Hey y'all! I cannot believe it's another Monday AND that it's November! How did that happen?? This week was wonderful, as usual, and we were able to really draw closer to the Lord. So Monday was Halloween and Sister M and I got our inner project runway on and made dresses with Sister Hunt, the lady we live with. It was so much fun! We thought it was only going to take us a couple of hours, but jokes, it took us from like 1:30-9, and we still weren't done. There were plenty of catastrophes that took place, including the time when I was attempting to surge the front and back of my dress together and then somehow bunched the fabric up so I surged a hole in the middle of the dress where there wasn't supposed to be one. But Sister Hunt is a miracle worker and was able to fix it and you would have no idea it ever happened. It was an incredible day to sit and continue to get to know Sister Hunt better. She already is one of our most favorite human beings, but this just furthered the love and admiration we have for her. Okay, being honest here, this week was really slow for us. There weren't a lot of people home and when we did catch people at home, there were lots of door slams. But that is okay because it was an opportunity for me to make a choice. I could choose to be upset and discouraged and mad at the people in Berthoud, or I could choose to have faith and press forward and pray for miracles to happen. I chose to do the latter and I was uplifted and strengthen by my Savior. I know that things are tough so that we can better understand and be more grateful for the easy, busy, full times of missionary work. We did get to see Crystal this week and she's been reading the Book of Mormon and she loves it! She wasn't able to have a whole lesson this week, but she has a lot of questions so we will see her this coming week and answer her questions for her. On Thursday we had an amazing district meeting. Our district leader was teaching about the spirit and then allowed us all to have an opportunity to share our testimony with the rest of the district. It was so spiritual and powerful as we were able to be touched so strongly by the spirit. Oh and then I got glasses later in the day. I'm not blind or anything but I get really bad headaches and part of the reason is that my eyes strain quite a bit, so the glasses help me not have a headache 24/7. Friday we had MLC! It was so amazing like usual! I love all of the amazing missionaries we have here in the FOCO mission. They are so wonderful! There was a big emphasis placed on the Book of Mormon and what an incredible and miraculous book it is. I was really impressed by the power of God in the restoration of His gospel upon the earth today. I know that the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith by the power of God. It could come by no other way. This knowledge has been an anchor and a blessing to me because I know that it is because God loves us that we have this gospel today. Friday night the ward Relief Society had a craft night and we went to meet the nonmember friends everyone brought. We were able to meet some really neat ladies, and see some less active sisters there. It was fun to get to know the Relief Society sisters better as well. On Saturday we had a really happy and exciting moment. So there is a guy that sells kettle corn every Friday and Saturday. I wouldn't say we are frequent purchasers, but we are pretty tight with the kettle corn guy. We stopped by to grab some and we asked for the $3 small bag, but he gave us the $5 big bag for the price of $3. We've been trying to share the gospel with him, and he really isn't interested. He's taken the lessons before and just doesn't agree with everything. But his comment when we thanked him for our kettle corn deal was, "You both know and understand that there are more important things than getting $5 for kettle corn." We know that he recognizes and sees that as Latter Day Saints we have an eternal perspective and look to the Lord. There has been a lot of tragedy in Berthoud in the last year and this past week another one occurred. A 15 year old boy committed suicide and it has really shaken the town up. I just want all of you to know that your Heavenly Father loves you, your Savior loves you, and so many other people in your lives love you as well. You're not alone and you are such a blessing in so many lives. I am grateful for my Savior and His atoning sacrifice for me. I know that He has marked the path and that He leads the way back to our Father in Heaven. I hope you all have an amazing week! I love you and miss you!!! Love, Sister Hooper Random bird that was being walked around Berthoud MLC's featuring the dress I made When the kettle corn guy gives you a $5 bag for $3
