Ch. 49 New Beginnings

Chapter 49: New Beginnings.

I was slightly looking forward to having the opportunity to be introduced into an area instead of training in an area. There was a lot of pressure to train a new missionary....that was before I got to Vilafranca.  Oh goodness. President told me that they just had three baptisms and that it was a great ward. Well, as I feared, they have only been working with those three people, and now we are left with hardly anyone to teach. In fact, I think we have three investigators total. So, it was back to the streets, back to the doors, but more importantly, gaining the trust of the members. Members are going to have to be crucial in this area because it´s quite small, and quite wealthy which makes for a really hard area. So, we hit the streets running. I love street contacting, and I am not really sure why. Most missionaries find it to be a waste of time, but I kind of enjoy it.  So, I started talking with everyone I saw (there aren´t many people on the street here....haha) and my companion asks me, “You do street contacts?” Oh boy. I replied, “I do everything. And that is what we are going to need to do to get some new investigators!” So, we have been running from place to place finding new investigators. There was one night in particular that was really hard. No one was listening. We were waiting for our train since our area actually covers about 7 towns. It´s huge! But, we were just contacting, and I said a prayer. I was fighting back tears thinking, “Lord, if I was in Castellón right now, I would be running from cita to cita with progressing investigators. If you really want me here to make a difference, than I need a miracle.” And you know what is great about the Lord?? He never ceases to bless us when we ask! We contacted this boy that seemed to be really interested and he seemed great. We went back to meet with him again and he cancelled.   But then we found three girls who all said they are interested to learn more. I know that the Lord works in mysterious ways, but he really does bless us. However, talking to the girls made us lose our train we were thinking of catching. There was one more train that came, but it came earlier than scheduled, and so there we were stuck in Vendrell (a town outside of Vilafranca), alone, with no way of getting home. So we called our mission leader who then in turn called half the ward to see who could come rescue us. So embarrassing! Luckily, we were rescued by this newly wed couple that reminded me of Zach and Tausha.  It was a great way to get to know them better I guess. Half the ward looked very concerned Sunday morning, and I was so embarrassed. I really do know how to make an entrance!! The ward here is actually mostly Spaniards—one of the only wards like this in Spain. It´s organized and feels a little more like an American ward. They have really strong faithful members.  At church we had another miracle. I was thinking that we were going to have to work with the members a lot in this area, and then this member comes up to me and says, “Hermanas come with me. We are going to have a spiritual experience.” um ok....so we followed her out the church door, and walked into the shop next door. She pulls out a Book of Mormon and hands it to the clerk and says, “When I was in here the other day, I felt like you needed a Book of Mormon”. She continued to testify of the Book of Mormon, and the clerk replied, “ I can see that this is really important to you. I will read it.” What?? It was so great, but the greatest part is when she invited us for dinner... there was a nine year old boy at the table who I soon learned was her grandchild. They turned to us after dinner and said, “Hermanas, we have been waiting for the Hermanas to be here to teach my grandchild. He would like to baptized.” Well, if that wasn´t a direct blessing, I don´t know what is!! Not to mention, as we taught him, he is the most prepared nine year old I have ever met. His name is Alex, and he is Catalan, and his mom and dad are inactive. He wants to be baptized now, but he has to get permission. Please pray for Alex!! It´s a hard work here in Vilafranca, but I know the Lord is blessing us. Thank you all so much for your prayers!! Les Quiero,

Hermana Hopkins  

Ch. 48 Big Changes

Chapter 48: Big Changes.

