Sunday March 17th 2013

Last Sunday our Grandpa Davis passed away. Ally was informed and she wrote us her thoughts on this. There was no good way to edit it, and I feel this could be of use to anyone else who is dealing with the same thing.

Dear Mom/Family,

I received a call yesterday from President Jones letting me know that Grandpa had passed away on Sunday. He gave me permission to email a few thoughts to you. To be honest, I still am a little confused at the peace that I felt when he told me. I am so calm. I know that this is because of two things, the reality of the situation hasn't quite sunk in yet and also I know that death is not the end. It is simply walking through a door. So I guess I feel like anyone would when a loved one has walked through a door... you know that you will see them again. 

I hope that Grandpa knows his purpose. I hope he isn't being stubborn up there... it is time to share what we know with others so that they can live with their families forever! There is work to be done in the Spirit world! A scripture that came to my mind is Doctrine and Covenants 31:6, "Behold, verily I say unto you, go from them only for a little time, and declare my word, and I will prepare a place for them."

I hope that you know that Grandpa is only apart from us for a little time. I hope you know that I am only apart from you for a little time. And I hope that Grandpa, like me, can share the word of the Lord to those who hunger for it. And YOU as well! Don't be afraid to share! I pray that he, and you, decides to get up and work! I love that man, I'm excited to see him again. I know that he loves us all and is probably cracking a few jokes as he watches us do silly things. I can't see Grandpa doing anything less haha :) 

Heavenly Father has prepared a place for us and for him. Heavenly Father is mindful of us and knows exactly what will help us progress in the best possible way. This is not a trial, this is a blessing. In fact, all of our "trials" are actually blessings. I know you will come to see that as you continue to endure to the end. 

I love you so so so so so so much and think of you everyday.

Press Forward. Endure to the End. 

Work hard, so that when your time comes you too can say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." -2 Timothy 4:7

With LOVE,

Sister Alexandria Hopkins

Her first message from Texas! Week Seven!

Here's an update from Hermana Hopkins. We had some family stuff happen so I didn't update this when I got it. My apologies.

Let me tell you a little about Texas!

My flight was awesome, it felt just like a rollercoaster! It was only an hour and a half long so I still feel like I am in Utah cause I don't feel like we went very far... But this is definitely not Utah. There are no mountains!!!! It is just flat ground everywhere haha. Okay there is a hill or two but pretty much it's just flat. We arrived at the airport and our Mission President was there to greet us. We went to the Mission Home and ate and then to the Alamo! That was fun :) Then we went back and my MTC companion and I stayed at a members house for the night, as did the rest of the missionaries traveling with us, and we accidently flooded the toilet! I felt so bad to make a mess of the members bathroom... There were two inches of toilet water on the bathroom floor! It was kinda fun though to be honest haha cause I got to make some memories on my first night in San Antonio :) The next day we went to the church were we got our assignments! I have been assigned to serve in the Lake Austin ward in Austin! 

My new address is 

2104 E Anderson Lane #1032

Austin TX 78752

So for the last few days and for the next 5 1/2 weeks I will be in Austin until my next transfer where I may or may not be transferred to a new area. My companions (that's right, I have two companions since there are so many new sisters, two of us are new and the other is our trainer) are Hermana Lund and Hermana Alfaro. Hermana Lund and I are the new Sisters and she is from Arizona. Hna Alfaro is from Australia and she is our trainer! She is awesome, she has an accent and she grew up speaking both English and Spanish so she is a pro with the language. My assignment is also a full car assignment which means we only drive, we don't ride our bikes even though we have them. And usually missionaries are not supposed to drive for the first 6 weeks of their missions or the last  weeks of their missions... But because our trainer, Hna Alfaro, is from Australia and doesn't have a U.S. license... I have been assigned as the designated driver. That's right, me. The one who everyone used to make fun of for being a bad driver. The Mission President told me I would be the driver even though the other new Sister could have driven as well, I'm not exactly sure what the Lord has in His plans for me but I was definitely not expecting this one haha. So needless to say I have been driving aimlessly around Austin with my two Hermanas trying to find people who don't speak my language and who I don't understand to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hahaha the Lord must definitely have a sense of humor. :D 

I love the people here in Austin! Everyone is so friendly and it's not weird to just start talking to some random stranger. Also, as the Mission President's wife said, Sis Jones, most people here are "God-fearing" people who have some knowledge of Christ and the Gospel. 

