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

May 5th 2014

A couple of things...

I apologize that I failed to validate your excitement of having cute little bunnies and a tent in the backyard! I always loved setting up the tent and going camping. I hope Nicolas is feeling better!

We also saw a kitty die this last week, it was very sad, I tried to help him but he was bloated and almost completely limp. It is sad :( But animals will go to heaven! We will see all of the parakeets and bunnies and fish and kitties up there ;) Although I don't really want to see the parakeets as much haha.

Next Sunday is Mother's Day! And that means I get to call yall :) Also Skype has been approved for all missionaries in our mission to use when calling home! I know you don't have a computer so it's probably best if we just talk on the phone. I'm planning on calling at 6pm my time, so that's 5pm your time! I hope that works! I can't believe that time has flown by so fast! Every time someone asks me how long I've been out my stomach does a double front flip. It's crazy sauce!

So there is a certain couple that we have been visiting that looked me up on Facebook and read my entire blog. It was interesting to hear his insight and feedback. He really liked it all! But I realized then more than ever that a lot of people can see everything that I say. I hope that I have not said anything offensive or negative. I also hope that no particularly personal things have been posted or shared with anyone that doesn't need to hear it. If I ever mention a first AND last name of someone, please delete one of the names as to keep people's names secure.

Also! I signed up for classes and changed my major to Elementary Education! I have classes all day tuesday and thursday (including Institute and Institute Choir) and nothing MWFS or Sunday. :D I have been granted financial aid as well! I haven't heard back ion my BYU-I application yet, but if I make it I will probably transfer there after the first semester of UVU. School starts the 25th of August! I am taking American Civilizations, Public Speaking, a Psychology class, and a Theater class based on Elementary education :)

Let me know what Grandma says! And I am sure that I can find a roommate if I need to.

Tomorrow there is a mission wide Sister's Conference. We will all be going to the temple with the Mission President and his wife! I am so excited :)

There are so many wonderful people everywhere we go :)

Here is something funny for you! It got sent to me from another sister from my MTC district. That burnt part of the map is where Eagle Pass is supposed to be haha.

So this week the Mission Department came down from Salt Lake and sat in on our Mission Leadership Conference meeting. It was awesome! I was filled with excitement as I learned better ways to do missionary work! I just wanted to go out there and teach!! A lot of it was helping us to use the pamphlets to teach the lessons, they already have pictures and scriptures in them! It's like going in with a disguised note card right in front of your face! I love it :) Things are definitely improving in missionary work in general throughout the world. 

We have been meeting with Christina a lot this week. She is going to be baptized this Saturday! She has a lot going on in life and I pray for her a lot. With this past fast Sunday I fasted for her too. She got some bad results back for her thyroid cancer. She just knows everything about the gospel though! She knows that everything will be okay and that God will take care of her. She has now read all of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and of course the Gospel Principles book. When we teach her she nods and says, "Yep, I read that. I remember that." All we really do is invite her to keep those commandments that she has learned about. We also clarify things like not shopping on Sunday. We did that with another couple as well but they weren't as ready to keep the Sabbath holy as Christina. We have also been teaching that couple during this last week. The husband talks a lot and I feel like the wife may be confused at times. The last thing we want to do is complicate or confuse. The doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ clarifies. It is God's way. When He commands us to do it He has all authority and to expect us to obey. We are less than the dust of the earth because even the dust obeys with exactness, not questioning why or procrastinating, but simply obeying. Are we simply obeying? I am certainly not perfect and I make mistakes daily, but I know that when we obey we are blessed more. When we trust in God, he blesses us more. When we love our neighbor, we are blessed more and promised the kingdom.

I can not write all that I am experiencing, I hope to be able to share with you more when I return home. Hopefully it won't be too boring to listen haha.

I love you, I am excited to hear your voices. Keep smiling, wave at people who pass you by, you could be making someone's day!

Hermana Hopkins

April 28th 2014

I decided to change my major to Elementary Education. I am going to attend UVU. I was thinking maybe I can live in Grandma's house so that I don't have to pay rent? Or with an aunt or uncle? Preferably closer to orem than farther away?

So this week was awesome :) This following week is going to be insane! Tomorrow we will be on an exchange, Wednesday is district meeting, Thursday is the mission leadership meeting, Friday we have another exchange with the Sisters who are over us, and then Saturday we have an exchange with another set of sisters! Sister Breakall and I committed to sitting next to each other no matter what during our meetings since we won't get to be together a lot during this week haha.