            “I will go and do” seems to be the words just running through my mind over and over these last couple days. Saturday night I received the call that I would be leaving Castellón—my investigators, my family (away from family), my home. I never imagined before leaving on a mission how hard it could be to say goodbye to an area. I´ve been a wreck to put it lightly. Haha I really tried to enjoy my last week in Castellón. We worked harder than we ever had, and we saw so many great things that are going to be a blessing for the Hermana who takes my place. We took Cathy and Tony to a cita with us with a Romanian family at the beginning of the week. It was a little bit sketchy since they were very religious, and we were trying to be kind of careful with Cathy, but I think it was ok. Tony is so strong now that any doubt that either of them have, they seem to be able to resolve them quite quickly. Anyway, we took them to this family and it was so sweet. It was the poorest living conditions that I have ever seen in Spain. In fact, it was kind of scary.  And although Cathy and Tony are struggling to make ends meet themselves, Cathy offered to have the family come and take showers in their shower and have an authentic Romanian meal. I was so touched by the charity that they have developed and shown to the people we teach. Not only is it with these investigators, but also with the members. Cathy is especially reaching out to others and helping them feel loved. A mom had a missionary who had to have surgery and Cathy just gave her a hug and said they would pray for her every night. Tony is studying like crazy and has made the goal to read the Book of Mormon before he is baptized. He is currently in the middle of Alma and isn´t just reading it to read it, but to understand it as well. He is truly changing. I think that is why it has been so hard to leave them, but I am going to do everything I can to see them in the temple one day. I know they will make it there. Another sweet experience that we had was the Relief Society President made me my last meal in Castellón and invited my recent converts. I was so surprised by the power of their conversion—especially Algaice. She said, “Without a doubt, I know we are in the true church. I feel it every time I go to church. I just know it.” I couldn´t help the tears that flowed when I heard their testimonies. I love Castellón. My last Sunday, we saw a miracle with a family that we have been working with almost my entire time in Castellón. They have always received missionaries, but they have never really investigated the church and put in their effort. We have really been focusing on reading the Book of Mormon, and it was like magic. I don´t know what happened, but something clicked, and the entire family came to church! Husane is also going to be baptized in the upcoming weeks and is down to 5 cigarettes every day. I simply have left my heart in Castellón. I thought it was soo cheesey when I heard once that you should love the people so much that the very street in your area should become sacred to you, but it definitely has. Now it is time to move on to new adventures and new experiences in Vila Franca—a pubelo outside of Barcelona. (However, it isn´t in the Barcelona Zone). I was really surprised that I would come back up to the Barce area, but I guess it is where the Lord needed me now. Sometimes we don´t understand the ways of the Lord until we look back and look for His hand, but I know he is here with me right now while I am struggling with the changes like I always do in the mission.  Please pray for me, because I know the next couple weeks will be really hard on me. I really love you all! My heart is a little broken, but with God, I know we can over come everything. Les Quiero!

Hermana Hopkins 

 48 

Ch. 47 The Power of the Priesthood

Chapter 47: The Power of the Priesthood

Sometimes, I think it is very easy to become over-confident when good things happen as a missionary. Last week, we were all excited about Cathy the new super missionary. So, the Elders took her out to go visit some Romanians as well. However, one of them went crazy, and she came back pretty traumatized. But, she had a good attitude she told us, “I thought the one man was going to strike one of the elders, but they were literally glowing with the power of God.” So, we thought all was safe and good to go. We were contacted in the street by a Romanian man who had a Book of Mormon and said he wanted to talk to us about it, but would need someone to translate. We took that as an obvious miracle, and we had just the person in mind.....However, let the battle begin....

