Miracles and the District

Hello family and friends! Time flies by on a mission because I'm almost through my first transfer here in Tours! Weeks seriously go by so fast that I usually can't remember what happened, but for last week I can remember most of the miracles that happened for Soeur Bishop and I.

Our ami with the baptismal date has been one of our top priorities and he progresses very quickly in all the lessons we give him. On Tuesday me, Soeur Bishop and our ami were invited to a members house for dinner and it was amazing. Our ami is not used to being surrounded by family all the time so it was a little awkward at the beginning when he was around the kids but he eventually got used to them and started playing games with them. Soeur Bishop and I were helping out with food preparation, setting up the table, and watching kids. Dinner started and our ami wasn't eating much because he's never had a family dinner like this. The father encouraged him to eat and about halfway through the meal, the ami excuses himself from the table because he was getting very anxious and goes to the front of the house to smoke a cigarette. The father follows after him and for about an hour he talks with our ami while Soeur Bishop and I are talking with the mother and help clean up the table. We went home after that and we set up two more rendezvous with our ami so that we can help him not smoke and drink. Our goal was to have him spend as much time as he could with us and members of the branch so that he wouldn't have the influence to smoke and drink.

Thursday, we taught him the Word of Wisdom which he understood already and we set a goal for him to lessen his smoking habit little by little each day. Friday, we meet with him again to teach him about the law of tithing and the law of fasting. We may have to go over tithing with him again so that we can commit him to live it but it was fasting that really got his attention. We told him that on the first Sunday of every month we call it Fast Sunday. For 24 hours we go without food or water for two consecutive meals to receive divine help and revelation from our Heavenly Father. He told us that he would fast with us and he would make sure to not break it until a full 24 hours. Sunday comes along and he comes to church telling us that he hasn't eaten or drunk anything and that he hasn't even smoked! Also during testimony meeting he goes up to speak and Soeur Bishop and I were just touched by what he said. He told everyone that we missionaries are called of God to change the lives of so many people and that's what we did for him! Soeur Bishop almost cried! Our ami has changed so much and he is so much happier now than he was when I first met him 5 weeks ago!

Another miracle that happened this week is that we got 5 amis at church! One of them we taught on Saturday and we ended up giving him a Persian Book of Mormon for him to read. Towards the end of the class, he came up to us and said that he enjoyed coming to church and wanted to meet with us again this week! I love teaching new amis from the start because I love sharing with them how the church came to be and about the Book of Mormon! Miracles are always a blessing as a missionary!

Wednesday and Thursday, I went on my first exchanges with my STLs who live in Nogent so that means that Soeur Bishop and I had to take a train ride into Paris! I was with Soeur Neistadt who is just an amazing example of how to be a hard working missionary. She helped me with my contacting skills and now I don't have as much fear going contacting as I did before. I left that exchange feeling better about my French abilities and my missionary skills.

Today, my district came to Tours and we went to a chateau! Since this transfer ends soon, this is our last P-Day together as a district before we lose some of the elders. We decided to go to a chateau together. I'll be sending pictures later on in the day. This district has been pretty cool to be in these last 6 weeks. My DL, Elder Griffith, is the big brother figure that I've always wanted so we have a joke where he calls me "petite soeur" and I call him "grand frere". He always has an answer to questions and concerns that I have. He's almost done with his mission and leaves for home in September. Elder Ellsworth is the clown of the district. He is from Mesa but we just went to different high schools! He's just one transfer ahead of me so he's been out in the mission for about 3 months now. Elder Dunoskovic is a very chill elder. He's almost done with his mission as well and leaves one transfer after Elder Griffith does. I can tell that Elder Duno has been a hard worker and he is just about ready to go home. Elder Lloyd is an interesting elder. He's been out for 9 months here and I can say that he's the elder I get along with the best. He's very proud of his Idaho origin and he's not afraid to let us know. And then we have my trainer, Soeur Bishop, who is absolutely amazing and has been a huge help for me. She has helped me with my French skills and always encourages me in the best ways to speak in lessons and share my thoughts more frequently. This district has been awesome for the last 6 weeks and it'll be sad to see some of the missionaries leave from it, but we'll eventually see each other again and it'll be fun to welcome new missionaries into this district.

Spiritual thought: As we taught our ami the Word of Wisdom I shared a scripture that has stuck with me ever since that night. Mosiah 7:33, "But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage."

As a missionary I've come to learn that turning to the Lord, putting our full trust in Him, and serve Him we will be blessed with the help and comfort we need in our lives. I know that this is true because He has helped me in so many ways on my mission. Dieu est toujours la pour nous et il nous aime. He will never abandon us in our time of need. We just need to be willing to trust in Him completely and He will bless us according to His will. I love this church and I love this gospel because it provides so much happiness. The best thing I can do as a missionary is to share the happiness of the gospel with others and watch them go through an amazing change in their lives as they accept the truth and become so much happier than before. I love and miss you all and I hope you all have a good week!

Love,

Soeur Hopkinson