Week 103--This Is It...Last One...24 Months Served!!

Well, the day that I never thought would come has, at last, come. It is Connor's last P-Day in the mission field and the last email I will ever receive from him as a missionary. He comes home in two days. I am not really sure what to think or what to expect. I can say these last few weeks, and especially the last few days, have gone VERY SLOWLY for me. And, I am certainly so, so excited to finally see him and have him home. Those things I know for sure. Another change is about to take place and I don't know how things will be or how he will react to it, but we are going to face it head on--with lots of gratitude for the experiences he has had as a full-time missionary and with lots of faith and hope for his future experiences as a returned missionary. Here is his last letter--yep, his LAST letter:




Well...... Hi Mom!!!! :)

Thank you for your email and the updates! That schedule sounds perfect :) Thank you!!!

Ah... So basically sometimes I'm SO happy and sometimes SO sad! Whichever I choose, is what I feel! Mostly I just don't really even know what to think or do or feel....it's surreal, like you said :) I'm just trying to focus on how happy I am to see everyone!

So, it was a pretty amazing week.... We had a BAPTISM!!! :) Her name is Melika. I'll send you pictures soon! She was so excited for so long for it, and cried when she shared her testimony after the baptism. She said, "I've been needing this change" and talked about how she's going to follow God and keep His commandments. SO GOOD! :) I got to confirm her yesterday, which was another huge blessing. I was so nervous, but once it was time, I felt so calm. It was such a good journey with her, and we got close to some members during the whole process (some that are moving to Idaho in just a week) :) It's pretty crazy - the day we met her, we had talked to a lot of pretty rude people, and almost passed her up cause we didn't want another bad talk. But, we decided to cross the street and go talk to her... and she was SO prepared!

Also, I got a nice joyride in a sweet Mustang and got to sit in a Corvette... literally my dream car. Pictures coming soon :) We were on exchanges at the time, which was also a fun part of the week! This week went SO fast!!!

So, Elder Hong is staying here with Elder Powell (who was our district leader this transfer!). It should be good! They'll be great for the ward! Our schedule the next couple days will be lots of fun. Tomorrow we head to Modesto and proselyte downtown for a little bit (my old area!!!), then have dinner and a testimony meeting at President's house. All the elders will go sleep at the assistants' house, and we fly the next morning! :) I'm excited! All the elders, of course, that I came out with will be there - Elders Feltman, Grover, Elliott, Anderson, etc. And a couple really cool sisters! It's looking like it will be 14 missionaries coming home, and a lot probably have their final destination in Salt Lake!

Here's a good story from the week! There's a lady that walks the same road we live on pretty frequently; there have been a couple times when we've passed her but felt prompted to go back and talk to her, and have had a couple good conversations. Anyways, on Friday my tire got a slow leak and was unfixable, so we got a new tube and I fixed it. We left the apartment from that around 8:20. We were going to go left but felt like we should go right. And about 15 seconds later, I got a flat in the brand new tube!!! I was so annoyed and frustrated! So we dropped off the bike at the apartment and decided to just walk the last half hour. We were talking about how maybe it wasn't just a coincidence when we ran into that same lady! She saw us and laughed and said, "OK! This is the 3rd time! God wants me to go to church!" :) We had a good talk with her, and hopefully more will come!

Kenny says hi :)

Ah, the biggest things I've learned? It's so hard to put it into specific thoughts and words! :) In district meeting, Elder Hacking last transfer asked me to share the same thing, so I got a couple thoughts at least. I would say one of them is that we can choose so much more than we think. We can choose to be happy despite our circumstances. We can choose to love people even if it's hard. When we purposefully look at the positive, we can find happiness even when we may have trials. I found this quote that I LOVED on Saturday in a restaurant, and it said, "Success is getting what we want; Happiness is wanting what we get." I feel that sums it all up pretty well :) Another thing is how important it is to follow the Spirit. Sometimes we get promptings that don't even make sense, but we need to trust it's right and from God. I've found that instead of wondering if something is the Spirit or my own thought, I'll just do it anyways (unless it's bad :) ) and even if 50% of them are just my own thoughts, at least I responded to the 50% that was the Spirit! I've seen miracles come from responding to random promptings. Another: I'm really glad that my sacrament talk is about sacrifice, because I've come to LOVE the scripture in Matthew (16?) where Christ says that those that lose their lives for His sake will find it. We need to pay the price, no matter how hard, to do God's will, and He will bless us more than anything we can give! Also, I've learned more about how much God loves us. We are His greatest creation, and EVERYTHING He does (and everything we should do) is centered around His children and their eternal happiness. Lastly, I've come to just appreciate the Savior's Atonement more and more. I've felt His love in my life SO many times! He's given me peace when things are hard, and I've felt His forgiveness for mistakes, and He gives me so much hope! That's just a few things, but they're the first that come to mind :) Sorry if that was too long!

Ah, I gotta go, but I'm excited to talk your ear off in a couple days :) As I said, I'm so excited for those plans! Perfect! :) Thank you for your thoughts and quotes and all your help and love! :) I'll try to send pictures soon! I love you SO much and I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU SOON!!!!!! :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

I got a final picture from Sister Palmer on Tuesday night of all the Elders and Sisters returning home with Connor.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

California Modesto Returning Missionaries

Week 102...and counting...(for one more week, at least)!

It is crazy to think that I will write only one more email to Connor next Monday and then I will get to see him and hug him two short (although they seem very long) days later. This is his second to last email. Sounds like he had a good week, which is nice to hear. You hope they can finish strong and on a positive note. This coming Monday we will get his final email telling us all about his last week in the mission field. And that he will pack his bags, go to the mission home for a final dinner and board a plane for home. There are a lot of emotions going on here: excitement, sadness; I hate to use the word "fear", but fear of the unknown. I am sure he feels them even more. Change is coming....


