Baptism - took 7 tries

this is how people preach here in Guatemala, with big speakers, going around saying and screaming random obvious things about God. they pass by our house all the time.

Baptism of "D" by a member of the ward

My friend Tanner Steed's younger brother is on his mission in Guatemala. Saw him at the conference

January 22, 2013
Hey fammm.

not tooo much is new here in Guate, it was a pretty good week, we Baptised "D".

He's a youth that about 2 and a half weeks ago he told us that he didn't want anything to have to do with the church anymore, he was having some family troubles it seems, but he knows that these things are true, so he came back around, we baptized him on Saturday, we got a young man of the ward to baptize him. It took him 7 tries, poor Diego was shaking, the water was super cold, its been really cold here lately, its just warmed up.  At night i was wearing my big north face fleece, and my missionary mall jacket shell.but the weather is all good now.

sounds like a good Birthday present, yeah, these carvings are super cool, so it'll be something that i can have for the rest of my life too. thank you! I'll just have to figure out how to get it home haha.

so yeah, for the coming home thing, i was thinking that we can just stay a whole week. leave Guatemala on Wednesday. because on the wednesday i get released we wont get to do anything outside, we'll just be with President Brough and his family, which will be awesome, so well have Thursday untill Wednesday. cuz we gotta hit up my old areas, Antigua, and Panajachel. also i wanted to go to Quetzaltenango to the new temple, that will take up a good part of a day. so yeah, we can come home the 22nd, or the morning of the 23rd. that sounds the best to me.

its been good being in a trio, we all enjoy it,the house and the dished get super dirty super quick though haha. but yeah, its good.

The Conference with Elder Christofferson was great, hes quite a funny guy too, and his spanish is PERFECT, he sounds like hes from somewhere down here. gift of tongues.

at the conference i saw Elder Steed. my friend Tanner Steeds little brother. Tanner Steed was actually there when I opened my calling.

we are working with "J G" to be baptized this sunday, hes a little bit skeptical, he has a friend whose been a bad influence on him, but hopefully things will all turn out good.

thats too bad that Lincoln has to wait longer, and also sucky for Vickie, serving in Lethbridge haha, thats where she went to school.

 oh ya, i wants to see if you could make me little stickers like that i have, but with my full name, and home address and email  just to give out to people when I leave, instead of writing it out a thousand times.  thank you!

Well, i think thats it for this week, oh ya, i pooped my pants for the first time this week. ay ay ay.

>From Guatemala, with love,

Elder Hopkins

It's Twins

Baptism of the Family "G"

Gotta look good for an apostle!

Hey familyy.

This week was full of surprises, good and bad, I guess, but nothin' that impedes the Work of the Lord.

The family G- was baptized  well, part of he Family G-, that was the surprise, In the interview, J-, the oldest son, of 13 years,  he decided that he didn't want to be baptized yet. He has a new friend that is a bad influence on him i think. But we are still hoping to baptize him this month, as in this month we have the huge goal of 350 baptisms.

but it was a good service, and they are happy.

The other surprise is that I'm in a trio now. Elder Whitaker, came on Friday morning and is now in our companionshp. He entered with Elder Maldonado, so I am training him as well now. So right now I'm training two missionaries at the same time, I've got twins you should say.  Elder Whitaker is a Cowboy from Logan Utah,he's a great worker, so were workin' hard here in Chimalt.

Wow that sucks that Vicki and Erica have to start their missions in Calgary, I'm sure glad I didn't have to do that. Knocking on my friends' doors, being with people i somewhat know, ha, well, I'm glad I came straight to Guatemala.

We did have to go to the capital yesterday to fix some visa stuff with Elder Maldonado, we had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to get there on time, it kinda sucked, I was real tired from it, but I'm all good now.

So I sent you some pictures of these super cool wood carvings, that are really expensive that a member does, but they are so cool and beautiful, the huge round one of the one diagram in the book of abraham costs almost 500 dollars, but it would be something that would last a lifetime, the tree of life, costs like 250, and you can get one carved of a temple, with your last name below it, like the Calgary temple and then have Hopkins under it, kinda cool too, that's like 300 dollars, all hand carved in a hard dark wood.