We walked up to the park where we were meeting them, and there were two men there. We thought, “Wow that is great! Two people to teach!” But, we were soon dreading what lay before us. Yes, this man pulled out a list of ten reasons why the Book of Mormon was false, and how we should worship on Saturdays....oh boy. Yes, we had run into a Seventh day Aventista preacher...and he just sat there tearing Cathy apart in Romanian, and we had no idea what was going on. Cathy just would come back testifying, but he was like a blood thirsty monster!! (I guess I shouldn´t say that about any preacher from any religion, but seriously!!) So we got out of there, and Cathy just said, “Walk tall, girls. We are daughters of God. We need to fight for what we know.” I was so proud of her....however, we went back later that night with the Elders to give their daughter, Gemma, a blessing since she was really sick. So, she then confessed that her mind was flooding with doubts. And that is when she pulled out an anti mormon book that the preacher had given her when I wasn´t looking. Grrrr....We told her how it´s ok to have doubts. God can always answer our prayers, and she could receive the same answer that she received before. We had also planned to show them the Safety for the Soul talk by Elder Holland. If anyone can regrow a testimony besides the Holy Ghost,  it´s Elder Holland.  But, it was so funny. It finished and it was actually Tony who was more affected. He turned to us and said, “Hermanas, that´s me. I put my testimony with his. I am not going to let anyone tell me what is right and what is wrong. You just have to know what is right and stick with it! There ya go Cathy, now do you understand.”  A little bit of pride, but I will take it. However, all week she was a little shakey until Sunday. She walked into Relief Society, and the lesson was the Plan of Salvation. Oh my goodness, the church´s program is inspired. She raised her hand and told of how bad it hurt that her brother and dad had passed away, but how she had always had dreams of them being alive somewhere else. She said, “When the Hermanas taught me this plan and that families can be together forever, I just knew it was true. I just knew it with all my heart.” There we go... However the story continues. After church we taught them really quick and Cathy told us that she had actually planned to go to the Adventista church Saturday, but before she left, she said a prayer. She said nothing like that has ever happened before. Her body just wouldn´t respond. She had no desire to leave her house, and even thinking about it made her sick. She still has a little bit of things she wants to work out with God (as she said), but she also said she wanted to put a for sure baptismal date to work towards. March 15. Sigh...I probably won´t be there, but my heart will be!! Also, lesson learned. We might be a little more careful about where we take Cathy before she is even baptized. Haha The bigger miracle this week is actually with the family of the five young Peruvian girls and the stubborn-as-a-brick mother. The Elders gave the blessing to the girl who had epileptic attacks, as I told you all, last week. Well, this week when we went to visit them, the mother was sitting on the couch with the other girls, anxiously awaiting us. What??? I just kind of stared at her, and my companion actually asked, “So...were you just leaving or are you going to stay...?”  She said, “Of course I am going to stay. I want to listen.” So, we began to teach them all the Restoration. The mother was eating it up. Just asking questions, commenting, agreeing.... What on earth was going on?  When we taught the part of the first vision, she looked up at us and said, “Hermanas I need to explain myself. When you, Hermana Hopkins, first contacted me on the street about four or five months ago, I gave you a fake address and phone number since I wanted nothing to do with you (thank you....figured that out though....haha). When you accidentally contacted me again (awkward...but I talk to a lot of people in my defense) I just thought the same that you were just going to be like all the other religions. Then, you started teaching my best friend, and I accidentally walked in on one of your lessons with my daughters, and they loved it. But, I didn´t want them to have anything to do with you. After talking to my best friend and how she´s changed, I decided to let you start teaching my daughters, but I was still not going to have any of it. I was very closed. Then, when you gave the blessing to my daughter, I experienced something I had never experienced with any other religion. I felt the presence of God. I felt a light enter my heart and I heard a voice that said, ´I am here, listen to these girls. They are sent by me to teach you, so I knew I had to listen to you.” And who said that people still don´t have Joseph Smith experiences!! Unfortunately, all five children got really sick on Saturday night, and the family was unable to go to church, and the mother asked the elders to come and give them all blessings.  I guess if you didn´t have the priesthood in your home your entire life, and then you got a taste of it, I would be the same way too. But, they came and it was honestly one of the sweetest experiences. It was like watching Christ bless all the children in 3 Nephi 17. How precious. I am so grateful to be here right now to witness all these beautiful miracles. I know that miracles to exist!! The Priesthood power is real, and it´s powerful! I never appreciated it as much as I did to be surrounded by worthy priesthood holders in a home.  Sunday being a big one!! We had a goal of getting 6 investigators to church, and we had about 10 committed to come. 4 came to church right when it started, and we were going to go pick up 5 people. We had it in the bag. Well, when our family was super sick, and the other family was not responding, I thought for sure that our inspired goal had been for nothing. However, the thought came to us to pass by Anna´s son and try to get him to come, even though he hasn´t been progressing very well. Every time we have in the past, he´s been sleeping. Then, when we came to his door, he said he just woke up but he would come. That was five investigators in church, but when he came out, he had his friend there too!! Not to mention, when we got to church, a man walks in and says he want to be a member and he lived in our area. It was so incredible! It´s so amazing how much God helps in this work when we have goals. I have seen it so many times. God doesn´t let his missionaries down!! I love you all, and am always so grateful for you. Pray for me hard this week, it’s transfers again next week!!