Hi Mom!!!! :)

Haha I don't even know what to say! I'm looking forward to both this week and next! :)

The week went really well! Last week was pretty stressful, but this one was tons better, so I'm happy! :) We had some great lessons with our investigators, and a couple came to church, and we found a new investigator that is so solid! He's part Native American, so I realized we were literally fulfilling Book of Mormon prophecy of Lehi's descendants receiving the gospel - pretty cool :) We taught him about the Book of Mormon, and before we even invited him to read it, he said, "Cool, I'll start reading this!" Then at the end of the lesson, before we had set another appointment, he said, "So... you're coming back, right?" We assured him we would :) We had interviews with President and Sister Palmer, as a companionship - that was different, but good! We had a couple of lessons, too, with less active members, and we had some great conversations with people along the way... and others that weren't so great :)

I'm planning on sending a box home with some books and stuff today. Hopefully that will get rid of enough weight! I also got myself a cheap carry-on, which should help! That's SO fun Robert got a room so close - that will make the semester that much better :) I'm pretty excited for my phone... is that bad? :) And it seems like Morgan has had a great time in Ghana - she sounds pretty grown up!! Let Ashley and Kyle know they're in my prayers please! That's exciting they get the boys home! Good luck with your classes! Someone at dinner asked what my mom does, and I mentioned that you teach exercise classes (amongst many other things) and they were quite impressed :)

I like how you said each line of that hymn could be a talk... that made me look deeper into the words, and there really is so much there!! I wonder how many other hymns/scriptures/etc are like that :) Thanks for the reminder; that has become one of my favorite hymns as well! And I do love that quote from Elder Holland! So cool! I've had a couple investigators that bring up the Second Coming, and it's cool to be able to tell them that THIS Church is preparing us for His coming....and it will NEVER die away until then (and even after). That quote is very hopeful :)

Haha I can't WAIT for story time!! I feel like nobody will be able to get me to shut up! Elder Hong and I are constantly telling each other stories, and I've realized how many cool/funny/weird/crazy stories I have from the last 2 years :)

So I have a thought from a couple nights ago but don't know if I can put in in words... but I'll try :) I was biking along and something just made me think about how much sin there is in this world. I myself, a member of the Church that knows the commandments and has covenanted and is striving to follow them, make SO many mistakes every day! Then multiply that by the 365 days per year, and hopefully again by 80 years or so. Then by the billions of lives on the earth at this moment, and again by all the lives that have ever lived on this earth... and again for the other worlds that are home to God's children. That's a LOT of mistakes! (I will add, though, lots of good deeds too :) ). Then I thought of the Savior taking every single one of those upon Himself in one night. I don't even understand a fraction of how much sin and how much suffering He went through as He performed the Atonement. Yet He did it ALL out of love for us and His Father. None of us could achieve exaltation without Him doing that for us. And still, somehow, we choose to mess up, to break commandments. We choose to not share this message with others so they can start to bring that infinite sacrifice into their lives. Some people even purposefully reject it. Sorry, I realized this is kind of sad... :) But, it just put it all a little more in perspective for me. It is so important that I show Him that I love Him and appreciate His Atonement by keeping His commandments and sharing His gospel with those around me. How else could His Atonement be worth it? It reminds me of Mosiah 2:21-22: "...if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments..." It made me feel SO grateful for His love and the sacrifice He made for me and others. Again, sorry if that was intense... :)

I think that's all for today! Thank you SO much for your email and everything you do!!! Thanks for all the hard work and preparation for the coming weeks... that has reduced my stress by at least 70% :) I love you so much, and I hope your week is wonderful! Until next week :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

Week 101--Dating and Marriage...WHAT?

Hi Mom!!!!! :)

Haha so... I don't have much time left... I just did the Dating and Marriage section of My Plan :) This week went ok! Ups and downs! I'm a little stressed about a couple things, but I'm feeling ok overall! :) We committed another investigator to a baptismal date, which was really exciting! She's been really consistent about coming to church, which is rare and amazing. A couple others that had dates fell off, which was too bad, but we'll keep working with them! Things are going great with Elder Hong, which is a big blessing. Yes, he's super funny; kinda that purposefully awkward and uncomfortable funny that everyone loves :)

That's fun you got Bryn's room painted!! Good luck with the rest :) That's so good to hear that Grandma and Porter and Lucas are doing well!! Haha I'm with you on the prayer... sometimes I'll have a goal to just say gratitude for part or all of my prayer... and no matter what, a request or blessing comes up without me even meaning to! I'm glad He understands and loves us no matter what! :)

Haha that's a fun excerpt from Morgan! She's funny :) Those elders are all over her, huh?? Punks.. they need to focus :)

We had a great district meeting this week - ah my district leaders are so great!! One is from the Philippines and is one of the smartest people I've ever met! His companion was telling me that they were street contacting, and this guy was bashing them, and my district leader said, "If I can find a scripture in the Bible that says there was a prophet after Jesus, will you believe us?" Then he whipped out Acts 11:27-28...what the heck? :) The other one is great as well - has had some trials in his life but is still so happy and faithful all the time!

I'm trying to think of good stories from the week... none that I should share at the moment, cause they could have some confidential stuff... but we've had a couple funny experiences :) Always makes life good!

Thank you for the pictures of my buddies! :) I'm so excited to ball with Robert and Michael!! I hope Rob can get into my building, that would be fun! I got a box to ship stuff home, but decided to get a carry-on too... I think I'm way overweight (luggage and body ;) ) Hopefully it will all work out!

I have such a testimony of the refreshing and strength that can come from prayer! I remember at the beginning of my mission, when it was hardest, I just couldn't wait for the end of the day to talk to that One person that knows me and actually understands and loves me perfectly. And I've seen so many times at the end of a hard hour or day or week, that as I sincerely pray, He is there to help us through it!

Sorry this is kinda rushed, but I love you SO much! I'm SO excited for...whatever is coming up.... in a year or so, right? ;) Thanks again for all your love and help and support and love! Thanks for setting so many things in order for me... that's such a weight off my shoulders! I'm so grateful for you! :) I love you!!!! I hope you have a great week!!!

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

Week 100--That's Right--ONE HUNDRED! 23 Months Served! One More Month!

Well, we've reached 100 weeks. That is a lot of weeks. Just a few more to go. Connor has now served 23 months and with this passing week, we are under a month before he comes home. It is getting exciting around here! Shon received a letter from the Mission Home this week. It was addressed to the Bishop, but I read it too and thought it was so nice that I would share it here. I am sure they send similar, maybe identical, letters to each Bishop, but it felt personal to me and made me a little emotional as I read it.

(It's not super easy to read being enlarged and all, so I retyped it out below.)

Dear Bishop Hopkin:

Elder Hopkin, a member of your ward, will soon return home after completing an honorable mission for the Church. He has faithfully served the people with distinction and dedication. Those whose lives he has touched will long remember his service here.