We started teaching Christina this week who is a friend of a member in the singles ward. We had our first lesson with her on Thursday and she had already been reading the Book of Mormon. She was in 4th Nephi! Then on Saturday at our next lesson she had finished the Book of Mormon and gotten to section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants!! She said that she has a lot of time to read while she is at her job because she watches over a man who is on his death bed and he sleeps for 5 of the 12 hours that she is there. So she reads a lot! She has also already read all of the Gospel Principles book! She is just amazing. She is going to be baptized on May 10th.

We are still teaching Crystal and we taught her the law of chastity this week. She expressed how she wants her daughter to live that law as well haha. She is so humble and very teachable. We are also teaching Ani who is married to a less active member. Ani is also very humble and teachable. Its interesting to note that the prideful don't learn very much or very fast. So if you want to be smart, don't be prideful! 

We had Zone Conference this week and President Slaughter was talking about being decisive and not getting offended. He and his wife said that one of the keys to a successful marriage is learning to never be offended. I thought that was so insightful! I have had companions that get offended if I word something wrong or do some little thing that annoys them and I have also had companions that haven't ever mentioned or seemed like any of that phased them whatsoever. I'd say that is a great goal for all of the human family, to practice just not getting offended so easily. People are going to do things that bug us. Duh. We are all different. Sometimes they will do it on purpose! Either way we can practice a Christlike attribute, patience or forgiveness, or humility. Considering being decisive instead of indecisive, President said that when we are indecisive we are showing a lack of faith and trust in God. We should make a decision based on good judgement and then let the Lord steer us. Again, I have had some different companions with different levels of decisiveness. I admire someone who makes a decision, moves forward with faith. Then if they recognize that they were wrong they admit it humbly and without blaming those around them. Or if they were right they don't brag about it, but give the glory to God ad thank Him for His mercy in showing the way. 

We had Stake Conference this weekend as well and I LOVED it! There was a man (we will call him Brother S) who talked about an experience that he had in selling alarms. I could relate to that haha even though I never actually sold them. Brother S talked about his second day selling for his alarm business that he had just started and his experience with a certain man that he met while knocking doors. The man that answered the door was blind. The man stuck out his hand and said "I'm Harold." Harold ended up letting him in, talking to him, and even signing the papers of agreement. Harold had asked Brother S to describe his parents and his wife to him. Harold had also asked him how many customers he had. When Brother S nervously, yet honestly, said that he only had 6 customers so far Harold agreed to give him his credit card to run. Brother S was amazed by all of this and asked Harold why he was so trusting even though he couldn't see. He said, "I let you in my house based on how you shook my hand, I signed the paper based on how you spoke of your loved ones, and I gave you my credit card based on your honesty."

This story touched my heart. I want to be the kind of person that deep down even to the very bottom corners is honest and true and charitable. How do I become that way? I figured it out, it's by forgetting myself.

The Stake President also spoke of faith. For almost two weeks I had this phrase stuck in my head, "It was by faith." but I couldn't remember where to find it in the Book of Mormon. I searched halfheartedly until yesterday when President Spendlove quoted it. This is exactly what I needed to hear. Ether 12, baby. It has changed me. I wrote that phrase on a sticky note and put it on my wall. 

It was by faith.

Read that chapter in faith and tell me how it changed you.

I love you dearly. I am a daughter of God. I am learning to act my part.

Hermana Ally Hopkins

April 21st 2014

Hanna and AJ got baptized this weekend! They are so awesome! We are still working with the dad. He was so proud of them and had a big smile on his face during the entire baptism and confirmation. Their family came from out of town to support them and the dad's family even came although they aren't members! That is a great opportunity for them and anyone to feel the spirit and spark an interest in learning more. I am so excited to see this family grow and stay close with them. We were kind of stressed out because the building was reserved by another ward and we didn't find out till the day of. We were able to have the baptism anyway and the other ward was so gracious that they even invited everyone from the baptism to come and join in their activity! No one actually did but it was very sweet of them to offer. Through all the running around we forgot to get in a picture with the family!! Can you believe it??? We got pictures of them though :) It just slipped our minds to actually get in the picture haha. 

This week has just been so eventful! I went on exchanges with Sister Burtenshaw, she is from Canada! She went to BYU-Hawaii and it made me want to go there really bad when she talked about it. Maybe you can pray as well to see if I should go there?? ;) We talked to a woman at the church when mutual was about to start (we were asked to share a thought at mutual, usually we don't go to that haha). She is recently coming back to the church after being baptized when she was 17 but lost contact when she moved from Mexico to the U.S. Her children aren't members but she is bringing them to church as well. She talked about how she is divorced and was abused... It's crazy how many people I meet on my mission who are in the same situation as everybody else! I know that my testimony is strengthened every time I meet someone like that and get to testify to them that the Atonement heals us. 