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Hey y'all! Another super busy fun week for Sister M and I! So last Monday we got together as a district and carved pumpkins! It was so much fun! Sister M got really creative and drew her tag on her pumpkin, while I ran out of energy after getting all the guts out of my pumpkin that I just carved "hi". My pumpkin has already rotted. This week was another week full of exchanges which is always fun and keeps us busy. On Tuesday I got to be with Sister Erdenbataar! She is from Mongolia and the funniest person I've ever met. We had such a blast together and just laughed the whole exchange. She is still learning English, but she speaks so well. I am so impressed with how quickly she learned and how much she already know. She's so wonderful and such a great teacher! On Wednesday I stayed in Berthoud again and was with Sister Desmarais! She is also an amazing missionary! We were doing some tracting before dinner and we tracted into a Jehovah's Witness which was really exciting for me because I hadn't run into one my whole mission which is kind of rare. He was a very nice man and we were surprised when he didn't Bible Bash with us. He shared his conversion story to the JW church with us which was really neat to hear about his whole journey. We were able to talk about the similarities and differences of our beliefs. We tried to leave a Book of Mormon with him, which he did not take, but as we were walking away he called out "Mormons are good people!" It was so funny! And then on Thursday I FINALLY got to be with Sister M again! It felt like such a long week away from her, so I was so glad to see her again. Then we went to district meeting and had a really great discussion about how studying is huge and so important for us as missionaries. We need to study the scriptures so that we are able to draw closer to the spirit and know the spirit with us so that we will know how to help those we are teaching. Friday was an awesome day! We had interviews with President McMurray in the morning and those were awesome. I am so grateful for President McMurray and his love and diligence in serving the Lord. He cares so much for every one of the missionaries and it is a blessing to feel that love and compassion. Then we came back to Berthoud and ate lunch with a member and then did a little bit of weekly planning. Then a member took us out to eat for dinner. We went to this place called Nordy's, which does BBQ, and it was good, but Whole Hog in Arkansas is significantly better. After dinner we had the ward Halloween party and that was so much fun! We got to meet a bunch of the members here and had fun with the kids. We did a trunk or treat and we handed out pass along cards with pictures of the Savior and candy at our trunk. Sister M and I ate WAY to much candy and junk food that night and we felt awful on Saturday morning. I finally am understanding what my momma felt like when she told me she feels gross when she eats too much candy and junk food. I didn't feel very good at all. Yesterday, Sister M and I taught part of the 5th Sunday lesson, which means the men and women were combined for the third hour. We talked about member-missionary work and how we can be effective missionaries. They ward also had their primary program and it was so sweet. Those little kids just have the most precious and sweet testimonies. Things are moving along here in Berthoud! Our investigator Crystal is now progressing and she's been reading the Book of Mormon and she loves it! We just need to find her a ride to church, one that preferably has wheelchair access. She can't transport without her chair, so that is presenting some challenges to us, but we are soon hoping to be able to get her to church! I know this gospel is true and that it was restored by a prophet called of God. I know that our Father in Heaven knows and loves us each personally and that He is always there for us! I hope you all have a great week! Love, Sister Hooper The District Me and Sister Maxwell with our pumpkins. I ran out of energy to be creative and carve something cool. Sisters Chelsin, Taylor, Aulick, Robinson, and Maxwell We did his hair! Sister M ❤️ Just a man and his dog When your comp gets bored during weekly planning The story for this picture is too long.
Hey y'all! What a wild week it's been here in good ol' Berthoud, CO! This week we saw lots of miracles and successes which has been so good. Lots of people are opening up to us and giving us their friends to go see which is awesome! I am also having so much fun with Sister M! She is so wonderful and I am so grateful to have her as my companion! So last Monday something so happy happened. We went to eat at a member's home, Sister Cacka's, for dinner and I was so pumped about it because she is the mom of one of my favorite ladies in the Boyd Lake Ward, Heather Chase. Well we show up to dinner and we are just chatting with her, when who walks through the door? THE CHASE FAMILY! It was the bomb! They are just so much fun and I love them! We had another week full of exchanges which went really great! On Tuesday I was in Berthoud with Sister Jacobson who I love a lot. I've gotten to go on lots of exchanges with her and I always have a blast. She is so fun and such an awesome teacher. I always learn a lot from her. We had some really awkward moments though because missionary life is just full of awkward moments. We went to go see this one family that lives way out in the mountains and we were sitting in the car for a minute and all of a sudden there is a man walking towards us. He asked if he could help us and we told him we were looking for this one family and he goes, "That's us! Come on in. We didn't know if you had a gun or if you two were some couple having an intimate moment in the car." Lol. So then we go in and his wife says the exact same thing, and then she has us sit down and help them put together a puzzle. So we are sitting there attempting to put together this massive puzzle, and no one is really talking so I'm making