Elder Hopkin has been a Senior Companion, Trainer, District Leader, Zone Leader and an Assistant to the President. He has served with all his heart, might, mind and strength. Your efforts in welcoming Elder Hopkin and encouraging him to remain temple worthy are most appropriate and will be greatly appreciated. He will benefit from your counsel and help as he adjust to life at home.

Please accept my personal thanks for the service given by Elder Hopkin in this mission. He has been a dedicated, faithful, hardworking missionary for whom we will always have great respect and heartfelt affection. Please convey our deepest love and gratitude for all he has and will continue to do to bless others throughout his life.

Sincerely, 

President Brent A. Palmer

California Modesto Mission

We also received a letter addressed to us--as his parents. This is that letter:

Dear Brother and Sister Hopkin:

As Elder Hopkin completes his mission, we wanted to personally thank you for sending us such a wonderful missionary.

Sister Palmer and I have not only been greatly pleased with his willingness to accept the call to come to the newly created California Modesto mission, but are also very impressed by his wonderful work while serving as a full-time representative of the Savior.

We will always have a great respect and affection for your son and hope you will convey our love to him again and again.

Kindest regards, 

President Brent A. Palmer

California Modest Mission

On Sunday we got one of those awesome picture texts of Connor from a ward member. This is probably one of my favorite pictures from the whole mission. He looks so happy, so mature and so missionary-like. I love it so much!! And, I don't even know who it was that sent it. I am grateful to them, though....

"Look who we had for dinner."

Elder Hopkin

July 9, 2017

And, finally, here is Connor's letter for the week. The 100th email he has sent to me:

Hi Mom!!! :)

100 weeks!! That's over 700 days... I'm finally down to 3 weekly planning sessions left. I've been waiting for 2 years to not have to do weekly planning anymore :)

I'm so glad EFY was such a success! I hardly recognized any of those kids - that freaked me out! :) A girl from the session actually emailed me - Mirka Sansores. Do you know anything about that? :) She said she loved you and Dad, and that her testimony was strengthened so much, especially of the Atonement. Thanks for the updates on Makaeli and Bryn - it sounds like they've grown a lot. A lot of missionaries here have family members that they worry so much about - siblings being dumb, parents being less active, etc. I've noticed how huge of a blessing it is for me that I don't have to worry about any of my family - you're all so good! :) That'll be really fun to bear testimonies with Ethan and Bryn! I hope the upcoming projects and activities go well!

Thank you so much for what you said about coming home! I just did the Self-Reliance part of MyPlan, and it calmed me down a little... and also scared me a ton :) That's a good reminder that even when I had to make hard adjustments in the past, I always got through them alright, especially relying on God. And thank you for being there to support and help me! It's a huge relief that I'll be able to lean on you and Dad for counsel and support.

This week went well! It flew pretty quick :) We had a great zone conference on Tuesday that reminded us of some "areas of focus" that we as a mission are trying to improve so as to better fulfill our purpose. I got to play the piano, which is always a blessing. And, near the end, President invited me and Elder Grover to share our testimonies on the Savior. That was so scary :) It was really good for me though - it sparked a lot of thought! I was able to see so many missionary friends that I've been missing! I'll send some pictures soon :) We also had a couple of great lessons with our investigators. I have a good story for you :) For one of the lessons, we were going to simply focus on the principle of repentance. I said the opening prayer. Now, I know this is bad, but during the prayer, I was half-thinking about the coming lesson... not what I was saying. As I was kind of thinking about the prayer, I was also thinking, "Ok, we're going to teach repentance.... we're going to invite her to start repenting" etc. So, I may or may not have ended the prayer saying, "...please allow the Spirit to be here. In the name of Jesus Christ, repent!......amen!" I played it off decently though :)

I love that quote you sent!!! I like the part about doing the important things without fanfare... kinda reminds me of President Uchtdorf's talk in priesthood session last conference!

As far as phones go, I'm thinking to just go with the Samsung 7. Gray would be cool if that's available! Thank you so much for working on that for me! 2 weeks would have been long without a phone :) And THANK YOU for paying for half and the monthly plan for now - that's SO helpful!!! I'll probably be hopping on email again in a couple hours, so I'll think about it till then. But if I don't change my mind, or forget to email, just go for the Samsung 7 please :)

Thank you for the long email!! I love seeing those :) Thank you so much for all you're doing and have done for me! I love you so much!! I'll send some pictures in a bit :) You're such a blessing! :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

And, a few pictures:

"Elder Stock!!!" :)

"Elder Hong (and his ice cream), 

Me, Elder Lee, Elder Stock, Elder Morley"

"Tall Elder Mutchie" :)

"Gotta have appropriate distance! :) Sister Bird (she was in my district the whole 6 months I was in 6th ward. One of my best friends here!), Sister Webb (Probably the best missionary in this mission... she goes home with me), and Sister Shafer (I don't know her super well... but she's way cool)" :) 

Week 99

Hi Mom!!! :)

This week was super good! Ugh it dragged for some reason though.... I feel like the last 2 weeks have been 4 or 5! That doesn't mean it was a bad week though :)

We're having a little concern with a couple investigators, but some really good progress with a couple others! The SAME lady told us again she wasn't coming to church, and CAME! :) She's so funny and SO solid! We've had some great lessons with members of the ward too, which has been wonderful! I feel like there were some good stories this week, but I can't remember any very well! I got to go on exchanges with one of my district leaders, Elder Powell - it was lots of fun! He's a super good missionary! Our district meeting this week was focused on gratitude, and Elder Hong and I led a training on how gratitude is an essential part of humility. In Preach My Gospel, it says that humility is accepting the Lord's will and giving Him the honor for what is accomplished. Obviously, gratitude shows that we're giving the Lord credit for any good in our life; I also thought that it shows that we accept His will of what blessings He will give us, rather than imposing or demanding our will on Him of what we want. I love how the Church says that the temple garment is an outward sign of our inner commitment to God, and I had the thought that gratitude is our outward sign of an inner humility to God. Hope that made sense :)

Aw that looks so fun in Texas!! That reminds me of going down a couple years ago to visit Brian - we went around to the old schools, and the church, and our old house. It's so weird to see all that again! I'm so glad you got to see everyone and spend some time! So many good people :) Thanks for the missionary updates! Good stuff! That'll be fun to see Truman!

