle in Beauty and the Beast!  No wonder huh! Yeah i am really like it and 4th word, POTENTIAL.  Here in Compiègne there are so many young families and it is our goal to talk to as many of them as we can.  In our first day of contacting we got 4 new numbers and so i think that that is a good sign of potential.  Also There are some old amis that if we got back in contact with we would be able to set baptismal dates with them.  So i am excited to see what happens honestly you never know. My comp is good also.  Not awerkamp but good still.  Train ride from limoges was just 3 hours into paris and then an hour to Compiègne.  Elder Awerkamp came with and i didn't say goodbye until the last possible moment around 4 that afternoon.   His comp is a spanish speaking elder who i knew in the MTC.  The guy is a good missionary just kinda a tool.  But i think he will be ok.  They set a date with Maria in Limoges who is a spanish speaker and so i think that is blessing that he went there for her and also sweet Qiong-ji fasted and is trying to find out if she needs to be baptized but they said she is doing so good.  And yes Pascal's chirt was definately yoda smoking a bong......OHHHH Pascal.... LOL!  oh man any way that is about it for the moment i hope that you like the pictures and i miss you all dearly!  Love you

 

Elder Hoopes