On Wednesday Hanna and AJ were interviewed for baptism and they were so happy. I love the peaceful look on the faces of those who are softened by the Spirit. They looked so much happier that night than they did when we first met them. It's amazing how we all can think we are so happy at the moment and then realize that there are even MORE blessings ahead of us! Hope gives us the chance to have joy now and also later. 

We came out of our apartment door one morning and halted as we saw five little kittens in the corner of our front door and the outside wall. They were way too small to have climbed the apartment stairs so we figure that the mom cat brought them up there cause she saw Jesus's picture on our door ;) Or maybe its cause its more secluded than the bush where little kids would run by that they used to be in downstairs. Either way, we now have some kittens sleeping outside our apartment and we don't know what to do with them! We will figure it out. The mom comes and feeds them all the time so maybe they will just stay there till they grow and can walk away ;) 

Sister Breakall and I sang "I know that My Redeemer Lives" in Sacrament yesterday. We did better than we thought we would do! It was fun :) And we had 6 investigators at church! I was so happy to see them all there because we know the trials they are experiencing and how hard it must have been to come. One of them that was there was Crystal, she brought three of her kids and also her neighbor! She recently got separated from her boyfriend and lost her job. I am grateful though that God makes things happen so that better things can take place. It made me reflect on the time I got fired from my job and then got a new job a month later where I never had to work Sundays. I am so grateful that God fired me haha :)

Well, that's all for today folks, I love this work and I love my Father in Heaven. I read this morning about King Lamoni's father who was willing to give up half his kingdom, than all of his kingdom, and then all of his sins as he came to learn more and more of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What are we willing to give for joy in this life and eternal life in the next? The pride that we sometimes feel when someone offends us? The resentment that we hold on to? The stubbornness of waiting for someone else to apologize first? All of those are barriers that we put up for ourselves to halt our spiritual progression. Whether we are drifting away from God's presence or halting and refusing to go forward, it is still sin. Aaron tells Lamoni's father the way to "know God" is to repent and have faith. How wonderful and beautiful is the sacrifice that our Redeemer made for us. That as we practice faith in him we can repent and have joy now and for eternity. I know that my Redeemer lives! What comfort this sweet sentence gives. He lives. God lives.

Hermana Ally Hopkins

April 14th 2014

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all of the fun things that you have been creating and how you are helping the kids so much! I know that the quality time with Nathanial, Andrew, and Victoria are all appreciated. They will look back later on and remember with a smile and a good feeling in their heart the good times that you spent with them. :) Also it makes me happy that you decided to go to the Hope of America! I don't remember if you went to mine or not, but there is something about knowing that you have got your mom out in the audience somewhere. It makes you a little nervous but also determined to do your best :) I think that's how it is with our personal accountability to the Lord. At the end of the day we tell God what we did that day and it makes me a little nervous if I haven't achieved all that I had hoped but I feel more determined to do my best the next day. I am grateful for prayer. :) I am also very grateful for Uncle Ben. I prayed that God would send somebody to help Andrew. What a blessing that is to both of them, you, and me! I know that our prayers are heard! I feel such a deep love for my Savior and Heavenly Father when I think of how wonderful that probably was for Andrew to learn with Uncle Ben for 8 hours :D I too have been taking a personal interest in cars as well! When I was trying to decide what to major in recently one of my bigger desires was to go into auto mechanics! I think it is so fun and I love to work with my hands! I fixed a less active woman's VCR for her and it made me feel good to fix it and know that I helped her. Buuuut... I decided to go in to music because I really love to sing and I want to do something I enjoy and progress in it! I am so excited to get better :)