Thanks for the advice on all my junk :) I got my letter a few days ago that gave me my to-do list before I go. It had the schedule for our last couple days and everything. They're TRYING to make me trunky, I swear! Haha I made a goal on Saturday to NOT talk about home at all... and I made it! And I tried again yesterday but slipped a couple times. Today I decided it just wasn't going to happen, so I'll recommit tomorrow :)

Someone in our ward yesterday gave a super insightful testimony! She talked about that story of the foolish young man and his creditor - he received a loan for his farm, but wasted time and didn't have the money when it was due, and the creditor came to take him to jail - but the Mediator stepped in. He became the new Creditor, with more merciful conditions. Our member said that she usually things of herself as the foolish young man, the one that needs the Mediator to become her new Creditor and give her mercy. But, she put herself in the position of the old creditor. Sometimes, she said, people have wronged us and justice is due. But the Savior paid the price for those sins too - not just ours. Do we accept Christ as the Creditor for those that have injured us? She said that when we don't forgive others, we make light of the Savior's atonement because we don't accept His payment of their sins. I thought that was such an incredible thought!

I did realize that was my last fast Sunday as a missionary! I made sure to have a good fast :)

Thank you for your support, and what you said at the end. I feel pretty nervous, just wanting to do everything right back home. So thanks for the reminders; I needed that :) I love you so much! Thank you for everything!! :) Good luck at EFY!!! :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

Week 98

So, this came. Final travel itinerary. A little change in arrival time, but not enough to make much of a difference. Just glad they didn't push it back by hours or days. 

Hi Mom!!!!! :)

I hope I can make sense today... My mind isn't working too well :)

First of all, I really loved your thoughts! Whenever I see a paragraph that long I get excited :) That's a cool/funny experience and lesson from camping! I'm proud of you for being willing to do it anyways - I know it's not your favorite pastime :) What you said about how the anticipation is usually much worse than the actual circumstance, was very timely for me. I'm getting pretty nervous for life, but it's good for me to remember that things work out, and probably won't be as bad as my mind likes to expect :) I love that quote too! And the fact that you're still learning things helps me see that I don't need to be perfect when I get home - that I'll keep learning even into my late 30's like you ;) So thanks for the philosophy!

This week was so great!!! We had several lessons with several different investigators, and two of them accepted a baptismal date! Two others came to church yesterday and really liked it and made some good friendships with the ward. I had an experience that I've never had before :) One of our investigators had committed pretty solidly to come to church but didn't show up, so we texted to see if she could still make it, and all she said was "No." We were a little disappointed and texted back but she didn't respond. Then, about 10 minutes later, I looked over my shoulder and could swear I saw her walking into the hall... then we got a text that said "Hey I'm here I was kidding". What the heck?! We got played hard! :) Made our day though! On Saturday we had our zone breakfast, and it was fun to see everyone! Yesterday, we got to attend the Melchizedek ordination for a young man that we've gotten pretty close to. He's been waiting for his mission call for a few weeks now, and his parents played a good surprise on him :) They had gotten his call in the mail but didn't tell him. They had been out of town for his birthday, so they threw a little surprise birthday party and invited some missionaries and members. Then, the first present they gave him after we sang happy birthday... was his mission call! He was so excited and ticked off :)

That's crazy Robert is coming home!!! Dang! I would guess that Michael leaves next Wednesday but I'm not positive. That's fun you saw Anna! She has sent me letters and packages from time to time, so if you see her again, please tell her thank you and hi for me! That's pretty amazing that the two boys are doing so well; that makes me really happy to hear that!

Thanks for the updates on Makaeli, Bryn, and Ethan! I think 2nd place is still pretty darn good! Maybe tell him my basketball city league got 2nd place in our tournament for the last time I ever played ;) I hope your week at EFY goes great, and that it isn't too terribly busy!

Quick question: I'm 90% sure my luggage is going to be too heavy with all my books and random stuff. I think the only two solutions are to buy a carry-on bag for my books, or to ship some books home... do you have any idea which would be cheaper? A post office is available, but not convenient, so I only want to go if I'm sure I'll send stuff from there. Some missionaries have said it would probably cost 10-20 bucks with Priority Mail. I found a carry-on at Wal-Mart for 15 that I can buy next week or something. Any ideas? :)

I did some My Plan today (AH!), and I loved the overall theme for the day: Your life will work out better if you give it to God. That's something I've been learning, and hope to now apply, on my mission. I've seen that putting God's will over our own by following the Spirit and keeping the commandments brings joy and happiness and success. Just like Jesus said, if we lose our lives for His sake, we will find them. I love that thought, and I hope I can put it into action :)

Anyways, I love you SO much! Thank you for your email and for everything you do for me!!! I can't wait to see you... but not for a while right...? :) Elder Liddell and Hacking kept telling me I have 18 months left... I think that's pretty smart to try for me - but not for you :) I hope you have a wonderful week and please always remember how much I love and appreciate you! :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

"Got these from my last district leader :) This was our last Monday before he and Elder Liddell left."

"Our zone for this transfer." :)

Hi Dad!!! :)

It was a great week! I told Mom about it, but two investigators accepted a baptismal date, and another two came to church; and we had some great lessons with less active members. We're being really blessed to see some success in this area - it's been a good way to spend my last couple transfers :)

So, how long after I get home does school start? I totally forgot to mention this, but Elder Bancroft (the one you met at scout camp) is getting married on Sept 4 and invited me and Elder Grover :) That won't interfere at all, will it? I'm starting to worry about all the stuff I need to get done between getting home and starting school. I probably shouldn't worry toooo much about it, but I'm getting pretty nervous. I just have this huge desire and expectation to be perfect... and I'm scared not about if I'll fail at that (I know that's inevitable), but how bad I'll fail at that :) Anyways! I'm really grateful too that I'll be so close to Makaeli and the rest of you!