Les Quiero,

Hermana Hopkins 

Chapter 46: The Romanian Missionary

There we were, just like any other day on the mission when we contacted this little Romanian lady named Dora…and that is where it all started….

This little lady told us about how she was interested in our message and really interested in the Book of Mormon, but that she works in Almassora (a little pueblo outside of Castellón), so we scheduled a day that we could go there during one of her breaks. I was thinking about a member that we could bring with us so that she could have a friend when she came to church, but there wasn´t any members that came right to my mind. However, the answer was almost too obvious. Cathy. But then I thought, “She´s not even a member. How on earth am I going to explain to her everything….she´s still learning even…” And I dismissed the thought, until that night that is. We were visiting Cathy and Tony, and I kept going back and forth with myself. Should I…should I not….should I ask…should I not… So I finally just said a little prayer that God would guide me on the decision. It seems like a little thing, I know, but for some reason I couldn´t get it quite out of my mind. So, at the end of the lesson Cathy asked us, “So I feel like the people here in Castellón are really hard, have you had any success lately?” My companion then relayed to her the story of our little Romanian lady, and Cathy replied, “Well, I´m Romanian and Orthodox; I might be able to relate to her better than you could. Can I come a long as well?” Well, that was my answer. So, I believe we were one of the first missionaries to use an investigator to teach another investigator, but God knows what he is doing. So, we got to Almassora, and I was so upset. The lady was not where she said she would be. Did I honestly drag Cathy all the way out here for no reason?? No, it couldnt´be. So this other lady was sitting on the bench where we were supposed to meet Dora, and we asked them if she knew her, and they did. She said that she could pass by at any time or not at all. Thank you for being so helpful. Well, she was Romanian as well, so we started talking to her, and they walked away….but then another lady who walked past started talking to us, and Cathy started talking to her about the church, and her conversion story. And the tears from this lady just kept flowing. She said she has been looking for truth for years, and her family wouldn´t even let her keep a bible in the house. We gave her a Book of Mormon and Cathy told her how it changed her life, and then pulled out a Romanian Bible from her purse and gave it to her. It was so cute!! I felt like a proud mother, and I thought that it´s a good thing we did end up coming, or else we wouldn´t have been able to help these women, and Cathy seemed really content to be able to help these women. And then the most miraculous thing I have probably ever experienced in my mission happened. Get ready for this.