I was/am kinda thinking that it would be really cool to get one of those, but let me know what you think! I dunno, I don't understand the value of dollars anymore maybe.

And also, you should send me more pictures each week, since I'm so good at sending you guys pictures, I always enjoy seeing pictures.

I got  a haircut again, and I got a picture taken this time, wow! conference with Elder Christofferson this Thursday, gotta look good for an Apostol.

What else is know... not too much, yesterday we had a lesson with a catholic priest guy that wanted to fight with us, but we just let him go, If I could give one piece of advice to someone in the mission, it would be the advice that the Lord has given me in Doctrine and Covenants 29;7, the chosen will listen to your voice, so there is no need to fight, if they don't want to accept it, they are not chosen, and there are better things you can do with your time.

Well, I love you tons, keep on keepin' on, and keep it classy,

That's also great advice that I can give, keep it classy, all ya gotta do it keep things classy, and everything will be great.

From Guatemala, with love,

Elder Hopkinsito

Semana Perfecta

Baptism of Alex

Hey Familyyyyy

It was a good week. I could even say that it was a perfect week.....

This last week was the Semana Perfecta, or perfect week in the mission, and with the help of the Lord, we were able to reach and surpass all of the goals.

We did baptise A-. It was a good little service, on the Tuesday he expressed doubts to us, and it almost seemed as if he wasn’t going to be baptised, but we kept fighting, and he’s now baptised. And during all this time, D- changed his mind, and also his parents. Last week he told us that he didn’t want anything to do with the church anymore, but it’s looking like on the 19th we're going to baptise him. Also this Sunday at one o’clock, we are going to baptise the whole family G-, that will be 4 baptisms there. We’re doing good for this month, and for this goal. We already have 6 baptisms set for this month, but I’d like to find two more. I’m hoping that well get 8.

We found a really really positive family this week, the family G-, they came to church, and we’ve even started teaching them in the house of a member. They are really young, 23 years, and have 2 baby girls. A really nice couple. He works every second Sunday, so I don’t know if he’ll be able to be baptised this month, but hopefully he will be before I leave this area, which I’m calculating to be on the 20th of February.

Also, before I forget, if you could send me the mission addresses of Tyler Johnson, and Vickie Nelson. I swore I had them somewhere, but I don’t know where, and I have two cards already written for them, I just need to put their addresses on the envelope. Gracias!

Also this 17th of January we have a conference with Elder D. Todd Christofferson, and I might see my friend Tanner Steed’s little brother who is in the south mission.

Oh yes mom, don’t you worry, I’m excited to get back too and start work in the Calgary part of the vineyard.

Also I was thinking, if Christine Lyons is going to be on a mission, who is going to cut my hair? Uh oh.

Also I think me and my companion are going to start to go to the member owned gym early in the morning, I need to get into shape to. Get my beach body back for the good old beaches that don’t exist in Calgary.

Also I think we’re going to go to that Calgary couple’s house in Antigua, where they’re living, for P-day as a zone in a couple of weeks, so that’s kinda cool, it’s not certain yet though, but we’ll see.


For my birthday package, I don’t really need anything, just give me some pisto so I can buy things in Antigua. Ha ha.

Also, I still have no idea about how dad broke his hand, I’d like to know that one of these days.

Also yesterday I ate at Taco Bell, always great. I don’t know if Taco Bell just sucks in Canada, or if the Taco Bell here is just really good, but I love it Ha ha.

Tell everybody that I love them, Ricky too.

Well, there’s not too much new here in Guatemala, all is well.
From Guatemala, with Love,
Elder Hopkins

The people below us just bought a really cute baby boxer

Happy New Years - Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Thanks for the fake Santa stuff!

Constant Fireworks during the holidays

Like my magic fingers kids?  Thanks for the magic tricks mom!

Thanks for the J-Biebs t-shirt Madi!

