Week 68--A Great 1st Week In The New Area

So, I think I may have mentioned before that I am part of a Missionary Mamma's Facebook group. It is basically a support group for parents who have sons and daughters currently serving missions. It has been a good resource for me and I have appreciated being a part of it. Well, on Saturday night (November 26th) I was scrolling through Facebook and found this picture that had been posted to that page by a member in Connor's new area that had just fed the Elders dinner. I was so happy!! This is Connor with his new companion, Elder Lopiano. His email this week was so positive--he is enjoying his companion and his new area. That makes me just as happy as the picture did.

Elder Hopkin and Elder Lopiano

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Hi Mom!!!!!


So, first update: our zone has a lot of missionaries and not lots of computers, so I have less time than normal! Yay! I might get extra later though! So I just wanted to let you know :) I hope that wasn't a bad way to start :)

I'm loving this transfer already!! It's been so great so far! At first I had what Elder Griffin called "Assistant withdrawals", where I missed President and Sister Palmer and knowing the whole mission, and my nice house and great companions. But I got over it pretty quickly, and I'm seeing how much of a blessing this transfer will be. My companion is fantastic! We get along super well! He has given me so many meaningful compliments, and I've watched him do the kindest things for homeless people around here, and I've learned a lot from him. And he says he's learning from me, which is good! :) Crazy fact: one day, he asked to see a picture of Katy, and I showed him and he said "Dang she's familiar...how do I know her?... When was she in the MTC?" He met her in the MTC! If you have a couple seconds to tell her that she hung out in the MTC with my current companion, I think she'd like that :) Anyways, he's super hard working and a good teacher, and it's been great so far! This ward is so solid too. There's another set of missionaries in the ward - sisters - that have a lot of investigators, and some with a baptismal date. They've been a huge help as we've transitioned into the ward. The Bishop is very helpful - he used to be a mission president. We have a few investigators from the last elders that were here, and we set a baptismal date with one of them on Saturday! We've talked to a ton of people that seem interested. So yah! On Sunday all four of us in the ward gave talks on the missionary lessons, and I talked about the commandments. I went after Elder Lopiano, and he's a super good public speaker, so I think mine was a bit boring in comparison...but I got through it :) So, things aren't perfect always, but things are going super good so far!

Hm... I can't really think of much else. Oh, the Fraze's are in my ward, and they're having us over for Christmas, so I'll be skyping home from their place again. Ah it's getting so close, I'm so excited! :) I can't wait to see you all! I'm enjoying all the Christmas lights around :) Downtown Modesto is in our area, and we've walked around a couple times at night, and yesterday there was no one on the streets, and it was kinda chilly and just really peaceful. Modesto isn't the most gorgeous place ever, but I love it so much! Last night we talked to a homeless guy with a sweet dog, and he was super nice to us. Then this taxi driver pulled up, ran up and gave him 5 bucks, and took off. It was pretty cool! Oh yah, the place we live is right behind the place that two other elders live.... Elder Griffin and Elder Carling! So we've had some (appropriate) parties the last week :) We got fed great on Thursday, then had another Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday, so we're taken care of! I did miss you though!

I guess I had a little more to say, huh? :)  Hey thanks for the quotes! Those were awesome! Is that one from Katy, or another friend? Sorry, I didn't catch the clues :) And that's so cool that Makaeli got her patriarchal blessing! That has been a help to me on my mission, for sure! Thanks for all the updates, I wish I could respond to all of them! But I'm glad things are going well at home!

Well, I love you so much! Thank you so much for all you do for me! I'm looking forward to next week's updates :) I love you!!!! Thank you for everything!!! I miss you!

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

This is me and Elder Lopiano and Pablo! He's Elder Griffin and Elder Carling's pet - he's also a cactus! They've tamed him pretty well... you can pet him if you're careful, but he bites sometimes! :) They love him, but we're not the biggest fan. We'll get to know him pretty well this transfer.