Workin

Shout out to James the Mormon and David Archuleta for the subject title of my email and for the song that pretty much sums up last week. It's a pretty jammin' song too! Lots of work to be done but missionary work is the best kind of work I can be doing for 18 months of my life. It's so worth it to see people make a huge decision in their lives to follow their brother and Savior, Jesus Christ. Before I go on and continue with my week, there are two little tidbits I wanna start with.

First, I got to see my beloved trainer Sœur Bishop last week! She is now dead on the mission, meaning she finished her 18 months of service to the Lord, and she came to visit Tours with her parents. I was so happy to see her! She was such an amazing companion to be with for 12 weeks and she is the kind of missionary I want to be when it comes to missionary work. She has a huge love for the work and I can tell that she was ready to be reunited with the rest of her family back in the states. We were able to have dinner with her and her parents the night before she left along with Hervé and his parents as well. It was a bittersweet goodbye at the end because it felt like she should be coming home with us! I'm glad I was able to see her and I hope she has an easy transition as she returns home.

Second little tidbit, guys I hit my 6 month mark last Friday! My comp and I had to clean the chapel so we asked Hervé if he could help us out. I told him the news about me being on my mission for 6 months and he asked me, "do you think you've learned a lot these last 6 months?" I told him yes and that I've been more than happy to have been out on my mission for this long. I think about it now and I see how far I've come since the MTC. My French has improved, I can stop and talk to people on the streets, I can share my testimony with strangers, and I've come to see the love that Heavenly Father has for each of His children here on Earth. Choosing to do a mission has been one of the best decisions I've made and it's something that I will never regret choosing.

We had our first district meeting of the transfer last week. There are two new elders in the group and they are both pretty cool. We also had a guest show up for this district meeting, Mission Président Sorensen himself! It was actually pretty cool to have him there with us. His insights and thoughts were amazing and he really brought the Spirit into this meeting. After the meeting, we also had interviews with him and my interview with him that day was by far the best interview I've had. He gave me tips that really helped me to accomplish my goals and to be an even more hard working missionary. We came home from Le Mans, went contacting for a while, and ended the day having dinner at Hervé's house with Sœur Bishop and her parents.

This transfer, I got to have exchanges with the STLs in Paris! It was interesting to see what it was like for missionary work in Paris, plus I was just happy to be in the city of Paris itself haha! The city at night was beautiful as well! For this exchange I was with the newest STL, Sœur van Duyse. A little bit about her, she is Canadian, loves to sing, has good French, and is a transfer ahead of me. We went out contacting for two hours straight. We were able to have conversations with a few people but for the most part people were either in a hurry, not interested, or in some cases high off of smoking a joint. We got 3 new amis for their equipe, called it a day and continued working hard the next day. Before my comp and I came back to Tours we had a mangez-vous with a really cute old couple from the ward. The food was super delicious and sure enough I did eat a lot and then had to sprint to the metro to go the gare and then sprint to catch our train home. By the time we arrived in Tours and walked through the door of our apartment, the bottom of my feet had blisters. Workin hard folks!

We have a new ami named L_____ and he was a referral from the Rouen sœurs. He has a sister that's a member in Rouen so she brought him to church with her a couple of times and he lives here in Tours so now we get to teach him more about the church! It's exciting! He invited us over to his apartment and made a meal for us! A friend of his was there too. First came the dumplings, then steak with fries, and then ice cream. We got to know him a little better and he's got a great sense of humor along with his friend. Our discussions finally led to the church and what he knew about it. Turns out that he really likes the concept of missionary work so he has a huge respect for missionaries. As we ended the rendezvous, L_____ told us that he looks forward to learning more from us. This guy has a great desire to learn more about the gospel and I can tell that his sister is hoping for him to be baptized sometime in the near future.

On Sunday, we had a lesson about faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith is to be centered in Jesus Christ, meaning that we place our complete trust in Him and in whatever He commands us to do. Chapter 18 in Gospel Principles says, "We cannot have faith in Jesus Christ without also having faith in our Heavenly Father. If we have faith in Them, we will also have faith that the Holy Ghost, whom They send, will teach us all truth and will comfort us." How great and simple is that? If we just put our faith and trust in the Godhead, they will teach us ALL truth and WILL comfort us. In Alma 32:27 it says, "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." Notice in the verse it says to exercise a PARTICLE of faith. I find that interesting. Sometimes exercising your faith doesn't mean you pile all the faith you have on a plate and give it to Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. In some cases, it only requires just a little particle of faith to show that you trust Them no matter what happens. They know us better than anyone else. How cool is that? I'm glad that there is someone there who knows me perfectly and can give me the guidance I need when it comes to hard times.

This week is Thanksgiving and sadly they don't celebrate that here in France, but an amie invited us over this Thursday to host a Thanksgiving dinner for us! I am so excited! So since the day of thanks is coming up soon, I just wanted to share a couple of things I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for all of you who have been supporting me on my mission. I can feel your love and prayers each day and I thank you for them. I'm thankful for all of those I've met on my mission: amis, missionaries, teachers, members, and all. I've been blessed to have met them and learn so much from them. I'm thankful to be here in France serving a mission and sharing the happiness this gospel has to offer. I know that this church is true and that through Joseph Smith, the gospel was restored. I'm thankful for my family (see the pics of them I attached to this email). It's been a year since I've been sealed to them for all time and eternity. I'm thankful for my parents, for raising me in a loving environment, for all the teachings they gave me, and for all the love they give me even when I'm thousands of miles away. I'm thankful for my brothers. They are my best buddies and I miss them each day just like I do with my parents. It is never a dull moment with my brothers. I'm proud of my brother Spencer who will be sharing the gospel with the people of Brazil in just a few months. I know that as my younger brothers get older, they will become amazing missionaries as well. Above all, I'm thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. It's because of Him all things are possible. He died for us so that we may live again. He's the one that provided a way for us to return to our Father in Heaven with our families. He and Heavenly Father love us with a love that is so infinite and I'm thankful for that.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and don't forget to be thankful!

Love,

Sœur Hopkinson

samantha.hopkinson@myldsmail.net