January 1, 2013 – New Years Day!

feliz año nuevo!!
wow, you wrote it well.. ha.
Well, i hope you had a great new years, mine was alright, i was sleeping, but then i got woken up by all the dang fireworks at midnight but i just wanted to sleep ha. every night we arrive at the house so tired, but thats good, cuz if we weren't tired, we wouldn't be working hard enough.

Sounds like a good Christmas, sounds like Santa has been pretty good to all of you, that means you all must be on the nice list, which is comforting to know.

yeah, i know that band, will be a fun trip to see them in new york. i do enjoy alot of their music too, but tell madi i have no need for a shirt this time, I'm good with the Tswift and Jbeibs shirts that she's sent me haha.

The iphone 5 sounds out of this world, maybe there will be an iphone 6 when i get home that i can get haha. but I'm definitely going to feel like an old Grandpa when i get home with all this knew technology.

Thats cool that Vickie goes into the mtc this week, i thought that she was already in it, i forget what date she was leaving.
This week was alright, it looks like those two kids aren't going to be baptized this week, but while satan has been working with them, the Lord has been working with another, an 18 year old named “A”, we are planning on saturday for the baptsism, altough yesterday he expressed to us cold feet feelings, but we just gotta pray and work, and the Lord will provide the way.
The Family “G, one of my favorite families here, they are so PILAS! are going to be baptized on the 13th, the one boy get home this sunday from vacations, and we will have one week to finish preparing him.

This week is the Perfect week in the mission, and yesterday we had a good start, we had good lessons,

and found really positive investigators, we are very excited about that.

hmmm, what else is new... i got a haircut.. I'm eating Christmas candy and drinking hot chocolate continually, and I'm content.
although i realized that i have so little time in the mission left, like 4 months, i believe the hardest part of the mission, will be coming home.

last night i had a dream that i had emergency changes, and that i had to leave my area, and in my dream i was just bawling cuz i wasn't going to be there for the familia “G” baptisms.

I haven't cried once in the mission for reasons like these, but i think the first time that i really cry in the mission, will be the day that i have to leave.

not that you guys are that bad.... its going to be great to come home to you guys too!! haha,

and nobody told me about dads broken wrist! how did it happen.
I assumed skiing, but now that hes getting older I'm thinking that he just slipped on some ice on the sidewalk.
Let me know next week!
Love ya!
hope your wrist gets batter dad!

(I told him Dad emailed him but for some reason it didn't go through)

ok, yea, I only got the picture, but I like the picture i got sent of it, dads face in it, just the way that i know he would have reacted to the fact that he needs the cast made makes me laugh haha, I bet he said something like woopty doo or something similar.

but send me the email next week, my time is up..
Love you!

well, my time is short, and there are souls to save,
i best be off now.
From Guatemala, with Love,
Elder Hopkins

Christmas Eve

Me and my companion, and the worst Santa Clause I have never seen at a ward Christmas activity, but we brought investigators and they loved it!

My second companion, leaving to go home!

Another friend leaving to go home

A youth from our ward leaving for his mission on Wednesday

December 24, 2012

Hey familyyyyy.

Thats awesome that you got my package, I was hoping to hear that good news. I'm glad you liked your gifts, its an Elder Hopkins Personalized frame, you can put your favorite Elder Hopkins picture in there and it'll look great.

Also did that little Quetzal coin keychains get there for madi and Sam, i hope so.

it was really just some last minute gifts that i got together, cuz i haven't been to Antigua for a while, not until mid january will i go again.

So my Phone number is xxxx-xxxx, an i think the area code for Guatemala is 502, so dial 502-xxxx-xxxx. but you might want to look on the internet to figure that out, i don't remember from the last time you called, maybe you do. so yeah, call me tomorrow at 9 30 MY TIME, i think thats 8 30 your time

they never said that we can do test calls, but if you want to call to see, and just leave a message. i probably wont be home to answer anyways. tonight we are allowed to stay out until 12 45 tonight with members, but i think we're just going to be out till like 10 30, 11 00 ish, just to eat and hang out, and then come back to the house, cuz from our roof we have an awesome view of all the city, to watch all the fireworks from there.

