July 14th 2014

Hello there!

So this week we had some great adventures.

Monday we played basketball and four-square after emailing and grocery shopping. I had never played four square before and it was fun to learn something new! During playing basketball the other missionaries helped me learn the rules hahaha. I had just been running and shooting and blocking but there is actually a lot more to it! I am looking forward to learning even more :)  This is a lot like life. I used to not want to play because I felt like I wasn't very good and I would look dumb. I thought it was fun but I wished I could just play by myself or with other people that were bad at it too. I admit I still like to play with others that are at my level (which is very loooowwww) but I realized that I'll never get better if I don't try! I can't be negative about it or compare myself to others because I just haven't happened to have training or sufficient opportunities to progress in it. But I can't sit on the side and expect to get better at it. I have to get in there and be positive even though I might be skill-less compared to others.

We had Zone Conference on Tuesday and Elder Lundstrom gave a training that I absolutely loved. He talked about the "4 C's of Unhappiness." Here they are.

If you would like to be completely unhappy, do the following...

1. Compare

2. Complain

3. Compete

4. Criticize

We have started to teach a family consisting of a mom and dad and two sons. They were formerly taught by Elders before Sisters came in to this area. We have been visiting them and Isabel, the mom, has truly come to feel of the peace that the Book of Mormon brings into her life. But her dad is a Pastor at another church and they attend that church every Sunday. On the teaching record it said that they had come to church before a couple of times and I was wondering why they were able to come then and not now. Sister Montgomery was upfront with her when Isabel asked, "If I get baptized would I have to keep going to your church after that?" She told her boldly but lovingly that she has to understand that this is Christ's only Church with all of His doctrine and His ordinances vital for our Salvation. When it comes right down to it, it is all about our eternal salvation.

We taught Janet a couple of times this week and we went over the doctrine for some of the things that we do. We wrote down some applications and rooted them back to doctrine using the scriptures. She understood I think, but it just hasn't sunk in yet that she has to have faith and act on all that she is learning. Again, when it all comes down to it, we are talking about our eternal salvation.

We taught a woman named June who the Sisters had met before I got here, she hadn't read the pamphlet or from the Book of Mormon. She said that she let us in because she felt bad for us that we were far away from home. She said that she is willing to listen but that she is Catholic.

We met another woman on Saturday who said she was from Eagle Pass and we had an immediate connection. She said that we could come back Sunday so we returned yesterday (Sunday) and taught her and her husband. They ended up preferring Spanish so we switched half way through the lesson to Spanish. It was so cool to realize that we were speaking a different language but that we could all understand each other! It was one of those light bulb/mini mind blowing experiences that cause a hypothetical smile to spread across my heart. :) My thoughts went back to the MTC for a moment when Sister Montgomery and I were teaching in Spanish on our third day there. Seeing how we have progressed in teaching and in speaking the language was a testimony to me that God can change us, he can make us better than we could become on our own. The husband, Jerry, was so interested in what we had to say that he was literally on the edge of his seat. But the wife said she would die Catholic and raise her kids that way. Jerry said that he grew up going to Christian churches with his friends in Eagle Pass and that he was studying the Bible. We offered to give him a Book of Mormon but his wife cut in. We also asked him to say the prayer at the end and again his wife cut in saying that he doesn't like to pray, but at the same time that she said that he said yes. She turned and looked at him. He stood up ready to pray and so I stood up with him so he didn't feel alone (Its a custom with many families here to stand and pray, or to stand and hold hands to pray). He began to pray and his wife and son stood up too, along with my companion. His prayer was actually rather long for a first lesson with an investigator who has agreed to pray. Most of his prayer was asking for us Sisters to be blessed. I know that he felt the Spirit while we were there. Some people are more prepared than others to recognize truth. What makes the difference? Is it stubbornness? Traditions? Comfort or convenience? It varies with each individual and I don't know exactly each person's reason for pushing away or refusing to accept truth. But I do know that it takes a humble person to be able to recognize that something they are doing isn't right. It takes faith. It takes some guts. And it takes hope as well.

