What's Coming Next?

Salut everybody! So here's a little tidbit of what's happened so far. September 17th was my 4 month mark of being on my mission, tomorrow is my 3 month mark of being here in France, this Wednesday I begin my 3rd transfer, and I've been with my wonderful trainer/companion Sœur Bishop for 13 weeks! Crazy how time flies by! Also more good news, I'm still in Tours for my third transfer! The big question is am I still with Sœur Bishop for one last transfer or do I have a new companion? Stay tuned folks because I'll tell you as a finale for this email but HEY, HEY, HEY that doesn't mean you should skip to the end to see what the answer is! Keep reading and I promise you'll find out when you get to that part haha!

Saying goodbye is not an easy thing to do. First with my family at the beginning of my mission, then with my MTC district, and now to my DL in the Tours district. Elder Griffith gave his final district meeting formation before he heads back to the states this week. He decided to focus his formation on Jesus Christ and the Atonement. There were so many things said and I wish I could say it word for word because the Spirit was so strong and present in this formation. I can testify as a missionary that Jesus Christ is our Savior. He died for us so that we may live again. He left the most perfect example for us to follow and He knows our pains and sufferings. I love Jesus Christ with all my heart and I'm beyond thankful for all that He's done for us. I represent Him as I put on my missionary badge each and every morning. I testify of Him every day. I share His gospel. I strive to invite others to come unto Christ. I love this church and I know that Le Livre de Mormon is true.

Let's talk about miracles and how marvelous they are! Sœur Bishop and I had a rendezvous with an amie that we met two Sundays ago while porting buildings. She didn't show up so we got a little discouraged and began to walk back to the tram to go home until Sœur Bishop had the thought to stop by an amie that the elders found on our finding day in Tours. We got to the apartment and could hear music inside so we knocked and stood there for 2 minutes, no answer. It got awkward so we knocked again a little louder and stood there, no answer. Feeling even more discouraged we made our way back to the elevator when all of a sudden we hear the door unlock! We quickly made our way back and we met this amie for the first time! Her name is Chanceline and she has one daughter named Chancy, super sweet family! She invited us in and we have a lesson with her about Le Livre de Mormon and she absolutely loved it! Teaching about Le Livre de Mormon is one of my favorite things because it gives me a chance to testify what I love about it and my favorite verses, stories, and chapters. The lesson went so great with her and we invited her to church and she said she would come! When we left her apartment Sœur Bishop and I silently started to do happy dances all the way to the elevator hahaha! We were on a spiritual high for the rest of the day!

I wish the spiritual high lasted for the next two days because our elders planned finding days in their sectors and it took a lot of energy out of all of us. In Le Mans we had 2 rendezvous planned but both fell through and didn't happen. We ended up doing contacting basically the whole day and for the most part we were rejected by the people. Sometimes people's ability to choose for themselves can be frustrating, but at least we planted some knowledge about the gospel for them to hopefully grow their faith on. Alençon was a little more successful. We went and did some porting in apartment complexes for about 2 hours. In the first complex we found 4 new amies for the elders and in the second complex we found a new family for them to teach! SUPER COOL family! Turns out that this family moved to Alençon three months ago from Italy. The husband is Italian and the wife is Albanian and they have twins, boy and girl, and another son. It was difficult for the parents to understand us but they knew we were missionaries and they invited us in on the spot and we had a lesson with them! The dad loved the Book of Mormon and we told them that the elders would come by the next day with Books of Mormon in Italian and in Albanian. They got super excited for that! Gotta love miracles!

All right it's almost time for the news you're all waiting for about my companion. Keep bearing with me because before I say who she is I have a spiritual experience that I would like to share haha! KEEP ON READING! For the last 2 weeks I've been so stressed about the next transfer. I have no idea what the future has in store for me here on the mission, part of that is seeing who I get to serve with here in France. Going into my third transfer there are two possibilities: train a missionary fresh from the MTC or be polished by either my trainer or a new companion. Being polished is just basically adding the finishing touches on my training. The level my French is at I knew that training was not an option for me so I knew I was going to be polished, the big question that made me stressed and worried was who will be polishing me? I was terrified and worried to the point where it was hard for me to focus at times. I talked to my comp and a few other fellow missionaries about how I was feeling. They all told me close to the same thing, that my progression has improved and that whatever happens I'd be ready for anything. I was scared and stressed for the longest time and I wanted those feelings to go away. During my studies I came across a conference talk that really stood out to me. It's titled "Fear Not, I Am With Thee" by Jean A. Stevens in April 2014. One quote that I love is "Wherever we find ourselves on the path of discipleship, whatever our worries and challenges may be, we are not alone. You are not forgotten...we can choose to reach for God’s hand in our need. We can face our challenges with prayer and trust in the Lord. And in the process we become more like Him...truly our Father knows us and hears the pleadings of our hearts. He accomplishes His miracles one prayer at a time, one person at a time."

Ok maybe that was more than just one quote but all of those phrases immediately got rid of those worries and fears I had for next transfer. I remember when I was in the MTC I was feeling the exact same way about coming to France. I remember talking to Sœur Schade about my feelings back then and it brought back to my memory something that she told me, "Sister, Heavenly Father doesn't give us trials that we can't handle. He does give His strongest soldiers hard trials because He knows that they're ready to progress and strengthen their faith and trust in Him. I believe that you are one of His strongest soldiers Sister Hopkinson."

Two scriptures I encourage everyone to look up is Isaiah 41:10 and Proverbs 3:5-6. If anyone is going through a hard time right now I will keep you in my prayers, whoever you are. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us all and that He wants to help. "We can trust that He will help us, not necessarily in the way we want but in the way that will best help us to grow. Submitting our will to His may be difficult, but it is essential to becoming like Him and finding the peace He offers us." Another wonderful quote from that same conference talk. I pray for you all at home or on missions and I thank you all for the prayers that you send me.

Ok everyone hears the part you've all been waiting for...my companion! I found out on Saturday what will be happening my third transfer. Basically before they send out the repertoire (document that shows who is with who and what ville they're in) the president makes calls to the new ZLs and STLs while the APs called the new trainers. In the afternoon we hear our phone ring and we knew what it was for...Sœur Bishop got a call to be an STL in Lille! I was excited for her but at the same time super scared because that meant I was fully taking over my ville and receiving a new companion. We made our way to the gare to receive the repertoire and see who my comp is. The email was sent out and I looked at the name next to mine, my new companion is Sœur Gallant! I'm excited to meet her on Wednesday and show her around Tours! I hope I can be a good companion for her and I look forward to serve with her!

I love and miss you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Sœur Hopkinson

samantha.hopkinson@myldsmail.net