Bonjour!

Well Hello!

DAD happy 46th Birthday!!!!!!!  I was really thinking about you on friday and i hope that you had a great day!  You are getting older and older by the year LOL!  Ha Thanks for being so great and for all you do for me! Next thing, Mom thank you for all of the pictures!  they are so great!  I couldn't even recognize the babies honestly!  It has been so long! They are so cute!  Oh man well that'll be nice to see them in now less than a year!  Nice!  So i am also so happy to hear that Dad and Hunter had a fun time freezing in the mountains.  to bad you cant come hunting up here in Compiègne We see dear really often while driving at night.  Hunter looks great with Erica too!  Ummm Oh and mom that is so funny that you saw Frère Howell.  He is such an awesome guy and is one of the reasons i survived the MTC.  He is such a great instructer!  I am glad you were able to meet him. Such a small world. Also so Pascals Painting.  He painted that for me and Elder Awerkamp and we decided that i could just hold onto it.  So yeah ha and i was the one who sent it home too.  But it was so nice of him.  I don't even know what it's about.  I just know that he took time to paint us that!  Such a special person to me. Next thing of business, thank you for adding some money to my account.  Thank you for sending my gloves, i haven't bought any yet :) And as far as being sick it just kinda came and went.  When i feel sick i just eat fruits and vegetables and drink lots of water and it gets better.  On the plus side i sound more french when i'm sick.  Deeper Voice.  Everything sounds like it is going really good back home and just know that i miss you all so much and hope that you are doing really good.  Hearing that the brothers are gaining and bearing testimonies is one of the best parts of being an older brother! Must have good parents ;) And also jumping from subject to subject i am so excited to know about Leyla's baby!  Tell her that i am thinking about her and her margot and cody are in my thoughts and prayers.

So going onto to missionary work.  This week was really good. The Lord really helped us out.  It seemed like that in each negative situation, he provided someway so that we could accomplish what we had planned to do in the first place.  This week as far as numbers goes, we saw more lessons this week than any other week before this year.  That was cool.  We really just pushed the pedal to the metal and tried to find people to teach and God blessed us with people.  Joana and Vanessa are doing really good at the moment! Ha it was funny this sunday we were planning on her coming to church but we discouraged when she wasn't there.  So about 15 mintues into the first hour we called her to see what she was doing, if she was coming, the gists of everything.  so we call her and she hangs up on us.  We're like.....man.....this stinks.....So we just went back into class and just and went on like normal.  We get out of class and one of the sisters comes out and says hey Your friend Joana is in class! Haha we were so relieved!  Turns out she hung up on me because she was already in class!  Haha so funny!  So yeah she came to church Vanessa didn't :| Oh well.... But she came and was well recieved and even sat next to a family there! They just called her over and said do you want to sit by us and she just gave us a big smile and sat next to them.  That was so good.  Honestly just things were clicking a lot better this week than last and i am feeling a lot more confident in my comp, my district and myself.

So Yeah that is about it for the moment.  Thank you again for all the great pictures! If they are to big to send here just send them to my other email and i can look at them there!  I love you all and am so thankful for all of you!

Love Elder Hoopes

Happy Halloween!!!!!‏

Bonjour tous le Monde!

So just to start off i did buy some new church songs off itunes.  It is the onlty way to buy new music but yes i promise none of it is "Pagan music" as we would say.  Just some josh Groban and Hymn arrangements :) Also more money in the account.  I do have things from last year.  I will need Gloves and long johns.  But that should be it.  That i didn't have last year.  But as far as everything else goes i am good.  I got the Halloween package which was so nice thankyou.  Elder Reed and I got pumpkins to carve today and that was fun!  So the candy went well with that.  I really was missing the halloween party though unfortunately.  Those are some of my favorite memories!  But next year i will be there!  Halloween here is not the same AT ALL!  they hardly do tricker treating! LAME!!!!!!!!  Actually from all the tracting and knocking on doors we've done i can see why kids wouldn't want to knock on other peoples doors! Worst treat ever! Haha Christmas package!  Thank you!  I can't wait!  Sizes?....hmmmm..... I am wearing a Large in Tee shirt size and 36x34 pants. Pretty much anything Large works.