Haha I really like that about what Jesus says :) That makes sense - I'll need to look back at that prayer! We had a pretty good basher pull over and start talking to us yesterday :) He drove past and yelled "Hey guys, Isaiah 43:10", so I pulled it out when he was out of sight, and he flipped around and started to talk to us. He brought up the classics: There's only one God, and works do not save us. We did a pretty good job I think - gave some reasoning and perspective that he only listened to so that he could refute it, and bore our testimonies and kept pretty cool. I looked up some scriptures this morning though, and next time someone yells that scripture at me, I'm going to yell back "Psalm 82:6!" :)

I hope you have lots of fun in Texas, and that EFY is a little less busy this week! :) Thank you for your email and for all of your help, love, and support! I love you so much, and I'm excited to see you soon! :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

Week 97

Hi Mom!!! :)

Yep, no changes this transfer! I'll finish my mission with Elder Hong in Don Avenue! :) I'm excited for the next 6 weeks! I felt really good last night as I prayed about the transfer call, so I think there will be some great experiences ahead. Our district leader, Elder Hacking, is leaving to be a zone leader in Modesto; I'm going to miss him, but he's going to do a great job! The week went pretty well! We taught a few different lessons, which went really well, and we've been able to have members of the ward participate more, which has been great as well! This ward is continuing to be so wonderful! A man in the ward gave us some really nice compliments yesterday, and a woman dropped off a TON of food for us; afterwards, she took us to a restaurant to buy us food, and a random guy in line pitched in $20 bucks and said missionaries do good work :) Lots of nice people around!

That's so crazy Estevan is home! I remember seeing him in the MTC almost 2 years ago. He's such a good guy! I was thinking about him the other day, so I'm glad to hear everything went well for him. Maybe I'll get to skip out on a "homecoming" talk...? :)

I'm glad things went so well for EFY!! I think Dad's probably the best person possible to have to deal with situations like that :) That's WAY cool Ethan gets to go with you in Texas!! Lucky punk! He'll be ecorting older women everywhere... :) I hope this next one goes as well for you and is a little less stressful!

I love that quote from D&C 128!! And I'll definitely be sure to sing Called to Serve as I'm biking around... good idea :) You played in sacrament meeting??! That's so cool!! I still remember, literally 12 years ago at least, you playing "Away in a Manger" for us :) Fun times!

I think my waist is around a 34 right now - kinda depends on the pants. I have one pair of 34 that's perfect, and another that are way baggy :) And my shoe size is still right around 10 1/2. No specific requests! Thank you so much!! I've been thinking about having to get clothes... and getting a little nervous. So that'll be nice to have a little bit to start me off :)

Yesterday, I was reminded just how special and powerful the sacrament is. I think we become a little acclimated and used to it, but it really is a true ordinance performed by God's authority and power. His power is more able to flow into our lives as we participate in the sacrament. I studied a little bit about it and was reminded that it is an opportunity to reflect on our willingness to keep the covenants that we made with Heavenly Father - to keep His commandments, to remember our Savior, to act as He would, and to serve others. As we do that, and recommit to living those promises more fully, the Spirit can cleanse us and help us feel God's forgiveness for our mistakes and sins. I'm very grateful that His priesthood has been restored again to allow those blessings in our lives.

I love you so much!!! Thank you for all you do to bless and help me! I NEVER doubt if you love or care about me - ever :) Thank you for all your help on my mission as well - your support and love have meant so much. I hope your week goes well!! :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)


We gave Connor a gift card to Panda Express for his birthday--FANCY, I know. Anyway, looks like he went and got more than just food. We'll see how quick he is to test out his fortune when he gets home. 

"​Panda knows what's up!" :)

Hey Dad!!

Thank you for setting me up for classes!! That'll be really fun to have classes with Makaeli! I really appreciate it! That'll be nice to have some mentors as well. And thanks for not sending the schedule... I was kinda excited to see my classes, but on second thought, that was smart to not send it :) I'm so nervous for school, but kind of excited in a weird way.

Thanks for the thoughts on the "exceptions"! I like the analogy to physics and science, and I really like the perspective of just accepting that we have limited knowledge and understanding! I had also thought about the Nephites praying to Jesus - is that just along the same lines as the ones we already talked about? And I just read about Abinadi popping up :)

Mom said you had an interesting time at EFY :) She said it was great but really busy. You had some discipline to take care of, and lots of extra lessons to give? That's pretty impressive :) I hope the next one is a little less hectic - it sounds like it'll be lots of fun seeing all the Pflugerville crew!

Thank you for everything you do for me! I love you so much! I hope you had a great Father's day and I hope your birthday is lots of fun too!

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

Elder Hopkin June 13, 2017

We got this picture in a text from a member in Connor's area. He was impressed by Connor's use of the hot sauce. We taught him well. :)

Week 96

Hi Mom!!!! :)

We had a great week! We've been blessed to start teaching several people, which I've really enjoyed! One of the people we were teaching ended up moving this last week, which was too bad, but I'm glad we got a little bit of time to hopefully make a little difference for him. I had the wonderful opportunity and privilege to speak in sacrament meeting yesterday.... I thought by the end of my mission I wouldn't still be that nervous to speak.... guess not :) We had interviews with President and Sister Palmer as well, which was amazing as always! Today I got on my email and I had received one from Salt Lake, reminding me to start My Plan next week - that's the program for the last 6 weeks that helps us prepare for coming home. So.... :)

I'm glad you got safely to Flagstaff! Is the city Eagar anywhere near Flagstaff? It's really small, but I'm sure it would be on gps - that's where Elder Eagar is from :) I hope you really enjoy the week!! You'll be a huge influence for those youth! I'm still planning on Spin classes :) I'm not so sure if I'll attend Pilates... but if you ask really nice I might come ;) That would be so fun to have a class with Makaeli!! We can be each other's wing man/woman. I don't know if she'd want me in that position though... :) Is there any chance of us having other classes together, or is that the only possibility? I'm glad everyone's staying nice and busy this summer! Tell Ethan good luck in his games for me!!