awkward small talk with myself, and then finally we break the ice. All I had to do was ask them about their hobbies and suddenly I'm looking at this mans treasure box, he is a metal detector for fun and has all sorts of treasures, and she's telling us about how she worked as a federal agent monitoring criminals ankle bracelets and how she was able to get an ankle bracelet off by not eating for a week, drinking little water, and using large amounts of soap to slide the bracelet off onto a shampoo bottle. So legit. Then we shared a message and got on our way. The second exchange we went on this week was with the Longmont sisters. I got to go down to Longmont and spend the day with Sister Hoffman who I love sooooo much. She is a wonderful missionary and we had some really good bonding moments. We saw some awesome miracles, like finding a super prepared part member family from Columbia. They were so fun! On Wednesday morning, Sister Maxwell got an email from her mom saying that she would be praying every hour on the hour for us to see progress and miracles happen in the area, and boy did miracles happen! While Sister M was in Berthoud they found new investigators!!! Yay!!! So she called Sister Hoffman and I that night and we all freaked out together! This week we were able to teach an incredible new investigator named Fran who is wonderful. She was effected by a huge flood here about 3 years and some members found her and helped her a lot. Since then, they've been slowly teaching her more and more about the church. Then they took her to the temple open house and she had some incredible experiences and now has a lot of questions that she wants to know more about. So we taught her about the plan of salvation and her purpose her on earth. It was an amazing lesson and the spirit was so strong. We get to meet with Fran this week and we are so excited about it!! Church was wonderful yesterday. I love the people here in Berthoud and how kind they are. They have really helped us to feel welcomed and loved and it means so much! I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve. I love being in the FOCO mission and I couldn't have asked to be in a better place. I hope you all have such a good week! I love you and miss you all! Love, Sister Hooper When you stop to have a photo shoot in the mountains Exchanges with Sister Jacobson and Sister Mamea!
Hey y'all! What a week we had! So this transfer, Sister M and I are STL's over 6 companionships of sisters, which means 6 exchanges a transfer. That's a lot of exchanges! So we decided that we would do back to back exchanges for three weeks so we could make sure all of the exchanges got done. This week we started off our back to back exchanges! On Tuesday, I was up in Fort Collins with Hermana Larsen! It was so fun to do Spanish work again! We had an incredible miracle happen though. We were contacting people in this trailer park, and we saw a guy out cleaning up some branches and offered to help. He said no because it was actually his job to pick up debris, and he didn't want us to mess up our dresses and skirts. He told us his name was Rudy (I instantly started chanting Rudy! Rudy! In my head) and we talked with him for like an hour! He told us that he used to be missionary for his church and he has been all over the world doing what we do. He converted to his religion when he was serving in the Air Force and he would go from barrack to barrack knocking on doors sharing his beliefs. We sympathized with one another on the tracting struggles. We shared with him the Book of Mormon and the story of Alma the Younger because his own personal story was very similar. He didn't accept a copy, but he told us he might check out the church one day. Wednesday was FREEZING!!!! It was 38' and I am so not ready for winter. I went on exchanges with Sister Taylor and we came down to Berthoud together. She is so wonderful! I was on exchanges with Sister Taylor last transfer, this is only her second transfer in the mission, and she has improved so much! It was awesome to see how much more confident she is in her teaching and testifying abilities! We had a great day together in Berthoud. We got to meet and see lots of new people and we had some super great lessons. Thursday, Sister M and I were finally back together! We had zone meeting and we gave a training on our talents and spiritual gifts. It was a really great training for me to prepare for because I learned so much. We studied 1 Corinthians 12 and read it with our zone. The focus of the training was about how much our Heavenly Father loves us as individuals. He gives us each unique and different gifts and talents that allow us to help one another. We cannot individually posses all of the spiritual gifts or talents right now, but that is why we have families and friends, so that we can each use our spiritual gifts and talents and together have all we need. On Saturday we went to our Stake President's house for breakfast with the rest of the zone. It was so good! They gave us a training on being more diligent and acting with urgency to accomplish the Lord's work. It was really good for me to realize what more I need to be doing. In the afternoon we drove up into the mountains to see some less actives. They live right above Carter Lake so we had to take some pictures! Sister M almost fell down this huge hill and died about 4 times, so she isn't allowed