So I am going to go to UVU! I don't know how it is all going to play out but I applied again and have sent an email to my academic advisor. I hope to go right when I get home as to keep the good schedule and working habits that I have here on the mission. I don't want to get lost in laziness or boredom. I know I will have to work so that I can get out of the house so that housing doesn't make the rent go up... I don't know how long that will take but I have been praying hard for help with that when I get home. I know a lot will be expected of me and I will have a lot of things to take back on again, one being paying cash for medicine....... car payments, insurance, cell phone, rent, etc... So pray for me as well!! The thing that makes me most nervous is paying for medication and such since I won't have insurance. I feel that I can't function without the medication but I can't have the medication of I don't have money... but I can't function at a job with out my medication... so its a never ending circle of bleeehhh. The older couple that came and gave the ukulele to you have a son who has a few businesses and they said they could line me up with a job when I get home, so that's nice. Also I am excited to be close to the family when I get home. Even though I will have a lot to do I am excited to spend time with you all! I want to be apart of my brothers and sisters lives and help them stay close to the Lord and be happy. I also am excited to tell you all the experiences that I had and introduce you to the wonderful people I have met either by phone or email! Or when they come to visit eventually! I am excited to go to UVU because there are still great student wards but at the same time not everyone is a member so I will still be able to do missionary work as a member in my classes! Wahoo! My mission president said that if I were his daughter he would send me to BYU to get married but since I don't have the grades for that, UVU will just have to do. I can transfer to BYU-I in the future. Maybe in January or even in the spring next year. What is important is that I stay strong in the church and don't get bored.

Now Mom, You ARE awesome! I like you a lot! I think you are so funny and I love your smile! I also like your way of joking around when things start to get frustrating. Sometimes we need to just not get so frustrated by the little things and just let it go. Laughing is a great substitute for stressing out ;) I love it when you hum and rub my back. You truly care about me! You love your children, you are charitable and compassionate. You serve your neighbors and older people because you want to help, you are kind and desire to do good! There are many blessings that God has promised people like YOU because of such attributes. You are also experienced. You have lived through abuse, divorce, confusion, hatred, anger, depression, belittlement, poverty, stress, disappointment, and STILL you have come out ON TOP. You have a beautiful daughter on a mission! That shows a lot!! Your children watched AND enjoyed listening to the Living Prophet who you have taught them to follow and they felt the Spirit! You provided that environment for them by living worthy yourself and emphasizing the IMPORTANT things in life! Your faith and trust in the Lord is strong and He makes YOU strong because of it. You cannot fail because your foundation and your rock are our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. You pray for me, I know it because I am blessed each day. You follow the Spirit. You wouldn't treat anyone the way that you treat yourself. Those words and negativity towards yourself are not from God. I am so grateful that you know that and are thinking positively instead! I love how the prophet said this quote 

I have wept in the night

For the shortness of sight

That to somebody’s need made me blind;

But I never have yet

Felt a tinge of regret

For being a little too kind. 

Be kind to yourself too :) I know for me I get nervous that if I'm kind to myself I might get prideful, but I think it's good to recognize what the Lord rejoices in about you. My Mission President's wife once had me write down a list of the things that the Lord rejoices in about me and told me to put it in my scriptures. I did, and I put it there in Alma. I have not looked back to see what it says, but when I open to that page, I know. I love you so so so so much, Mom.

As for this week... The father of the family that we are teaching decided that he is not ready to be baptized but he is excited to see his children baptized. We think its because of the word of wisdom. It is hard sometimes to give things up that we have held on to for so long. Especially if they have become part of us, whether they are good or bad things. He is a wonderful father, and because I know that, I know that he will get baptized in the future. But the two children are going to be getting baptized this Saturday! They are all going to be there. We are teaching them again tonight.

We also met another family that really has an interest in coming to church and also in giving us their full attention. The father said that he can tell that we are serious about what we do so he is too. He said that he wants his whole family to be there when we teach and give us their undivided attention. It is not often that we hear that! He is a good man and his wife is searching for the Lord in her life as well. They are such a beautiful family! Their little boys are the cutest :)