Yesterday we knocked on a door, a boy named Jonathon answered, let us in, we taught him the Restoration, challenged him to be baptized, and he said yes... Holy guacamole! What faith! The Spirit was so strong! He was definitely prepared before this time to receive our message. I'm still going over that lesson in my head wondering how on earth he understood what I was saying... My companion Hna Alfaro does most of the talking since she is pro... the other two of us just insert simple comments and testimonies. We are really trying to grab hold of this Spanish thing... But the Spirit is definitely the one who does the work.

I have trouble understanding Spanish... the people speak so fast! I can hardly conjugate the words in my head fast enough to comment in a discussion! But I know that the Lord will and is blessing me. It's crazy to think about how I am merely giving the Lord 18 months of the life He has given me to help His children and do His work. It's not even my time! He gave me this body! He gave me these skills and talents! He gave me this opportunity! And I alone receive more blessings from this than I could have ever dreamed for! The Lord LOVES us. That is the reason why He does this for me. That is the reason why He DIED for me. That is the reason why we are here. That is the WHY to so many questions. If you ever find yourself asking why this or why that, it's because HE LOVES YOU. He is SMARTER THAN YOU, and HE KNOWS what will make you HAPPIEST. You may know what makes you happy... but He doesn't just want you to be merely happy, HE WANTS YOU TO BE FILLED WITH JOY. I testify that there is NOTHING more wonderful to know than this, that our Heavenly Father and our Savior LOVE us so much that they made a plan for each of us. How glorious and magnificent a plan as well.

I love you all...

The Lord loves you...

Our Father in Heaven loves you...

Sincerely,

Hermana Hopkins

I also have some pictures from her! She looks like she's doing well right?

Out to the field! Week six!

Hermana Hopkins is finally out in the mission field. As a reminder, She is serving in the San Antonio Texas spanish speaking mission. We should have a letter from her next week, but for now we have a picture and an email from her Mission Presidant.

What a great group of missionaries!  This was our biggest group ever with 31 missionaries, 18 being Sisters! - President and Sister Jones

Week Five!

It's time for another letter from Hermana Hopkins! Lets see what she has to say this time!

Buenas Dias!

I just received this email from my mission president, President Jones:


"Here’s an exciting new change from the missionary department:

“Missionaries are to write to their families each week and are also authorized to communicate

by email with friends, priesthood leaders, and new converts. Mission presidents should allow

sufficient time on preparation day for missionaries to write emails and letters. While in the

mission field, missionaries should receive authorization from the mission president before

entering into communication, including via email, with converts and others of the opposite

gender within the mission boundaries (see Missionary Handbook, 36–37).”"

How cool is that! This means that less money will be spent on stamps and stuff cause I can email everyone now haha. Feel free to publish my email address for my friends :)

I'll post her email over there. ----->

Anyway, we got our travel plans this week! We have to be at the travel office at 6:00 am on March 20th, so next Wednesday! I will be able to call you from the airport and will probably do so between 7:00-10:00am, I'm not sure, but be close to the phone cause I will only call once!