But yes that is that.  So this week is the best week that we have had here in compiègne since i've been here and since compiègne has had in a while.  We did really well and tonight again we should have a great night.  We are teaching a two portuguese families who are just stellar.  One of them we found this last week and i will talk about them later. Things are going great.  We are getting to drive through the countryside and the Woods so much and it is one of the prettiest places i have ever seen.  So many colors! Orange, Brown, Yellow, Green and Red came out last week along with some purple! It has been so gorgeus and weather is just formidable! I love the countryside and i love the city even though it is very small.  I love going porting out in tiny villages just out in the middle of the woods! I don't like the porting as much but being in the woods yes!  I'vee seen deer, a fox and a pack of Wild boars! It is so cool! Next thing Elder Reed is fantastic.  He is working so hard at trying to get this whole missionary thing down.  Even though at times is takes patience he really is a stud and is going to be a great missionary.  Amis in general are doing well and we feel like we know them really well to a point where we know how to them instead of just reciting or teaching lessons.  It has taken a while to get to this point but it is nice to have gotten a lot closer and closer every rendez-vous.  I feel like i know each one of them really personally now.  The ward is doing fantastic.  They are so enthuiastic to try and do missionary work.  This week the Elders Quorum President is going to take us to his friends house to teach her. And there are going to be a lot more activities at the church so that more people will be able to come to see the ward and everything.  I am really proud of the steps that ward has been taking to try and reach the goals that have been set!  They are great! 

So yes this weeks miracle!  So we had things set up last tuesday to go see a potential investigator at 1:00 and then another investigator at 3:00.  Well the first guy didn't show up! so we decided to pass by the other guys house early so that if that fell through we could go to another city we work in about an hour away.  So we go by and he's not there so we couldn't leave and all we had let to do was go contacting or something like that.  Well so on the door there was this enormous Spider!  So i took a picture of it and all that jazz and the lady in the apartment next door comes out and asks what i am doing and i told her that i just thought the spider was cool.  She then proceded to ask who we were yadda yadda yadda She ended up telling us that is super believing and faithful to the virgin mary.  ok so we said hey do you have this guy next door's number? She said yes i do.  she gave us that number so we could call him.  SHE THEN PROCEDED TO GIVE 4 OTHER NUMBERS OF FRIENDS SHE HAD THAT WE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHO WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT CHRIST!!!!!!! She was so AWESOME! She then preceded to show us where they all lived too!  Mind you this lady is old!  Ok she is 92!!!!! And she is just looking so good like i thought she was late 70's maybe! So she was so cool.  Oh yes and the catch is that this lady, she was a NUN!!!! LOL a two-timing NUN! WHAhahaha!!!! So out of the people she gave us there was only family that was interested but this portuguese family is so fantastic!  It is a Mother and her 17 year old daughter.  We are seeing them tonight too.  This will be the third time in one week that we'll have seen them.  So great.  Pray for Joana and Vanessa.  They are so special.  

So that is about it for right now!  I miss you all so much and i love you all!  Have a great halloween!  I'll play along next year!

Elder Hoopes 

Me and Quazi

Our Pumpkins

The Heaven Sent Spider

The Louvre Museum we passed by last week in Paris

View from the neighboorhood of the Louvre

Hello!

Wow.....Well a lot of things have been happening back home.  Ha i loved getting the family letter and seeing how everyone is doing and seeing that that is actually a reality and not just a past life lol.  It was so much fun and i wouldn't mind if you guys put my letters in there along with all of the other letters.  I don't know how to do it myself. Also seeing Garret in the MTC is super fun!  Just to think over a year ago i was there. Lets pray he has an uplifting experience.  Better than mine at least.  I learned good things but still had a tough time. Anyway next thing. I was shocked to hear about the passing of Brother Brinton in Our ward.  I am still really stunned and i can't believe it happened.  This week i had an uneasy feeling that something happened this past week back home.  So i have been anxious to see the emails this week and sure enough.  Please past my remorse and my feeling on to them and their family.