We had Zone meeting this week and Sister Breakall and I gave a training on "Talking to Everyone" and "Not Beating around the Bush."  At first I laughed inside when the Elders asked us to give that training because I felt like I beat around the bush sometimes. So in the few days we had between then and when we would give our training we got to practice. We were teaching a second lesson to a man from Sai Pan named Jessi who listened to us but can't let go of partying and drinking. His friend showed up in the middle of the lesson and was working on Jessi's car. Jessi said that he couldn't come to church until he fixed his car cause he didn't feel right getting a ride from anyone. So I went up to his friend who was rummaging through some things in his truck and said, "Kyle, will you come to church on Sunday? Jessi needs a ride and this is the only true church on the earth today." He laughed. He looked at me and laughed saying, "I'm sorry, haha, but you said that all with a straight face, I couldn't help myself haha" He was surprised because he thought I was joking but I wasn't! We all laughed together and then I said, "But really." Haha what an awkward experience! He laughed again and then said he couldn't come because he had training. We ended the lesson on a positive note as we included Kyle as well and ended with a prayer. As we got into the car Kyle asked if we had a book for him (referring to the Book of Mormon) and of course we did so we gave him one. He opened it up and started turning through the pages. We left and laughed, blushing because of how awkward it all was but as we reviewed what just happened we came to the conclusion that missionary work in general is just gonna be awkward! We talked about in our training about the time that we rode the bus for a week and what a great opportunity it was to talk to everyone. We did a roleplay with everyone where they had between 5-45 seconds on a bus to talk to those around them. I think it really helped because they seemed excited to go out and strike up conversation focused quickly on our message. We found out from the Zone Leaders that the numbers for new investigators this week in our zone was the highest its been since December. So that's good! It was a fun roleplay to do :) We meet a lot of people that only speak spanish so we refer them to the elders in the spanish ward and they told us that half of their investigators come from part member families and the other half come from the referrals that we give them haha. It's good to still be able to speak spanish everyday and help those that we find to be taught in their own language. With just english sisters in this area in the past they have only been able to give them a card since they couldn't understand! But since I have been here those people get passed on to the missionaries :) I love to hear how those people are progressing from the elders when we talk to them.

I love you all, keep your chins up!

Hermana Hopkins

April 7th 2014

I have prayed and asked God where to go to college. I am going to apply to BYU Idaho and UVU. I will be going into Music and/or Elementary Education.

Something funny that happened this week was we were helping the Barreras to rake their lawn and a truck drove by with a barbeque attached to the back. There was smoke coming from it and so we all paused to watch the truck drive by and stop at the stop sign. We saw a man get out from the drivers seat with an apron on and a spatula. He then proceeded to open up the barbeque and flip some sort of meat! He closed it and got back in the truck and went on his merry way! ONLY IN TEXAS!!! We loved it and I was laughing for hours! You better believe that I wrote that in my journal haha.

My companion is such a blessing to me. She is so funny and the other night I was rolling on the floor laughing at what she was saying. I can't remember for the life of me what it was that she said but we were laughing so hard hahaha. I like to try to be funny like her ;) She loves everyone and notices the good and points it out too. It changes things from sad to happy in mili-seconds.

We are continuing to teach the Barrera Family and the father joined in for a lesson on Saturday. He expressed that he is more spiritually prepared now than we was in the past. We invited him to be baptized on the same day as his children, on the 19th of this month, and he said yes!! His wife who is a member had tears fill her eyes. I thought of how long she has been praying for this, how many prayers her parents have offered for this, and how happy his children were to feel a strength in their family added to them! I caught myself in the middle of probably the biggest smile I have ever had on my face!! A FAMILY! A family. To think about it now still makes me emotional. I am so excited to be their best friends for the rest of our lives :)

Conference truly uplifted me in ways that I didn't even know that I needed. I have been learning a lot about supporting my companion and also the necessity of obedience. In Conference I noticed many themes of the talks including obedience, repentance, the Resurrection, and my favorite Book of Mormon scripture was mentioned more than 3 times. Its funny because I had read that verse where I am at in my Spanish Book of Mormon on Saturday morning... I can't help but think that I must have a trial awaiting me somewhere in the near future. But as we learned from Elder Bednar's talk, it is the LOAD which enables us to move forward. It is the load that gives us traction. A common theme that I have noticed on my mission has been that of Sacrifice. We MUST sacrifice some things for ETERNAL HAPPINESS. Our Savior sacrificed EVERYTHING for our eternal happiness, why shouldn't we have to sacrifice something as well? When investigators sacrifice sleep or popularity or money and work to come to church, they receive more blessings than they possibly could have obtained from their own efforts. When we sacrifice 10% of our gross income we are showered with blessings. When we sacrifice time to help, comfort, or lift SOMEONE ELSE the blessings that come to both parties are numberless.

I also noted the theme of standing for truth. It is in those small moments or those "gray areas" in which I find myself falling short. There is no gray area. When we feel that there is it is simply a test of our Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. A test of our LOVE and OBEDIENCE towards him. Basically I write these things to you in hope that I will learn, remember, and apply them better and quicker. It is almost like a self pep talk haha.

I love you and cherish you. I pray that others will come in to your life that may be of support to you and show you our Heavenly Fathers love.

I heard from Elizabeth that you are taking on many crafts! Good for you! I am inspired by you to be creative and have often found myself drawing or doodling while my companion is on the phone or while I eat. :)

You have such a strong spirit and I know that you are a terrific example to the kids :) I love my brothers and sisters here in Texas and there living with you.

Here are some pictures for ya!

Hermana Hopkins