So this week we challenged our investigator, Consuela, to be baptized and she committed to be baptized on March 28! How awesome is that?! (She is actually just a teacher acting as an investigator but we teach her just like we would teach any real investigator, Spanish and all). I love being on the front row and getting to see the Holy Ghost touch the hearts of others.  This is probably one of the neatest things that I have ever experienced. Also on Tuesday last week we had Elder Aidukaitus of the Seventy speak at out devotional and he said some really inspiring things. He told us all to choose which Kingdom would be our goal. He told us to write it down in our journals and to act now and do what it takes to get there. I have chosen the Celestial Kingdom. I will do what ever it takes to get there. Which Kingdom will you choose? Write it in your journal in HUGE letters. Do what ever it takes to get there! He told us that if we are aiming for anything less than the Celestial Kingdom than we are doing too much. He described who would go to each kingdom and the beauty of each one as explained in the scriptures. I would definitely recommend studying this. Choose and commit to one of them. I hope that we are all aiming for the same place as I want to see all of my friends and family there when I get there. Because I WILL get there. One of my biggest fears is coming home the same person that I was when I left. Coming home and forgetting what I learned and resorting back to old ways. I DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT. I want to be completely changed and reconstructed! I want to have a change of heart and a change of perspective. I want to ALWAYS know who I am and why I am here. I want to ALWAYS remember the things that I learn here on my mission and teach them to anyone who will listen.

The Savior is more loving than we can even BEGIN to imagine. I can't imagine how much pain and sorrow He must have endured to give us EACH the opportunity to repent. He truly atoned for our sins. And also our sadness, anger, hatred, depression, and loneliness. He has felt it all. He has already paid the price for any bad that we have done, are doing, or will do. Take advantage of the gift he has already paid for and become happy. Repenting is not just for sins, it is for anything that is not godly. Let your pain and suffering go, there is no need to hold on to it when He has already suffered it for you. Be SSOOO grateful that He has. Be so humbled that he has loved you enough to care more about your salvation and happiness than His comfort, popularity, and ultimately, His life.

I love you all more than you know,

Hermana Ally Hopkins

Week four!

Hope everyone is excited! It's time for the weekly letter for Ally!

This week has been crazy... First of all I am very blessed. I love it here at the MTC. The people are the greatest. My companion and I had a talk on Tuesday with our teacher, kinda like marriage counseling, cause we have been struggling teaching in unity. It sucked but it really helped because I realized that I have been incredibly selfish. Not only here at the MTC but at home before my mission. I have always turned inward... It is time to turn outward, as Christ did. Even in times of stress and sorrow, he was ALWAYS focused on other people. I challenge you all, along with myself, to turn outwards when the natural man would turn inward. Think of others' happiness and wellbeing. I promise that you will be happier and that the Lord will take care of your needs when you focus on the needs of others. On Friday our district had a crazy experience that we all learned a lot from, one of the Elders in our district was sent home as he had a mental breakdown. It was so sad to see him go, I was balling. I have come to love my district so much. Because of what happened we all received blessings of comfort. I received my blessing from Elder Jensen in our district who had never given a blessing before as he is one of the new 18 yr old elders. It was really cool to here the words of the Lord through him. I know that both he and I will never forget that experience. 

I bought some sweats today and am wearing them right now as I type, they are the greatest!

As I ponder about what I would say to you in this weekly email my mind goes over the events of the week over and over again... The MTC has become home, my district has become another family, and I don't want to leave them... But I am excited to go to Texas and pretend to speak Spanish haha. On Tuesday M Russell Ballard came and spoke at the devotional. It was awesome. I have recorded my thoughts on the devotional in my journal but I don't have that with my at the moment.... I'll share this and other things with you when I get home... in 17 months haha... Tomorrow marks the one month mark! I have taught about 10 lessons now with my companion. Our investigators are Amalio and Consuela, they are very different people. We shared from the Book of Mormon with Amalio this week and he was so excited to learn more! Consuela doesn't really believe that there is one true church or why that is even important. But I know that the gospel will bless them both if they accept and believe in it. I know that we must all experience true conversion as well. True conversion comes when we accept and act on the will of the Father. As we get to know Christ better we can become more like him. How can we be more like Him if we don't know who He is?? Get to know Christ better, He loves you and always has and always will. I love you too, you are the greatest!

Also I have to get a crown on my tooth... I talked to my district president and he said that we will figure it out, so I'm not going to worry about it any more than I have to. There are plenty of others things for me to worry about. I know that the Lord loves me and that he waits for me to come to Him.

I hope everyone is doing well!!!!!!!! LOVE YA'LL!!!

Love,

Hermana Ally Hopkins