Change may be difficult, but with Christ it is possible. He is the only way.

I know that our hearts can change. I know that the Fall was imperative and vital to our spiritual progression. How could we know the good if we didn't know the bad? How could we know great joy if we weren't familiar with great sorrow? I know that through Christ we can overcome physical and spiritual death. Because he suffered the greatest pain and sorrow, I imagine that he has the greatest capacity to experience true joy.

What makes Him happy? When we apply the offering/gift that he has given us by REPENTING. When we choose to stop being stubborn and accept his suffering and allow him to change our hearts that we might not have any more desire to do evil.

My knowledge and understanding are so little. But I know that it is of worth to Him. That I am of worth to Him. He values me even though I have so little to give. He strengthens me in my weaknesses. He has asked me to let others know that this is true for them as well. He expects us to invite others to use His Atonement as well as he suffered it for ALL.

I love you dearly.

Keep the Faith. Hold to the Rod. Stand Steadfast.

Hermana Hopkins

July 7th 2014

I think it's great that the kids had a BBQ and that that allowed you to clean up a little! I always feel better when I have things organized and clean. And you know, I don't think we stop and enjoy our time together enough. This life is so short! I don't want to look back feeling like I missed something by not enjoying my time with the people I love. 

And also, I think you stress yourself out. And that stresses me out cause I want you to be happy. I don't want you to hide anything in, I just want you to be genuinely happier than you are now. I know that you have a lot more enjoying to do than you are currently doing.

I would love to give my talk on the 10th! I hope you are excited to hear all of my stories and experiences. I have been changed forever.

So... this week has been PRETTY eventful!

I got transferred a week after regular transfers! Guess who I'm ending my mission with?!?!? My very own MTC companion, HERMANA MONTGOMERY!!! I love her to pieces and I am overjoyed to be with her again. She truly has been a great blessing in my life and I will never forget her. We are going to go to college together, talk to each other on the phone, our kids will be friends, and we will help each other by doing each others dishes and laundry. 

By the way, speaking of College.... I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED IN TO BYU-IDAHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My life long dream has come true :D Okay, maybe not life long, but I truly have wanted to go there for years. I think Aunt Marliett had a lot to do with that. I don't know which track I am on yet so I don't know if I'll be going there for the winter, spring, or summer semester coming up but I sure am going to work my hardest. I have been tremendously blessed. God has strengthened me at my lowest points and has continued to strengthen me daily, hourly, minutely, and secondly. And mili-secondly as well, if there is such a thing. Let's be honest, time is only measured by men. 

I cried for a few days since the transfer was so quick and I didn't get to say good bye to anyone. But I saw one of my investigators here in our area yesterday!!! RAMIRO! A different one haha, the elderly 60 yr old one. I think I have mentioned him. I adore him. I have attached a picture for you. Basically we were driving down the street (looking for his sister in law actually since she was referred to us, we were pretty lost cause we didn't even have an address, just a general idea of the area haha) and I saw him standing outside and yelled, "THAT'S RAMIRO! STOP, THAT'S HIM!" and I opened the door to get out but we weren't parked yet so Sister Montgomery told me to close the door cause we were still driving haha. I was just super excited and thought she was slowing down to park. We parked and went over and he pointed and said, "You never said goodbye!" I explained what happened and he asked me how my family is, I asked him how his was, and there he was at his sister in laws house! They were all there and since I knew Ramiro his whole family there was happy to greet us as well. His Sister in law accepted the Book of Mormon and we are going to meet with her this friday. Something I thought was so sweet is that Ramiro told us that we can stop by his sister in laws place anytime we need anything and she nodded and smiled and agreed haha. He also told Sister Montgomery that he prays for me every day and that he would pray for her too. 

I love these people. I cherish the experiences that I have had with them. They have helped me to realize that my problems really aren't that bad. They have helped me to develop a strong and firm testimony of our Heavenly Father's love for each one of His children. I know that He lives and He loves me. He loves every single person that we walk by, that we see, that we don't see, and we ought to treat each other a lot better because of it. You simply have no idea what someone has experienced in life until you take the time and effort to listen. That takes some charity! That takes patience! It takes selflessness.