The lady comes up that we had made the cita with her friend that she brought. Then Cathy invited the lady we were already talking to come over and join us. I felt like a new missionary again—I didn´t understand a word. Haha So there we were this little group of women, then two more women walked by (speaking Romanian) and Cathy waved them over and said, “Hey, we are talking about God, come on over!” So there we were now five new women talking about the church. Then two Spaniards and a Moraccan walked over and joined the club. Eight women….was this really happening? I could hardly believe my eyes. They were all just gathered around Cathy feasting off of her every word (which was now being translated into Spanish) and then one other woman came over. Yes there were nine women now listening to Cathy preaching the gospel. It was kind of like one of those… “be still and know that I am God” moments. I couldn´t stop the tears as I heard the Spanish translation. Cathy told them how she was raised Orthodox, but never fully agreed with all their traditions (such as worshipping images and saints), and how she was always in search for a greater truth. Then, she testified of how she found us and how it changed her life. She said, “My husband used to sin without thought—probably not even realizing that it was sin. He didn´t care about being a righteous father or anything like that. Now she reads the Bible and Book of Mormon with him. He actually cares about what God thinks. It has changed the Spirit in our Home. It has brought us closer to God. I know that I am not doing this for them though, I am doing this because I know it is what God wants for me. God wants me to have an eternal familiy and I know this is the only way to obtain that. That is why I will be baptized in this church.” It was so powerful. I just sat there and cried haha and then one of the ladies asked her and said, “But I have already been baptized, so it doesn´t even matter—what you´re saying only applies to those who are not baptized yet.” And Cathy replied, “I thought I was baptized as well,” and then she pulls out her Romanian Book of Mormon and reads in 3 Nephi 27 about the church of Christ has to have his name. Then she continued, “but now I realize that this is the church of Christ. Read their chapas, they say the church of Jesus Christ. I don´t know everything. I am not even a member yet, but I know this church is true. I know that the Book of Mormon has changed my life, and I know my family can be together forever.” She then said more about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith in Romanian, so I didn´t understand, but the spirit was so strong. Cathy gave us our closing prayer, and then every single one of the women turned to me and begged me for a Book of Mormon. I don´t know exactly what was said the entire time, but I need Cathy to reteach me how to be a missionary. Hahaha I was just in shock. It was like God purposely placed every ready Romanian woman in our path that day. Then, when we got back on the bus she just looked at us with tears in her eyes and said, “Hermanas, I now understand why you are here. I just have all these feelings in my heart. I didn´t want to stop!” It was so great. I could hardly believe it. I love them so much. I probably won´t be able to see them baptized before I leave Castellón, but I know they are headed in the right direction.

            Also, this week we visited the five young girls. The Elders came with us to give the oldest  (the one who suffers from Epilepsy) a blessing, and the mom said she wanted to come out and see it. I was dying because we have barely been able to get her to say Hola to us. After the blessing, she just whispered, “I feel it”. YES!! The Elders left right after, but we stayed and talked to them for another hour about prayer since they all are feeling so alone. The next day, we came back to pick the girls up for church and the oldest told us, “After you left last night, the house was so peaceful. Probably for the first time since I can remember all the girls went right to bed without any fuss. My mom just came in and cried that she could feel the peace that your message brought.” I think the ward is falling in love with the girls as well. They are so cute! Our other investigators are all progressing. Husane keeps getting called into work on Sundays, so that is a big bummer, but it´s a work in progress. He really is developing his faith in Christ and he is down to smoking 5 cigarettes a day. Progress my friends.

We are also visiting a international supermodel. Hahaha Yes, he contacted us through Mormon.org, and said he had a lost of interest in the church. Well, by a lot of interest it means he pretty much knows the ins and outs and every doctrine that we have and has spent hours researching it. We are just trying to get the knowledge that he has into a testimony. But, in the mean time, I am going to need to study topics like Kolob a little more diligently in my personal study.  It was so funny as well he was talking about what really attracts him to our church is that we actually live what we believe. Then he said, “Well, except for some Mormons… like Mitt Romney.” And my immediate thought?? “Take that back!” But don´t worry, I know not to cross that line,  but our member who knows I worked for him didn´t! So he says, “You shouldn’t say that. Hermana Hopkins worked for him.” Hahaha  Oh no. We just laughed it off, and he felt bad, but I thought it was super funny.  The work is definitely progressing here in Castellón. The members are definitely feeling it lately too. We´re going to be seeing a lot of miracles just around the corner! Well, I love you all so much. Espero que tengan una semana maravillosa!

¡Les Quiero!

