Thanks
so much for your great e-mail! And I enjoyed the little add in from
uncle Pete! Well this week was very interesting, but I will try to
describe it adequately. So you probably still remember when Elder Matu'u
and I were companions and how we had that sudden change fiasco right?
Well once was bad enough, but very unfortunately it has happened again! I
have no idea why they had to choose Elder Gabignaud and I as the
companionship to split but whatever the reason there is nothing we could
do about it. This time I was the recipient of the move, and just as it
happened before they called us early in day and said have everything
ready to go in like 2 hours. So I know we are supposed to be humble and
submissive to things like this but needless to say I was pretty upset
and especially thought it was frustrating that I didn't even get to go
around as normal to see all of the magnificent people we had worked
around and with in Wangaratta. I only got to go and quickly visit Elder
and Sister Laycock, and they were also very sad! So when we got down to
Melbourne I was still pretty unhappy about it all, but the only thing
that made the situation at least a little bearable was the other area
they were putting me in. You will never guess where it is.......back in
Pakenham! So at this moment I am e-mailing you in the library that I was
previously e-mailing you in for 7 months. So it's really great to be
back in the area and see all of the people again that I knew, with some
new faces as well, but I really wish it could've been under better
circumstances. I got a little card last Thursday though from the members
of Wangaratta branch and Elder and Sister Laycock thanking me for the
things Elder Gabignaud and I did there, so that was really nice and
helped cheer me up a bit. I'm pretty glad I was sent back here though
because if I was just sent to some other random area in the mission I
might not be as cheerful or okay with the situation as I am now. But I
guess frustrating things happen on the mission and you just have to deal
with them and move ahead, but I will greatly miss Wangaratta! And the
silly thing as well is that transfer news is just this coming Saturday
so there would've have been moves anyway just a few days later. So
anyway, enough pity for myself, I will tell you about some other things.
So the companions that I have (that's right companion-s as in plural)
right now are Elder Lammi (from Bundaberg, Australia) and Elder Maono
(from Tahiti). We are in the same flat as I was in before when I served
here but we also share it with another companionship, Elder Aroita (from
Tahiti as well) and Elder Cook (from Arizona). So there are 5
missionaries in 1 flat! Apparently President Maxwell is doing this a lot
throughout the whole mission for kind of two reasons, one being that
there are so many missionaries in the mission (after the new ones come
in there will be over 280) and the second being that he changed the
transfer dates so the new missionaries will get in after the transfer
starts so there will be heaps of 3-way companionships like the one I am
in now. The flat surprisingly though isn't too crowded, and by some
miracle we all manage to get warm showers in the morning! Our
companionship is on bikes as well, so we look like a small bikey gang
riding around town since there is 3 of us. Our companionship covers the
eastern side of Pakenham and the other companionship covers the west
side. I guess instead of just updating you on exactly what all we did
the past few days I will just update you on some of the people you might
remember. So the Ward has grown quite a bit, there are over 200 members
that attend each Sunday and since they are still using the old child
care center as the meetinghouse it gets pretty crowded. There have been
several move ins as well as some move outs. Cruiz and Chelsea for
example have moved out of the ward, so unfortunately I don't get to see
them. Afa and Lisa and their family, as well as the other returning
less-active family the Sekene's have stayed fully active and are both
going to the Temple soon to be sealed together! So that was great to
hear. The Willmotts are going well (Barry and Joan) and are also
preparing to go to the Temple to be sealed mid next year since Joan was
baptized (as I mentioned a while back) in June and has to wait a year.
Rodney Dean, if you remember him who was the only non-member in the Dean
family (he is the Dad), was baptized just a few weeks ago which was
wonderful! They are also doing great. David and Melissa have kind of
been the same as they were when I left, they are just waiting til they
get married (which is early this December) before Melissa can be
baptized. The Glosters, who were the 2 kids that we prepared for baptism
last December are still fully active as well and the 3 child was
baptized a few months ago. So most of the people (as well as others who I
didn't mention because I don't remember if I had told you about them
before) that Elder Rafferty, Elder Hirata and I had been teaching during
those 7 months have stayed pretty strong in the Gospel. And that is the
greatest joy of missionary work is seeing lasting conversion. As the
famous scripture in Alma 17:2 says how Alma was overjoyed to see that
his brethren were still brethren in the Lord. So even though it was
under pretty unfortunate circumstances I am looking forward to working
in Pakenham again for however long they have me here again. Amazing to
think that I only have 5 more transfers after this one has finished! It
goes by unbelievably fast, especially after the first year is past. It's
even more amazing that in all this time I have only served in 3 areas,
while now going back to my first area. I would much rather serve in
areas for a longer time though rather than move every transfer because I
love building good relationships with the members and people we teach
and having the blessing to see an area grow and progress over a period
of time. Well I guess that is the news for this week, you are probably
as shocked as I was at it. Anyway, I hope you have a fantastic week this
week and continue to see many blessings and miracles at home! I was
also very happy to hear you were able to have the missionaries over for
dinner! Speaking as a missionary, we love eating at member homes! Haha. I
love you and miss you! Talk to you again soon!
Love,
Elder Hopkins
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