Baptism. Why is it so important? I'll tell you.

1. Baptism allows us to be cleansed from sin.

2. Baptism allows us to receive the GIFT of the Holy Ghost.

3. Baptism allows us to enter the GATE to Eternal Life.

4. We take upon us Christ's name when we are baptized. We are His. We promise to do things His way.

"We enter the gate to the path of eternal life with the ordinance and covenant of baptism, and then we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Elder Robert D. Hales asks us, “Do [we] understand and do [our] children understand that when [we] are baptized [we] are changed forever?” Rosemary M. Wixom, April 2014 General Conference

"Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins “is the introductory ordinance of the gospel” of Jesus Christ and must be preceded by faith in the Savior and by sincere and complete repentance. “Baptism in water … must be followed by baptism of the Spirit in order to be complete” (see Bible Dictionary, “Baptism,” 618). As the Savior taught Nicodemus, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5)." David A. Bednar, April 2006 General Conference

"The Savior was emphatic about the necessity of baptism. He taught, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”¹¹ The Savior was personally baptized to set the example. What about the deceased who have not been baptized?... The doctrine of the family in relation to family history and temple work is clear. The Lord in initial revelatory instructions referred to “baptism foryour dead.”¹³ Our doctrinal obligation is to our own ancestors. This is because the celestial organization of heaven is based on families.¹⁴ The First Presidency has encouraged members, especially youth and young single adults, to emphasize family history work and ordinances for their own family names or the names of ancestors of their ward and stake members.¹⁵ We need to be connected to both our roots and branches. The thought of being associated in the eternal realm is indeed glorious." Quentin L. Cook, April 2014 General Conference]

Did you read that word correctly at the beginning of that last quote? EMPHATIC, not EMPATHETIC.

Missionary work for the living is tremendously rewarding. And so is missionary work for the dead. That is one of the first things I have planned to do when I get home, look up my ancestors! I have been so excited to be able to do my family history soon! And with all of the technological advancements it has been made easier than ever before. 

I hope you enjoy your week. I hope you take the time to enjoy your relationships with your loved ones and that you don't let all this beauty pass you by. Isn't it wonderful to live? Isn't it just wonderful to know what we know? Salvation is made possible for ALL men through the charity of our Heavenly Father to give His Son as a sacrifice. It is through Christ, and only Christ, that this is possible. He is the ONLY way. His way is the only way. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring (ENJOYING) to the End. We can't get where we hope to be one day without following Him. Step by step, line upon line, precept on precept. He truly is our Savior.

Hermana Ally Hopkins

June 30th 2014

This week we had transfer meeting and we went so that I could take the Spanish test before it started. We stayed for the meeting and there is a Sister that came out that I went to High School with! Her name is also Ally, cool huh! When I saw her I got so excited because I remembered seeing her at school and wanting her to be so happy. Seeing her here helped me to know that God is working in her life. Serving a mission is the greatest thing.

Prayer.

Prayer is the answer.

Do you feel bitter towards someone? PRAY for them. Pray for their good.

Do you fear that things will not work out? PRAY. Pray that God will help you change your perspective.

Pray for those who you come in contact with, those who you once knew, and those who you still haven't met.

Wes got baptized this weekend!!!!! He is awesome! And Mary is the sweetest thing, we helped her pack a little bit on Friday and she gave us stuffed animal things... haha the little things that I will bring back from my mission may not make any sense to anyone else, but I will cherish them as they remind me of the wonderful people I have met and the experiences we have had together.

We actually went over to help out on Tuesday but when we got their the ambulance was there and Mary was being put on a stretcher... We didn't see or hear from them for two days and our ward mission leader was asking whether Wes would still be baptized... Satan tries and fails at messing everything up. He fails when we have faith. Wes and Mary are so filled with faith. The hospital trip didn't stop them. They know better.