Onto the mission field.  Training is an experience not gonna lie.  Wow so many questions to answer so much instructing, so much everything.  I feel the responsibilty that rests on my shoulders to be a good Trainer and it really is heavy.  I want my boy to be super and just have the best mission ever.  Maybe this is what being a parent feels like a little bit. HAHA I think maybe just a bit. Ha i honestly thank you guys for being so patient with me through my childhood/adolescence. Just thought i needed to throw that one in there.  But things are going well.  We are working really hard and there are good things happening.  We met a man contacting last week who is from Ireland Who speaks French Fluently and is a student.  We get to see him tonight as a matter of Fact.  It is awesome being able to be a missionary in English sometimes.  We were able to convey our feelings and our love in the best way we knew how, In English!  Elder Reed was having blast with it!  Then there is another Lady we are teaching with Portugese origins but has been in France for 7 years and understands french with ease.  She is great!  She is a young mother and has two boys!  So we will teach her tonight as well and i think that should go really well. On verra bien.  Ha Elder Reed is So Boss! He has invited each one of our amis to baptism!  Each have said yes and so now it is up to us to pick out a date which would best suit them.  I am so proud of him.  He is really working so hard!But yeah that is about it for the moment.  By the way Dad sorry i took forever to email you back but i got the debit card early last week but never had the chance to tell you but yes it is here and i love me some Larry Fitzgerald!  Ha I also was going to ask who was in the World Series and so thanks for the Update.  Keep me up to date with all the Baseball happenings.  I am really missing baseball not gonna lie.  Rangers have evidently made some crazy good strides these past couple years!  Go RANGERS!  Also just to let you know it is starting to get really cold here in Compiègne so i am going to need to get some warm clothes.  I am going to just need some garments which i can buy online don't worry about that, i just need a couple dollars.  I think i should have sufficient but just letting you know. Mom also i am so excited to hear about how good preperations are going for the 3 day walk.  Keep it up and know how proud i am of you and how much i feel Margot appreciates you and the rest of the girls.  Keep working hard.  Hunter don't give up in School!  Erica sounds nice.  I'd like a picture please.  Also does she have any awesome 19-21 year old sisters who are gorgeous and who would like to write a missionary in France who speaks french and plays drums and can cook?  If so my address is 136 Rue Victor Hugo, 60280 Margny-Les-Compiègne.  Thanks.  HAHA i think all the other girls from back home are moving onto other not french speaking, nor me boyfriends.  ANYWAY i love you all Carson keep doing awesome in Baseball! and Connor keep staying super Vailiant!  I love you all 


Goodbye!
Elder Hoopes 

After Contacting For three Hours we had a strong desire for Sorbet.....don't Judge

Hi

Yeah so i don't have that much to write about.  Things are going good you all know that i am training ummmmm.....yeah i don't know haha.  Last week turned out not being that great. It was good but we have about 7 or 8 rendez-vous fall through and almost every number we recieved was a bad one so that was kinda of really annoying but it is ok.  Also patrick our baptism fell through.  He said that he is "to busy" and that he is "to stressed" to that I say that is "TO BAD!" He was actually extremely difficult and i am just praying that he comes around and realizes that this is more than just an event. Also we got dropped by one of our families because the father of the family told the mother that she couldn't let us teach any more.  So yeah that was difficult also.  Honestly we are facing a lot of adversity.  Not to much but definately some.  I want my blue to come in with such an awesome work load and have an expercience like i did in his blueville.  So yeah that is about it for opposition, well "big" opposition.

I am so stoked for my blue i can't even explain.  I know there are at least two frenchies but there is a tahaittian, new zelander, and a couple from south america, and only one american.  I don't know who it is yet but i am excited to find out that is for sure!!!!  It is going to be such a blast.  Also it is comforting knowing that i will be here at least until January.  I know i will be here for all the holidays and everything like that so there wont be any confusion of if i'll move or not.  So yeah i am excited and i hope that i can be a good trainer and district leader.  I am nervous.  Fun stuff!Also yesterday i got an awesome phone call from an unexpected person!  Haha I was at a members house and the phone rang and Elder Wood answered it and then passed it to me and said i think it is someone french.  I was confused but then i answered it and this person then said some inside jokes and stuff and i then realized that it was Lucas and Rachel!!!!! LOL they called me! Lol so they were super excited i was so happy to hear from them! So they are all like "well when we come to the states i think that we are gonna need 3 buddy passes if you could do that." I was like why would you and rachel need to have 3.....omg.......Lucas tell me if it's what i...... Omg i don't want to assume here this could be touchy.....!!!!....Tell rachel to tell me why! HAHA....So then she said I'm PREGNANT!!!! HA I was so Happy for them and Lucas was so proud!!! Ha it was such a good little phone call and it was definately the highlight of the week next to hearing I was training! They were so happy and it meant so much to me that they wanted to call and tell me personally! Ha Lucas was all "you are gonna be an uncle you know?!" i hope you can change diapers!" Ha It was so good and the best part is that she will be due in July!  Right before i go home!  So i think either we'll see them right before or hopefully right after she has the baby!  How fun?! I was so stoked! Well anyway so i thin that is about it that happened this week.  I will have lots of pictures and news for you next week! Also thank you for the package.  Me and my companion loved it.  Thank you so much for everything you do for me and all the love you show me.


Avec Tout Amour,
Elder Hoopes

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!!!!