Yea, those sisters were kidnapped, that was the scary thing of the week, and the kidnappers were calling other missionaries and stuff, i actually don't know too too much about it, but we were praying all day about it, all the missionaries in Guatemala, and i think central america too. Yeah that sister was in my district just a little bit ago, I was her district leader, she even gave me a lollipop the day before she was kidnapped. but thank goodness that they are safe now.

But yeah, I'm excited for the call tomorrow too, make a little of Questions that you want to do to me, will make the phone call a little more lively this time ha. 

I do plan on opening my Christmas presents tonight actually.

Were still working with these 2 youth, "D" and "M", their dad doesn't want to give them permission, but we're going to go there today to see what he says, the family "G" in as Pilas as always, we just gotta wait until their one son comes back to Chimaltenango so that they are baptized together, he'll either come the 28th, or the first week on January.

but I'm all good, and I hope you are too this Christmas holiday, Enjoy those Christmas cards, it says Stay classy, but the spanish version of saying it.

i also got a card from Tyler Johnson the other day, actually i got it the day that he entered into the mtc, cool.

Well, well talk tomorrow,

love you all, 

From Guatemala, with Love,

Elder Hopkins

Christmas Activity

Leaving for the temple at 2:30 a.m

At the temple, still dark out!

The great lunch afterward!

Getting his Christmas parcels

The other Elders that slept at our place 2 nights and traveled with us

Our Zone!

Baptism of Pablo

 

December 18, 2012

Hello familyyy.

all is well in Guatemala,

it wasn't day of the dead, but it was the burning of the devil day, which is what i think you meant. yes lots of devils burnt, i didnt have my camera, but i have pictures of it from last year, lots of firecrackers and fireworks and all that good stuff.

So this week we had a baptism, Pablo was baptized. it was a small but nice service, i ended up baptising him, thats what my companion wanted even though it was his first baptism, but yea it was good.

Tomorrow is changes, but im staying here with my companion, so there's no changes for me.

I talked to a guy named Jonathan Ruiz this week, funny, ive already talked with an Amanda Ruiz here as well ha.

Also we are teaching two people, from separate families, one is a young woman named Helaman, and the other is a young man named Nephi. neither are members, but with names like that they should be. were working on it.

So we had a great Christmas activity last week, got up super early, actually we had a sleep over with elder Tanner and elder Mcmillan in our house, got up at 2 30 the next morning, had a good time in the temple, them went to a chapel and ate great food, played sports, had a fireside by President and Sister Brough, and then ate more food, then got back to our house at 8 40 at night, had another sleepover, and then got back to work.

I actually got my Christmas packages already, but i haven't opened them yet, im going to wait till Christmas, great willpower hey?

also the Broughs gave each of us a mini spanish preach my gospel, so i no longer need one, thank you!

I have no idea what wrap thing your talking about, but maybe something called Baleadas, there actually from honduras, but yea, i donno ha.

Thats so nice of you sending packages off to some friends of mine, there should be a package arriving soon for you guys, i sent it a couple weeks ago, let me know when you get it.

oh also in the pictures you sent me there was a bunch of things referring to calgary as the yyc i think? is that the airport? i don't remember. who knows.

so our attendance lowered to 6 this week, but we hope to get it back up to 10 ish next week. we are still looking good for january, to meet our goals, we are having some problems with 2 youth that we are going to baptize real soon, their father doesn't want to give them permission, but we plan on bringing with the dvd of finding faith in christ for a christmas gift and know him a little better, and hopefully he'll change his mind,

so next week i will be writing on the monday, 24th, and i will give you my phone number then.

all is good in Guatemala, i still hold my record on never pooping my pants, although about an hour ago i came real close, luckily there was a gross bathroom on the side of the road that i could pay to use, as i couldn't have made in another block to the house haha. im sure you want to know that, but every other white missionary that I've talked to has pooped their pants.

your sons a trooper.

heres some pictures of the christmas activity, the baptism, and my district and my zone.