So I figured I'd just send a couple thoughts from my talk yesterday; it was on the topic of faith applied to missionary work. I focused on the importance of action as a result of faith, basing it from the sentence in Preach My Gospel that says, "Your faith to find people to teach is demonstrated through your actions". I'm sure there are many others, but I talked about 4 ways we can act in faith in order to accomplish missionary work. 1) Personally live the gospel of Christ. As we faithfully live it, we will see its blessings in our lives and will be able to bear more sincere and powerful testimony through our strengthened faith. 2) Pray in faith. Prayer is the way we secure for ourselves blessings that God is willing to grant, but that He makes conditional on our asking for them (BD - Prayer). If we have faith that He loves us, that He answers prayers, and that He wants us to share the gospel, we can pray in faith that He will provide opportunities for us to share the gospel. 3) Follow the promptings of the Spirit. Just like Elder Rasband taught, we should respond to the first prompting. On my mission, responding to spiritual promptings hasn't always brought obvious results, but I've seen enough miracles from doing so that it's worth it to respond to every prompting. 4) As we've lived the gospel, prayed for opportunities, and followed the Spirit, we will have opportunities where we need to faithfully open our mouth and trust the Lord to give us the words to say and trust the Spirit to bear witness of our testimony (D&C 100:5-8). We can have faith that even if we don't see immediate results of our faithful missionary work, God is preparing His children to receive the gospel through us. As Preach My Gospel says, "No effort is wasted". We shouldn't "dispute not because (we) see not", because faith is "things which are hoped for and not seen" (Ether 12:6). Unfortunately, I don't think I got the points across very well in my talk, but it was another good opportunity to practice speaking in front of people :)

I love you so so much! Thank you SO much for everything you do for me! I can't wait to see you :) Thank you for your constant love! And thank you for always being so good about emailing me! I realized this week that a lot of missionaries' moms don't email them the way you do me - so thank you :) I love every single one! I love you!!!

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

​1) "Elder Hacking and Elder Hong after exchanges."

2) "Elder Liddell, who I went on exchanges with (he says hi)."

3) "FINALLY!!!!" :)

Hi Dad!!!!

I hope things go well for EFY! Good luck! :)

For the religion class, the Book of Mormon and the Restoration classes stand out. Do you think one would be a good precursor for the next? I've been super interested in Church history on my mission but haven't had much chance to learn about it; but it would be cool to have a specific Book of Mormon class, to learn more about it, right after the mission.... I probably lean towards the Book of Mormon one. But either way!

Yah, next week starts the last transfer! AH! :) It's pretty crazy it's so close. I was praying the other night and got so sad realizing I'm going to have to leave the mission... but then there are other times where I just can't wait to be home. It's so mixed! I am pretty amazed at how God's power and help have gotten me through the last 22 months. I don't feel that I've seen any big trials, but it definitely strengthens my faith that He'll see me through hard times if/when they come.

Quick question I had! What do you know about any difference in ordinance administration that are in the scriptures? For example, Adam being baptized by the Spirit (who doesn't have a body), Alma baptizing himself with someone, Oliver Cowdrey baptizing Joseph before he himself had been baptized? I mean, God can authorize anything He wants, so I'm not too worried - He knows what He's doing :) But, He could have had physical angels do the baptizing, or something along those lines, right? Just curious :)

So yesterday in Elder's Quorum we had a lesson on fathers. The teacher gave all these different statistics on children with poor or no relationships with their fathers, and how it affects crime rate and dropping out of high school and drug use, etc. It was pretty crazy. So, we talked about how fathers should be, and read a talk about their roles and why it's so important. Now to my point: for everything we talked about that a father should be, I had memories of you doing and being :) We talked about how fathers should spend quality time with their children; how fathers should preside in decision making and gospel teaching, but be loving and not dictatorial; how fathers should show a good example to their children of loving their wife; how they should be worthy to give father's blessings; etc. It reminded me once again how blessed I am to have you as a father. I seriously feel like I'm bragging whenever I talk about you, and I have to make myself hold back sometimes :) You and Mom are my best friends. So, THANK YOU! I hope you have an amazing Father's Day this Sunday! I love you tons!

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

Week 95--22 Months Served, 2 Months Left!

Hi Mom!!! :)

We had a great week!! We found a few new investigators, and had some other cool little successes! It feels good to not be getting all 0's - not that it matters that much, but it's still nice to have some stuff going! :) We're getting better acquainted with the ward. You've already seen how good some of them have been to us, and the rest are just as amazing :) There's a couple that got married a few days before we came into the area, and we've gotten to be pretty good friends with them! I've really enjoyed being with the missionaries here to - lots of good friends! My district leader, Elder Hacking, has been such a blessing, along with the other missionaries around!

I am excited for that book! It seems really cool! DANG you're trip sounds crazy! I'm glad the van and Makaeli are still alive! I would have cried if one of them had been seriously hurt - you guess which one :) Makaeli looks good in hospital clothes... hopefully the next time she gets to be that stylish is when she's having a kid :)

Good luck with your classes! I didn't know you're doing Pilates too.... what is pilates? :) I'm sure you'll do an amazing job, and I'll be sure to pray for you! I hope EFY goes well - ah I miss those weeks! Thanks for always helping me get into that - they were such blessings for me.

I LOVE that hymn!! I have it memorized actually, but haven't thought about it for a while. Those 3rd and 4th verses especially... so good :)

So, I've been thinking a little bit about a sentence in Preach My Gospel, which says, "Becoming clean from sin is being healed spiritually". I've expressed this before, but I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk a couple years ago, where he explained that obedience isn't conforming our souls to something that they're not - it's helping them be what they truly are. When we sin, it harms us spiritually; it goes against everything that we are inside, since we are truly sons and daughters of God, a Being of perfect truth and goodness. So, through the Atonement of Christ, those wounds can be completely healed, and we can be restored to the spiritual health and goodness that we always have been. It usually requires that we put on a bandage, or take some medicine, or go through some "spiritual" therapy, but as we put in our effort, Christ promises He will forgive and heal us. I hope that made sense. I'm so grateful for His sacrifice that can heal us and take away the guilt that burdens us - just like your hymn says :)

Quick question - duffel bags would be considered a carry-on on an airplane, right? My two suitcases are going to be way too heavy, so I thought I'd buy myself a carry-on to help out, instead of ship a ton of stuff home. I hope it's not too early to think about that ;)

I love you so so much! Thank you for everything you do and are! You're so amazing :) Until next week!

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

1) "My stash from Sister Michael on my birthday - she seriously loaded us up!!"

2) "We inherited a sister apartment... and had to cut all the hair out of the vacuum brush.... It was actually pretty satisfying :) Plus Elder Hong's tie!" 

3) "We should have proselyted like this!"





















Hi Dad!!!

Sounds perfect about the bike! Thank you so much for working on that. That's super nice of him to be so helpful, and that's nice to be able to think more about it later. I did think it was a better deal than that though, so it's good to know!