Hermana Hopkins 

Chapter 45: Missionary Work and the Atonement

Chapter 45: Missionary Work and the Atonement

Sometimes, I feel like all my investigators are in a big crock pot. It´s just a slow process, that will have a lot of results in the end. I have been teaching a few of these people for months now, and they are so close to baptism, but then there is always something that comes up. For example, last week I told you of our miracle woman, Adrianna from Colombia. Well, Tuesday she called us and told us, “Hermanas, I don´t want you to think I am uninterested, because I really am, but I just got a job that will make it impossible to meet with you for the next two months. I will continue to read the Book of Mormon, but we´ll have to post pone for two months.” Great. Not to mention, this day was one of the hardest days of proselyting I have had my whole mission. It was laughable. Truly laughable. We knocked on doors at a couple of buildings, and before we could even say anything, they slammed the door on our faces. Actually, there was a really funny grandma. She opened the door all sweetly and looked up at us, we introduced who we were, and then her eyes just caught on to my chapa (name tag) and got all big, and then she yelled, “Get away you Mormons!!” and slammed the door. Then you hear her husband yell in, “Who was that??” and she yells back, “Those @!$% Mormons!!” hahaha Well, it´s true. We just looked at each other and laughed and laughed. It was honestly such a hard day! My companion said to me after we got in bed that night, “Hermana Hopkins, I think the reason God gives us days like this in the mission is so that we keep in mind that our whole life won´t be spent on the mission, and that it´s not our main purpose in life.” Haha I couldnt´help but laugh on that one. The next day, we had District Meeting, and there was something that I absolutely loved. It was from a talk called The Atonement and Missionary Work by Elder Holland (obviously a good sign) and I am going to paste it right here because it´s simply incredible:

“Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font? You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary. Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price”

I just loved this quote! I think it goes for everything in life, and not just missionary work, and it really made me appreciate the Atonement more than I ever have in my life. I never realized what it meant that Christ suffered for all of our sins until I was a missionary and saw what that really entailed. I can´t even start to comprehend it.

The work was a little slow at the start of the week, but then it started to pick back up again. I just can´t get over how much I love Cathy and Tony. We were teaching them something, I don´t remember what, and then Cathy brings up this dream that she had. She said, “I had a dream last night of my brother who passed away. He was in a building trying to get to the top floor and couldn´t because there were no stairs. He was calling for me for help, but I didn´t know how. And then I had a dream right after that of a big room with all white a bright. There was a big column of light in the middle of the room, and my daughter was there in a white dress. Everyone around were in white dresses as well. It was beautiful, and I could feel the peace there.” My companion and I just looked at each other and thought the same thought; it was time to teach about temple work. We took out a picture we had of the celestial room, and Cathy took it, stared at it, and put her hand to her mouth as her eyes welled up with tears and she whispered, “This is the room. This is the room.” We explained to her how we can do ordinances for our ancestors who have passed away and she wept and wept. She said, “Oh yeah. This is it. This is the truth. I feel like I have already been taught this before, and you´re just reminding me.” They now have a picture of the Madrid temple and the sealing room side by side to remind them of their goal to be an eternal family. They are so wonderful. I sat by Gemma during sacrament meeting, and she drew me a picture of her family outside of the temple. I was just so excited. They are a family that I will never forget.

Also, this week we have been working with the family of five daughters where the mom is constantly working. What a hard situation. They are so cute though! I love to teach them. They have such a sweet spirit. I love teaching kids and young teens. They just are so intune with the spirit. I now understand way more what it means to be like unto a child. The oldest daughter was in the hospital this week. Her dad burst into their piso and started yelling at her, and that day she had two epilepsy attacks. It was super sad. Her sister was working double duty that week to make sure the other little girls were ok. They are such a strong family. The ward has fallen in love with them as well, so we are getting a lot of help from the members. The mom is still as hard as a brick wall. She won´t even look at us, but at least she is allowing us to meet with her daughters. We also are getting Husane ready for baptism still. He got called into work this week on Sunday, so that was a pain, but he is so great. It´s definitely a challenge teaching him though with no Christian background. The Plan of Salvación was especially hilarious, but he´s learning little by little. He has a lot of faith in Christ and the Atonement. Plus, he is reading the Book of Mormon every day. He has smoked his entire life, sometimes two packages a day, and he is down to six cigarettes a day. I am so proud of him. I think those are the biggest highlights of the week. I love the work here in Castellón! I am so grateful for the costant prayers!

Les Quiero!

Hermana Hopkins