I think that most of us "know better" but that we forget. We know that God is all powerful but we forget that when we get into a tight situation sometimes. But that is where we have to stop and REMEMBER.

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation;that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, itshall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a surefoundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." Helaman 5:12

I know that this is the Lord's work! I love it and I love Him! I love giving and sacrificing for Him. It fills my soul with peace.

Hermana Hopkins

June 16th 2014

 can see how blessings directly coordinate with obedience. If you want more peace in your life, keep the Sabbath Day Holy. If you want more faith, study the Scriptures, don't just read them. If you want more comfort, pray with sincerity and be alert while you do so.

This week was amazing!

-Wes committed to be baptized a week earlier and Mary got a Priesthood blessing before church yesterday. They are just stellar! Wes asked great questions during Sunday School and when we went over last night he expressed his desire to be clean and have the Holy Ghost.

-We started to teach a woman named Stella who committed to be baptized on the 5th of July and came to church as well! She is in her 60s and is doing great study of the pamphlets that we have given her.

-We also started to teach a man named Derek who committed to being baptized on the 12th of July and desires more than anything to be forgiven and cleansed. He is in rehabilitation right now as he had a stroke. He is diabetic and his family lives in Georgia.

-Robert and Dina came to church yesterday as well! I was so happy to see them there! We met them at the pool the other day for a lesson but it seems that Robert always is hungry or tired when we come. Of course he is only 9 haha. Dina wants to wait another month for him to be baptized until she can get organized in life and spiritually so he may be baptized the end of July instead of June.

Something that all of these people have in common is that they were all referrals. We didn't find any of them on our own.

Now lets take a look at those who we have found on our own.

-Ramiro has read all the way to Alma 34! And also some of the talks from General Conference! He loves it, but he still hasn't prayed to know for himself.

-The Martinez family loved the Family Proclamation but the father couldn't accept that the authority was taken from the earth. Both of these people love having us over but fail to see that there was an Apostasy.

We have spent a lot of time walking around and knocking on doors to try and find people to teach. The ward is still kinda split even though we have combined together.

Our mission has been focusing lately on finding and teaching Fathers. That's definitely a challenge! But I know that as we raise our vision and direct our focus on Fathers that we will find along with them their families and strong future members of the church who will be active in their callings. I am grateful forever for the Priesthood and those who worthily exercise it. 

Here is a picture of Wes and Mary from my companion's camera! I love them so dearly :)

Hermana Hopkins loves you!!!

June 2nd 2014

This week was a very exciting week. Oh by the way, I think I'm funny cause I say it was exciting but I ended that sentence with a period and not an exclamation mark haha... I am having the greatest time!! :D

I have told you about Dina and Robert, right? They live at the Salvation Army and Robert is going to be baptized this month! They came to church yesterday!! Their dedication is inspiring. They rode the bus to get to church! I remember Hermana Munoz would do that every week to get to church in Lake Austin. President Spencer, the Stake President back in Orem, would ride his bike all the time to church! I love it!

We met a wonderful woman yesterday, we were about to get in to the car and I saw a woman sitting on her back porch on the second floor of the apartment complex we were in. I got closer and asked if we could give her a card, she said yes and we agreed to meet at her front door. We left everything in the car and met her at her door, she invited us in and offered for us to sit down. She sat by us as we asked her what her desires are for her family and what she would like to learn. She expressed that she would like to learn more about God because she didn't really grow up going to church but now she has two children of her own. She said that her friends go to church and love it but she just hasn't put much effort into finding a church. We scheduled to go back tonight and invited her to go on to Mormon.org. I am excited to go back because I felt impressed to say hi in the first place and it worked! When I act on the promptings of the Spirit miracles happen. When I don't, I feel an emptiness and a regret that I do not like to feel! I would much rather feel the joy that comes from meeting and talking to the people that God wants me to.

With the ward split this week we have been meeting a lot of new people, I am excited because this is kind of like a transfer but not haha. 

My new companion keeps me on schedule, she knows what needs to be done and she does it. She is an inspiration! Sometimes she reminds me of me and its a weird feeling haha... I wonder if that's how you feel as you raised us kids?? Kinda weird but cool, right? I love getting to help my companion grow and see her succeed! She will be a great trainer soon to someone else!