I'm excited about the temple! :) Speaking of, Elder Watkins of the Seventy came to stake conference yesterday, and mentioned a talk by Elder Bednar, where he said that we actually don't take Christ's name upon us during our baptism - we covenant to, and it actually happens in the temple. I thought that was cool, and I had had a similar thought about a week before, so it was fun to have that confirmed :)

I'm really excited about that book! Thank you for that! And I never mind your musings and "ramblings". I'm constantly looking back at previous emails, trying to remember stuff :) I really liked those thoughts today!!

Elder Watkins also taught something else that connected with me. I sent some thoughts on it to Kevin, our recent convert from YSA, and I'm running out of time, so I'll just copy it here if that's ok! "I don't know about you, but I personally will sometimes find things in the scriptures that I feel contradict something else in the scriptures, or contradict something I've learned from the Church. That used to bother me a lot, until I would find or be told the answer, and then I'd be fine again! I've started noticing the pattern, though, and realized that there is ALWAYS an answer to the questions - it just isn't readily apparent always. So instead of being concerned when I come across a "discrepancy", I try to have faith in what I already know and believe, and wait patiently until the answer comes. I'm not perfect at it, but I'm learning how to do that. The Seventy that came yesterday (his name is Elder Watkins) said that even in science, there are apparent discrepancies and paradoxes between quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity. Does that mean that the scientists abandon the theories? No - they wait and research and study, knowing that both are true and will eventually come together. We can do the same in our religious searches. We know this Church is the true and restored Church of Jesus Christ. When seeming paradoxes present themselves, we should never abandon what we already know - we can just wait patiently and research and study and ask God until the puzzle pieces fit." I thought it gave some cool perspective, and it was well-timed for me because I had found some "paradoxes" recently :)

Anyways, I love you so much! Thank you for being such an amazing father and friend! Good luck at EFY! You were definitely my favorite session director out of all 4 years :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin

​

Week 94--And He's T.W.E.N.T.Y!!

This last week Connor turned 20. It sounds like he had a great birthday. And, I am so glad! I am also glad that next year I will not miss being with him on his birthday, like I have the last two years. :)


Hi Mom!!!!!! :)

I think I probably had the best missionary birthday ever possible :) I got my birthday package on Monday, and may or may not have opened it on Monday... but I waited until Friday to look at the card and the present! Thank you so much!!! There are about a million Panda Express's around, so that will be perfect! I'm excited about that book too. And I've eaten a TON of spicy chips! Thank you!!! :) So, on Thursday after district meeting, we had a little party with Elder Liddell's cake that he got (he turned 20 on the 26th too) and Sister Palmer was there. On Friday I woke up, opened my present, and we played tennis for exercises. Then, about half-way through the day we got a call from the assistants, telling us that we were getting a car! :) It only has a tiny amount of miles for emergencies and we only got it cause they don't want it sitting at the mission office... but still :) Then we had a great dinner, and Sister Michael randomly asked if she could come over... and then stocked our fridge for us! :) Thank you for texting her - it made my day! So, all went well! The only thing missing was my family - but that was expected!

The zone conference went great! Our musical number went well. Elder Clayton was really great, really nice, really funny, and a great teacher! His wife was pretty incredible too. They had the Manteca stake president come speak as well, and he told us all thanks for the good that we do that we don't even recognize. He even mentioned a man in his stake that after many visits from many missionaries has finally come back to church, and I realized I used to visit him with Elder Jones and Elder Ashcraft!

Thanks for the pictures!!! That's so much fun! It seems like that was me just a few months ago. I'm glad it all went well! Makaeli looks good in all blue :) GOOD LUCK with the upcoming summer! And have fun at Disneyland... oh well :) A few people here have been so surprised when they found out I'm from Utah and have never been to Disneyland. Not that it comes up that much... but sometimes :)

Thank you for that quote on kindness! I don't agree with you though... you're pretty dang kind! I think one of the biggest things I've learned from you is your quote, "You don't have to be friends with everyone, but ALWAYS be kind to everyone." I feel that's something huge you've always made sure to teach me, through your words and your example!


The work here is slowly picking up! We keep finding people with pretty good potential, but none have worked out yet. We've found 2 or 3 less active members, though, that aren't on the ward list, so that's been pretty cool! 2 seem to be pretty into get back to church! It was pretty funny - we biked up to one of them and introduced ourselves, and he said, "You know guys, I'm gonna be honest with you...... I'm a convert. I was baptized in Tracy forever ago" :)

This week I memorized "I Believe in Christ", and I've been trying to sing it and other hymns more while I'm biking around. I've come to appreciate the hymns so much more on my mission - they're really a huge blessing and bring the Spirit so fast!

I feel like there's tons more to say, but I can't remember :) So! I hope you have an amazing week! When is EFY for you? Does Dad get back from Colorado this week? How's your spin class looking? I love you SO much, and I hope you always remember how much you mean to me and everyone else around you. You're incredible! :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

Here is the picture of Elder Liddell's birthday cake that Connor wrote about. Sister Palmer sent the picture to me.

District Meeting--Stockton, CA

May 26, 2017

There is this awesome member in Connor's new area who helped make his birthday special. I had texted her asking what restaurants were in his area so that I could send him a gift card for a birthday dinner. She gave me a long list and then said that she would make sure he got a cake on his birthday. And, she came through--with the cake and so much more. Here is one of the best pics yet:

 Elder Hopkin and Elder Hong

   May 26, 2017

                        

Week 93

So, this week I worked on getting Connor's 20th b-day package sent off. Yep, that's right--T.W.E.N.T.Y! He will no longer be a teenager. Those twenty years went by pretty darn fast! When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, the only thing he could come up with was "spicy chips". So, we went with that--and a couple other things. Here's a picture of his package. It just might be the last one I send--unless I get crazy and do something red, white and blue for the 4th of July. In any case, it seems weird to be sending the last, or second to last, package to him. I've always been glad he is in a place where I can send something and it doesn't cost a month's salary and it gets to him in 3 days instead of 3 months. It's been fun.

20th Birthday Package

May 2017

Here is Connor's letter for the week:

Hi Mom!!! :)

I had a pretty great week! Our area is very slowly building up a little bit; we've talked to a few people that seem quite interested! Our ward is so helpful and kind, so that always makes things a lot better! :) I went on exchanges with my district leader, Elder Hacking, and had a great time. I'm playing for a musical number at zone conference today, so we had a fun practice in Tracy (so good to be back!) and the member that drove us took us to Texas Roadhouse for lunch :) I think.... that's all for this week!