to traverse in the wilderness unattended anymore. Saturday night was fun because we decided to park the car and walk all night. We walked all over town and got some major blisters, but it was totally worth it. The cultural celebration for the temple was also Saturday night, but we weren't able to go because we didn't have tickets, or less actives/investigators to bring. That was a bit of a bummer, but I have faith I'll be able to attend another cultural celebration at some point in my life! Yesterday was a very sacred and special day for everyone in the FOCO mission and temple district. The Fort Collins Colorado temple was dedicated unto the Lord. President Uchtdorf came and dedicated the temple. It was such a special and spiritual experience to hear the prayer offered giving the temple as a gift to our Heavenly Father and Savior. Something that really stood out to me was the concept of, "Where much is given, much is required." We have been given so many gifts, blessings, and opportunities. That means we have a duty to work hard and to share and help others. It helped my desire to be a more consecrated missionary. I am so grateful for temples. I love the temple so much! I love what it stands for, what it means, the blessings we partake of within the temples, and the beacon of light that they are. I know that as we strive to live worthy and enter into the temple, we will be protected and guided through our journey here on earth. Thank you all for your love and support! I miss you guys so much! Have a wonderful week!! Love, Sister Hooper ❤️land zone Sister M! Pokémon go for date night? Carter Lake pics Sister M falling down the mountain. When you're the only missionaries in the zone that don't go to the cultural celebration. Walking all night!!!! Random mural in Berthoud
Hey y'all! Another busy week here in the Fort Collins mission. A lot has happened this week which means I have lots to talk about! Monday night was a heart breaking night as I went to say goodbye to some people from the Boyd Lake Ward. That ward is truly amazing and I am so grateful for the 4 and 1/2 months I got to spend there. Those people hold such a special place in my heart! The hardest goodbye was with Brittney, Alex, Paola, and Yolanh. That family is so sweet and I love them so much. So Tuesday was transfer day that was just crazy. We had a lesson in the morning, and then I ran all my stuff down to Berthoud because there was no way we were going to fit two missionaries belongings in a car, plus drive two other sisters to their area. So Sister P and I went down and dragged my suitcases to the basement of my new home. The new family I live with is a sweet older couple and they are so kind and loving to Sister Maxwell and I. Then Sister P and I went back to Loveland, ate some lunch, tried to see people, and then did service at House of Neighborly Services, which has been my favorite service. We then headed off to Windsor so that I could grab Sister Maxwell and Sister P could get her new comp. It was really sad to say goodbye to Sister P. It was the ending of an era and that is hard. But she is the best missionary I know and I am so grateful for all she has taught me these last 3 months. Well Sister Maxwell and I officially became companions and embarked on the journey of Berthoud. So Sister M is from Alberta, Canada and she has been out for just a transfer less than me. We actually were both in the same district in Cheyenne so we were greenies in Wyoming together. It's fun to be together now! We are having such a blast together and attempting to figure Berthoud out. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were full of meetings that took us away from Berthoud for a while. And when we were in Berthoud, we were either trying to meet people, getting lost, or going to another meeting. So needless to say, it's been nuts, but such a blast. On Friday we went to MLC and it was amazing as always. It was very different though because we have a lot of new missionaries in MLC. We set a new goal for our missions "standard of excellence" which is basically standards that we place so that missionaries will strive to be better and more diligent. It was crazy setting those because everyone had very different opinions of what the new numbers should be. But we prayed and all felt the confirmation of the spirit that what we set was right and in accordance to what the Lord wants. The funniest/strangest moment of our week had to be what happened last night. So Sister M and I were trying to contact some people, and as we are getting ready to get out of the car, these two teenage boys come strolling by. They walk across the street and proceed to pull a stop sign out of the ground, and keep walking. Now I hope that all of you are as perplexed as Sister M and I were because how does one just pull a stop sign out of concrete?? Then, this truck comes speeding down the road and blasts its horn and then whips into the school parking lot, then backs out into the middle of the road, almost hitting another on coming truck. Then some creeper van pulls out of the school parking lot very slowly, takes a picture, and continues to drive slowly down the road. At this point we didn't know what was going on, but we needed to see this guy. So we got out of the car with pepper spray in hand (someone gave pepper sprays to all of the sisters at the temple open house) and made our way to