On my birthday I got to eat dinner with Hanna and Adrian, Hanna is the sweetest! They even got me a chocolate cake! It was delicious! And also the Barrera family fed us on friday and it filled us right up! Which was good cause I was starving haha. Their family is really struggling right now with quite a few different things. Keep them in your prayers for sure.

We said goodbye to a family who is moving to Kileen to live on base there, I will miss them. The dad served his mission in Mexico and told us during dinner about a month ago about a time when cockroaches came spewing out of a hole in the wall... I will never forget that mental picture! That family is so funny haha!

I wish I could pull all of my thoughts together but I seem to be all over the place... Just know that I am all around excited to be here!

There is so much more to say!! Since my camera is broken I will just have to draw pictures of all that happens for yall haha.

I know that Heavenly Father loves me! I know that Christ lives and I know that the Book of Mormon is TRUE. It helps us to know of so many spiritual truths that the world is still confused about. For example, we all will be resurrected. Alma 40:4

And did you know that the Book of Mormon was translated in less than 2 years, from 1827 to 1829? A young farm boy could not have made all that up. End of story. 

I love the Lord. I read in 3 Nephi 21 all about the promise Christ made of Missionary Work coming forth in our day. Love it.

Hermana Ally Hopkins 

May 19th 2014

Mom,

I like that you put smiles everywhere haha. My last companion has taught me the importance of giving sincere compliments and being positive. I know that if you start with yourself by doing just that, that is will rub off eventually on them. But it takes patience and consistency!

My new companion is straight from the MTC and she is from Battleground, Washington! Her name is Sister Smith and she is a fireball when it comes to the gospel! She has a strong testimony of Joseph Smith and her prayers are so sincere. They aren't very long, I like that haha. Sometimes we can get insincere in our prayers in front of other people because we might be trying to please them instead of talking with our Creator simply and clearly as his child. We have been working as a mission on having shorter more powerful lessons. I thought about it and I really would probably get bored with two people lecturing me for an hour unless they were really funny or something haha. It makes sense that we ought to take less time explaining all the details and just learn how to clearly and simply present the doctrine and let them feel the Spirit.

I took the Spanish test on Thursday before transfer meeting and I wasn't nervous at all cause I know I am going to fail hahahaha. Being in an English area has made me forget a lot of things that I used to know. But it is wonderful to get to talk to the occasional Spanish Speaker.

On Friday as we were going about we had to park for a moment to figure our which address to put in the GPS. I looked up and saw a man and woman sitting on the porch of the house that we parked in front of. I felt like they probably were wondering what we were doing right in front of their house. So we got out and I explained that we were missionaries and were just trying to figure out where to go for a second. I don't even remember how we started talking about the gospel, it just flowed. We scheduled a return appointment for Sunday. When we went back yesterday only the son was home, he answered the door a little confused and then the mom drove into the driveway a second later! That was miracle number one. She hurried up and told him to sit down and listen to us. He didn't understand why or who we were but he sat down haha. She grabbed some chairs for us and we all sat on the porch. Her other son came to the door and stood at the door to stay and listen. Then their two younger sisters came up and we taught the Restoration on their porch. The mom, Elodia, said that she has seen missionaries in Mexico riding their bikes and that she wants her son to be one of them someday! We invited them each to be baptized and they each said yes! We rescheduled an appointment for tonight (the following day). We walked away in awe haha. I am grateful for the strong faith that my new companion has. She did such a great job! I was so proud of her!!

We also ate dinner with Ani and Adam on Saturday and invited them to come to church. I was wondering what has been keeping them from coming. Sometimes we put obstacles in our own way. Faith is the key. Do we have faith that if we depend on God that he will take care of us? Do we have faith that if we gave our all, our heart, might, mind, and strength, that he would provide for us and bless us and guide us? Repeatedly in the Book of Mormon the promise is made that if we will keep the commandments we will prosper in the land. Isn't keeping the Sabbath Day holy one of those commandments? Where is our faith at? Do we actually believe that promised blessings are in store if we keep that commandment with exactness?