We have Elder Weatherford Clayton coming for a mission tour, and we have a zone conference with him today, so I have to be kinda quick with my email time. Thank you SO much for your email! I love hearing hearing your thoughts and words and insights :)

For the dermatologist appointment, all is well. He said that none of them look concerning. I told him that I didn't think that we have any history of skin cancer in the family...is that right? He said especially with that consideration, I should be totally fine. They did take pictures so they could compare with a follow up visit, which they wanted to do in 6 months. I told the secretary I won't be here for that, and she said something about not really keeping records on file... so I hope they kept something that they could sent to Dr. Bradshaw.

I'm sorry Dad is going to be gone again!! That's fun you get to do a couple EFY's together though! Where are you doing them? That was always a good week for me, and it definitely contributed to the testimony I have now. I'm glad the spin practices went well. You'll do an amazing job :)

Thanks for your thoughts on my thoughts :) I really appreciated those. I've wondered that sometimes about my patriarchal blessing. There are some talents it says I have, that I wish would just kinda manifest themselves without me having to work too hard on them :)

Thanks for the pictures!! That's sad for Makaeli's last game! I don't remember what mine was... was it the city league, or intramurals? So long ago :) I didn't receive the attachment with Ethan's singing, but that's fun he did such a good job!

Thank you for sending the birthday package!!! I'm so excited :) It's weird telling people now that I'm "almost 20"... and then I'll be saying "20" pretty soon. Pretty crazy!!! :)

So... testimonies are Soup-er important. They warm your soul like a can-dle. ;) I'll come up with real ones next week :)

I love you so much!! Thank you for everything you do for me. Thank you for giving birth to me almost 20 years ago! I'm glad you get the cake - you deserve it more, right? :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin :)

"This is Elder Hacking, on our exchange. He's making fun of my Asian eyes, so I'm just blaming it on your family :) And my allergies."

Week 92--Mother's Day Skype 2017

It was so good talking to Connor on Mother's Day. He looked and sounded so old and mature. He is doing well and seems really happy in his new area and with his new companion. It made me really "trunky" to talk to him. Maybe it's because he is so close to coming home. But, it sure made me excited to see him here in a couple of months! Shon was on a work trip in Israel so we three-way Skyped with him as well. It really couldn't have been better! Best Mother's Day gift ever! Here are pictures from our Skype:

Mother's Day 3-Way Skype

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Elder Hopkin in Stockton, CA

Shon in Jerusalem, Israel

The rest of us in Orem, UT

Sometimes it's a little weird emailing the day after you talk to them. Hard to have something else to say. But, Connor's email this week was as good as ever--it follows.

Hi Mom!!! :)

Haha I hope I'm at least a little more old and mature than I used to be. I still feel at least 18. And my voice was cracking as if I was 12 :) It was so good to see you too! You looked so pretty, and it was so good to hear your voice too! It just brings back good feelings, you know? I'm so excited about your Spin class - keep me updated on that! I didn't feel too weird after Skyping - better than my last 3 for sure. It was just kind of like walking out of a movie theater - you're back in a different reality, but you adjust back pretty quick :) And it did help that I was only saying goodbye for a couple quick months.

Elder Hong said it was good to meet you. I agree about that blessing Dad gave me! I've kept it in the back of my mind with every companion. If nothing else, I think it has added a little extra motivation to work at getting along - I don't want to lose a friend that I was meant to have.

I had a quick question: for my appointment today, do you have access to the info? I'm pretty sure I signed something at a doctor's office before I came out - was that it? I'll be sure to fill out the form to get info to Dr. Bradshaw.

Those pictures of the boys are so crazy/great! Thanks for sending them! Ashley has emailed me a few times in the last several months, and I've been really impressed with her testimony and strength as well. She's a good aunt. And so are the rest of them - Alisha, Angie, Melissa, Aimee, etc. I've been so blessed with such an amazing family, immediate and extended!

So.... I would love some spicy chips, if you can spare the room :) I always want to get them at the store but can't bring myself to sacrifice money and health. But now it'll just be health, so it's worth it :) If it works for you! I can't really think of anything else that I really need right now! You're always good at figuring out the right things to get me anyways :) Thank you so much! I'm really excited!

Today before email we got a super fun basketball game going! There's an elder here that played at Lone Peak and is signed to play at Weber when he gets home.... he's kinda good :) And lots of other elders that are about my level, including Elder Hong. So it was lots of fun! And, I got so close to dunking it! Maybe I'll get it before my mission's over :)

I've been gaining a stronger testimony lately of the Book of Mormon, and had a quick thought. We had a great zone training a couple weeks ago that helped us remember the importance of that Book and gaining a testimony of it. It was really interesting to me that the majority of the missionaries that shared their testimony haven't had one huge, miraculous manifestation - it's been a slow, quiet, but powerful process that now leads up to them knowing that the Book of Mormon is true. God promised that He will manifest the truth of it to us through the Holy Ghost - but that's really the only limitation He put on it :) I remember Bishop Pectol teaching me about how testimonies are a lot like walls - they're built one small brick at a time. For the Book of Mormon and the Church, I'm blessed to have some larger, more foundational bricks in my wall, but it's been a lot of small moments that have truly built my testimony. I consider it a huge blessing that God has allowed me to feel of the truth. I noticed at the zone training that, yet again, there was no huge experience that made us all know immediately that the Book of Mormon is still true. But I felt a quiet power reminding me that it is God's word. The Spirit doesn't come in earthquakes or fires or winds, but as a very still, very small, very quietly powerful voice.

Thanks again for all of your help and sacrifice and love!!! I love you so much! I'm looking forward to your email next week! Oh, by the way, we don't have specifically set times in this zone, so I'll hopefully be emailing 11 or after, but could do it as early as 9. I love you!!! :)

Love,
Elder Connor Hopkin

Also got this picture from Facebook today from the member's home where he had Mother's Day lunch and where he Skyped from. As a missionary Mom I appreciate these members so much! They are so good to the missionaries and make them feel welcome and at home. I know they receive blessings for their service.

"I love seeing the faces of our missionaries when they are skyping with their families. Such joy! Here is Elder Hopkin with his family from Utah and his dad working in Jerusalem."

.

Elder Hopkin

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Stockton, California