the door. To top it all of, this dog comes barreling out of no where barking at us and we thought death was imminent. Luckily we survived and are alive and well. You know I thought I was getting sent to this cute, quiet little town. Nope this place is crazy! But it's exciting and we are having so much fun! Yesterday at church we got a super nice and warm welcome. The members here are so kind and willing to help out with the work. They are eager and excited to see progress and help their friends come into Christ. This week in my studies I was reading from Enos - Mosiah, which i love doing because you can read like 4 books from the Book of Mormon in 30 minutes. But I was really struck by the power of the testimonies of all of the people in those books. There isn't a lot written about them, but we know they were tasked with the responsibility to protect and keep the plates safe. All they could do was write that they know the words in those plates were true. How grateful I am for those men and for their obedience and diligence in serving God and for their witnesses of the Book of Mormon. I cannot wait to see what adventures await us in Berthoud this week! I miss you all and love you! Love, Sister Hooper Brit, Alex, Paola, Nessie, and us Back on dirt roads again! I finally found my name on a street sign!! MLC All of us Elders and Sisters that came out together that are at MLC. We are growing. Sis Hoops and Max
Hey y'all! As always, it has been quite the crazy week! So to start off.... the transfer news! I am so so so sad because I am leaving my beloved Boyd Lake ward! I'm heading down to Berthoud, CO with the wonderful Sister Maxwell! We are sweeping Berthoud and if you've been counting, this is my 5th area and 5th sweep so it will be a super fun and exciting adventure! This week was really awesome! We started off the week with exchanges with the Left Hand Creek sisters in Longmont, Sister Bertha and Sister Corrigan. It was AWESOME! I went to Longmont with Sister Bertha and had such a good time with her! She is amazing and so much fun! I love her to pieces! General Conference this weekend was so wonderful. I am so grateful for such inspired leaders who teach us how we can better follow the Savior. We got fed so much good food by the members that had us over for the different sessions. I don't think I've eaten so much food since last holiday season. But it was a blast! We had a way cool miracle this week. We were trying to contact some people, like always, and they weren't home, which happens a lot. So we were waking back to the car when we see this older gentleman getting mail out of the mail box. He dropped a piece of mail and Sister P ran over to help him out. He was super kind and we got talking about what we were doing as missionaries. He found out we were Mormon and goes, "Oh I love Mormons! If I wasn't catholic I would totally be Mormon!!" He then went on to tell us how he actually doesn't even go to the Catholic Church anymore but there are just some things he has a hard time with in our faith. So we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and invited him to read it. He promised us he would because he is really interested in it and wants to know! What a blessing and miracle!! Last night we had dinner with our bishop and his wife. As we walked up to their house, he was sitting on his porch playing his guitar. When he saw us, he called out, "Sisters! Come sit on either side of me and sing while I play!" So we sat down and sang hymns while he figured out how to play them by ear. It was so fun and a really sweet moment. I am so grateful for the amazing members here in the Boyd Lake Ward. It has been such a blessing to serve here and I am so grateful for the kindness and love they have shown me. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to serve at this time. My heart is so full with gratitude to Heavenly Father for His love and the blessings He has given me. Every day here is so great for so many different reasons. I have felt and seen the redeeming and changing power of the atonement not only in my life, but in those around me as well. What a blessing it is to have a Savior! I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week! Love, Sister Hooper Sister Bertha❤️ One of our favorite young men Josh wearing a skirt on his head The Relief Society district
Hey y'all! Wow. I feel like I just sent out my weekly email! Crazy! This week was so busy but so much fun too! Last Monday Sister P and I helped paint this less actives house. It was so much fun! They gave us these awesome suits to wear while we painted so that we didn't get paint on ourselves. The downside was that they were SO HOT I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO MELT! After we got done painting they took us out to dinner and we had a really fun time together! Then on Tuesday I got to go on exchanges again with the fabulous Sister Jacobson! We had such a fun time together as I got to go to Wellington for the second time on my mission! She is so fun and such a good teacher! We got to teach their recent convert who is the bomb! Wednesday we exchanged back and I was with Sister P for like an hour, and then we went on another exchange. I went with Sister Francom who is on her second transfer of her mission. She is so wonderful and amazing! You would think she's been out for like 15 months! She is such a great teacher and we