Love you all tons!!

write you and talk to you soon!

from guatemala, with love,

Elder Hopkinsito xoxo

This week: Most lessons taught, most people at church and most investigators found for my Area

A cold foggy night in Guatemala

December 10, 2012

hello family,

This week was great actually, we were able to teach the most amount of lesson that I have taught in the area, have the most people at church that I've had in this area, and reach my record for new investigators that I've found in this area.

We foud a really poor cowboyish family, the man buys and sells livestock. but they actually came to church on thier own after the first time that we visited them. actually, the day before we found their son in law, and taught him, and we asked him for a reference, then the next day we found a family fom the reference, and then we asked this family for a reference as well, and right after we found another family from this reference, and then we asked them for a reference as well, but the referene they gave us wasn't home, so we'll go try to find them another day.  It was just a great chain of references. It was great.

Also the Family "G", they are great, they're doing really good, they brought 2 friends to church on sunday, and they arent even baptized yet. awesome. They are not even members yet but their doing better missionary work than most of the members. We're going to baptize the 4 of them once her son gets back from Christmas vacations with his dad.

Pablo, is doing good, we are going to baptise and confirm him this weekend. He's already read the whole book of mormon, and reads it every night for a half hour. 

Diego and Melvin, 2 kids, are still coming to church, they've come like 4 times already, we're going to baptize them on the 30th, we want to take it slower with them, because thier parents don't come to church, and we want to make sure that they'll stay active.

This week I did some baptism interviews in a little town called Comalapa, out in the middle of nowhere. when you walk down the streets there, you dont hear spanish, you hear katchiquel. Spanish is just the second language. In one of the interviews, I had a translator present because the lady was more comfortable speaking katchiquel, but she only needed a few things translated. It was kinda cool. I love the native people.

Oh yeah, so I did get a suit made, a 3 piece suit, with a vest, I got it a little while ago, it has the guatemalas flag embroidered on the inside, its really cool, maybe one day I'll send a  picture of it haha. I want to get another one made, and put corte inside, the native cloth. its gonna be cool. 

So the pictures i sent are me and the other elders in the district out in this little town of Comalapa, at the chapel. Just me and a book of mormon, and one night it was really cold and foggy, so I got a cool picture of that.

Tomorrow is the Chistmas activity, we have to leave at 2:45 in the morning, yes, at 2:45, to be in the temple at like 5:30 6 ish, we live kinda far away haha. The elders from Comalapa, Elder Tanner,and Elder Mcmillan are going to sleep over at our house tonight, it should be fun. I did divisions with Elder Mcmillan on wednesday and we had a good time.

Thats so funny that Guatamala is only a little bit further than Halifax haha, even though Tyler is going to Halifax on his mission, and its in Canada,  he is going to a far away place haha. I  love that guy. I can't wait to reunite with him one day.

I did get that preach my gospel in the mail, thank you for it, i appreciate it, the only this is.... that I dont ever study anything in english anymore haha. in fact I left my big english preach my gospel in some old area cuz i never used it haha. but thank you for the thought.

I really don't need any thing in the mail right now, i think I'm all good. I satisfy my hunger cravings with tortillas beans and eggs, or platano frito now. and I'm all good with everything else, just save your money and give it to me to buy cool things in Antigua or Panajachel for you.

yeah, the buses are pretty crazy here, i think the mixture of  the stuffiness, and occasional very bad smelling guatemalan, with the sharp fast turns, and starts and stops, get me feeling sick every once and a while, other times I'm perfectly fine. Maybe when you're down here we'll get on a bus so you can experience it haha.

So the Christmas call will be on the 25th, I will write you with the phone number on the 24th, thats what I've  been told to do. So i was thinkining that 9:30 am my time will be perfect, now I'm pretty sure theres a time difference be like and hour so we'll have to be sure with that. right now its 10 00 am here.

and wow i just got the picture of tyler and lincoln, (I sent a picture in my email to him) wow there are so HANDSOME! girls, you better be writting them while they're out in the field cuz you don't want boys like that to forget about you.

well, i think thats just about it for this week, next week i should be back to the regular schedule of writing on tuesdays.

stay classy canada.

From Guatemala, with love,

Elder Hopkins

A chapel in Comalapa