I am grateful for the knowledge that we have of the Plan of Salvation. I am grateful that we understand more clearly the things that are in question in the rest of the world because of the Restoration of the Gospel. I know that the Book of Mormon is evidence of our Father's mercy for us, his imperfect children. I know that we have a living Prophet today, and for that I am thankful.

I love and adore you!

Hermana Ally Hopkins

May 12th 2014

his week was pretty crazy! So we all went to the temple as sisters, it was a wonderful experience and I was so happy to see my past companions. They are all on fire :) Wednesday we went on exchanges with the STL leaders and we saw miracles for sure. Tonight we have an appointment with one of the people that we met that day, he is the husband to a family of Mormons but he says he is catholic. He said it was weird that we came by because he had just been studying in the Bible about people preaching when we knocked on the door. His name is Eddy. I am excited to go back :) Also we found a family of less active members and they have a little boy who is 8 and not baptized yet. He knows a lot and we could tell so we asked him to teach us from the pamphlet instead of us teaching him. He did it! And He was awesome! He even said the closing prayer and said in his prayer, "Heavenly Father, you are awesome." It made me smile so big haha :) I love the sincerity of those we meet in their prayers. You can tell that they mean what they are saying. We had a zone meeting on Friday and I was asked to teach from the pamphlet in front of everyone in less than 7 minutes. I butchered it haha but that's okay, I just gave them all a "C" version so that they could only improve upon what I showed them. Then after that we went on another exchange with the Sisters in Bulverde. I wish my camera worked because it was BEAUTIFUL! The Sisters there stay with a member and their house is a french style mansion. It is on a plot of 20 acres with wild peacocks on the property and a gazebo and a tennis court and a pool (even though its filled with green water and algae since no one has used it in forever) and a tree house down the way and a small house just further down for the guy who lives there to keep up the property and back in the mansion there is a spiral staircase inside, with a courtyard in the back and the third floor is where the sisters stay and it is it's own little french style apartment and I felt like I was in a dream! You would have loved it :) I think its a good thing that my camera is broken or else I would have been very distracted taking loads of pictures. BUT I wasn't :) We saw three families who are all members but we practiced using the pamphlets with them and invited them to give a pamphlet to a friend. The Bulverde area is a little tiny bit like the Pleasanton area where everything is pretty far apart. But also its very different cause the houses are a lot nicer haha. I almost thought that with transfers this week I might get transferred there! But we got transfer calls yesterday and I am actually staying and training a new missionary! I am soooo excited!! But also I am really going to miss Sister Breakall.. These have been some of the best three months of my life. She is so amazing and I have been simply BLESSED to have gotten to spend three months with her. She is incredible and she is the new STL Leader! 

Christina got baptized on Saturday! She is simply magnificent. I have been touched by her strong desire to do what's right. She has been attacked by her family and clients and her health has decreased as well. I am seriously so privileged to have gotten to be a part of her life. The day of her baptismal interview she moved in to another ward because her family was being unkind and she actually is now in another ward's boundaries. So unfortunately we had to pass her off to the 8th ward sisters and I am really going to miss her. She will be taught the new member lessons by them and I know that she is in the right place and that she will be taken care of. Her baptism was crowded so we went into the bathroom to watch from "backstage" as I call it. She saw us and smiled. Then she was immersed into the water and came up with a smile again :) She came into the bathroom and we put a towel around her and just hugged her and cried for a minute. Her life has been changed. My life has been changed. After all the talks and everything we went to go eat some cookies and I looked at her for a minute as she talked to those around her and she was glowing. It's a soft and calm look. She received the gift of the Holy Ghost to complete her baptism yesterday and she was blessed with health and with support. I am excited to continue to see her progress and see the Gospel carry her like it carries all those who let it. 

True joy comes from living the Gospel. You can't find lasting and pure happiness and joy anywhere else.

I Love the Lord.

Hermana Hopkins