had a blast together! When we were exchanging back on Thursday, the weirdest thing happened. So we were standing in the church parking lot and this car drives into the church parking lot backward from the street. The guy parks and then get out of his car and starts walking towards us. He walks up to us holding a joint and asks if any of us want some weed. We told him no and he gave us this really rude look for not wanting any weed. Then he started walking around us in a circle talking about how mad he was because he had the munchies but he couldn't get any food because the people at the restaurants said there was no more money on his card, even though he knew their was. This guy was SO high and just saying the funniest things and I couldn't stop laughing. Then he got back in his car and drove around us in his car before finally leaving the church parking lot and us in a cloud of weed smoke. Welcome to Colorado. Yesterday Sister P sang in church yesterday and it was soooo good!!!! She is such a talented and wonderful singer! Cindy came to church yesterday and we got to catch back up with her. She is basically the busiest woman ever so we don't get to meet with her very often, but she told us she's been reading in the Book of Mormon like crazy and she loves it and knows it's true! How exciting!! Oh she is just so wonderful! We saw Brittany, Alex, Paola, and Cachetas this week and they are so great. I love those kids sooo much! They are so sweet and make me so happy! This weekend we also had the women's session of General Conference and it was amazing. I loved Sister Oscarson's talk and her message about how important women are to the kingdom of God. She spoke with so much power and you could just tell she knows it's true! It was awesome! I hope all of you are doing so good and that you have an amazing week! I love you all and miss you!! Love, Sister Hooper P.S. - Transfers are coming up and we are moving so don't send anything until I get my new address!!! Who you gonna call? When the self timer is faster than you are Sister Francom and Sister Mickelsen
Hey y'all! Sorry it's going to be a shorter email this week! I always say that and they still end up really long.... But I'm running out of time! Okay so this week we had back to back exchanges with the Fossil Creek sisters, Sister Aulick and Sister Taylor, and the Berthoud sisters, Sister Hilder and Sister Mamea. I stayed here in Loveland on both exchanges and it was wonderful because we saw so many miracles happen! On Tuesday I was with Sister Taylor who is just so wonderful! She is brand new and loves the mission. She has such a zeal for the gospel and teaching it to others. I learned so much from her and I just love Sister Taylor to pieces! Tuesday night we had dinner with our investigator Bryan Parks. He made us Tri-tip, twice baked potatoes and salad. It was heaven. We then had a great lesson about the importance of studying the scriptures and how as we do that, we are able to gain a testimony and draw closer to Heavenly Father. On Wednesday I was with Sister Hilder and it was great! I met her on her very first day in the mission field when I was in Laramie! It was fun to be together again! We had a blast together and got to teach a bunch of lessons which was a huge blessing. On Thursday we had zone meeting and Sister P and I both had to give trainings. They went really good even though we had been separated for three days. Those three days were so sad because We were separated! In case anyone didn't get the memo.... I love my companion. We have been joking that we are each other's number 1 fans because we just love each other and think the other is the greatest. Saturday was fun because our investigator Alex had his birthday party! So we went over to help them get ready and it was a bunch of fun. So many kids running around and screaming and shooting each other with Nerf guns. I love the Perry family. They are so sweet and wonderful! Sunday was so wonderful because Gil received the priesthood!!!! It was so exciting! He told us that if we didn't raise our hands to sustain him he would pinch us. What a silly guy. Anyways, he was so happy and excited to have the priesthood and now he can bless and pass the sacrament which will be awesome! I love this quote by Ezra T. Benson, "Be cheerful in all you do. Live joyfully, live happily, live enthusiastically knowing God does not dwell in gloom and melancholy, but in light and love." It is so important that we try to be happy! As one of my best friends Heather Cummins says, "Happiness is a choice." I know that it is so much better to be happy and to feel love and joy! Have a wonderful week! I love and miss you all!! Love, Sister Hooper Me and Sister P The lovely Sister Hilder ❤️land Zone + president and Sister McMurray The Berthoud sisters Cachetas, Brittany, Tamara
Hey y'all! Well it's only been a couple of days since I've last written, but so much has happened!! On Friday, we had the wonderful opportunity to have a mission tour with Elder C. Scott Grow of the 70. That was so so so amazing! I learned so many incredible things and I gained a greater desire to be more like my Savior and do as He would do. I was also given the opportunity to be one of 6 missionaries to have a personal interview with Elder Grow. That was so special because I was given some amazing counsel that means so much to me. I know that Lord knows His children individually. I know that the Lord has a plan for each one of us and that He will guide His children on the path that leads back to Him. Saturday was the last day of the temple open house which I am so sad about!!! It has been so wonderful to get to serve at the open house these last 5 or so weeks. I have learned so much more about the temple, about how important it is, and the love that God has for us. I am so excited though for the temple to serve those in this area and all over the world. The blessings that are found in the temple are truly amazing! Sister P and I had a bit of a panic moment when we realized that we aren't going to be companions forever! I love this girl so much and it is going to break my heart when we aren't companions anymore! She has been such a blessing in my life and I am so grateful to her! This past week, we had Sister Thomas and Sister Larson come down from Casper to stay with us because of meetings and temple stuff. I love those sisters so much! They are so fun and so sweet! I also saw some people at the temple! I saw Rocio, who I taught up in Laramie. She was baptized just a couple of months ago which is such a wonderful thing to hear! I also saw one of my favorite families from Cheyenne, the Carpenters! BEST DAY EVER! So just a few minutes ago, Sister P looked at the ground and goes, "Oh wow!" Well we seem to have a spider problem here in our basement so I figured we just had a massive spider on the ground, for the 1200th time. I looked and what did I see... A cricket!!! I'm not cricket expert, but I'm pretty sure you can't really just snatch a cricket in a tissue and squish it like you can with a spider, so we had to come up with a different solution. That solution involved me running to the kitchen, grabbing a glass, and then attempting to set it over the cricket, then slide something under it and take it outside. Well right as I was about to set the glass over it, it started jumping away! So Sister P and I used some unity, caught the cricket, and released it into the wild. It was quite the adventure! Well it has been such a wonderful week and I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve the lord! I love you all and miss you so much!!!! Have a wonderful week!! Love, Sister Hooper When your eyebrows are on point... All of the Colorado missionaries at mission tour Love her! "Covers will be placed on your shoes to limit the amount of dirt and wear that gets on carpets and floors" ROCIO!!! My MTC sisters!!!
Hey y'all! So it's gonna be a quick one today! We've been running from thing to thing lately and have approximately 0 time for anything except temple open house, finding, and teaching, so life has been GREAT! This past week we had the opportunity to attend MLC which was so wonderful as always! We received some amazing training about loving others and helping them to feel the love their Heavenly Father has for them as well. One of my favorite parts was a training done by our mission councilor. He talked about how we have a responsibility to get the rocks out of the way for those we serve. That means we need to do whatever we can to help others make it through whatever their struggles might be. It was a really neat way to look at helping and serving others. On Friday night we got an awesome new investigator names Bryan. We received a referral for him weeks ago and had been knocking his door for so long, but never any answer... Turns out we had been knocking the wrong door the whole time! Silly us. So then we found the right now, knocked and this guy opened it and goes, "Hey guys! Come on in!" Well I'm sure you know that my jaw hit the ground because no one is ever that nice to us. We couldn't go in because we didn't have another girl with us, but we were able to talk to Bryan for a while on his porch. He told us that he has had coworkers that have been sharing the gospel with him for about a year and he's already stopped chewing tobacco and is trying to stop drinking coffee. AMAZING! Bryan went to the temple open house last week and knew he needed to learn more about the church because he felt the same way in the temple that he does when he's on the mountain, and that's when he feels closest to God. So tonight we are going over to have our first lesson and we are pumped! Cindy is doing amazing! She has been reading like a mad woman in the Book of Mormon and had a really great experience in the temple. She told us that things are finally clicking for her and that she knows she is where she needs to be! As a final thought, I wanted to talk about Isaiah 2:3 because my mind has been on the temple A LOT recently. The scripture talks about going to the mountain of the lord and being taught in His ways. The temple is symbolic of a mountain for many reasons. We go there to get away from the world, to be on a higher plane and be closer to our Heavenly Father. We go to the temple to learn and grow. The Lord wants all of His children to enter the temple and learn of Him. What a blessing to have temples on the earth today! I miss you all so much! I am grateful for all of you and the love and support you give! Have a wonderful week!! Love, Sister Hooper My dream house MLC Temple!
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Originally from Bentonville, Arkansas and now I'm am going to serve an 18 month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Colorado Fort Collins mission! |