October 28, 2013

G'Day!

 

Thanks for the e-mail this week, I really enjoyed hearing from you! The past week was good! The highlight was that there was a baptism for our area on Saturday! It was for a 13 year old girl from a returning less-active family. Elder Rafferty and I had tried to visit this family several times while we were here the first time but never really had much success, so it was really good to see that they had opened up more to the missionaries and that the kids were obviously being blessed because of it. We were able to have to some good lessons as well and find several new people to teach. Also, before I forget to mention it, tomorrow is the official transfer day and surprisingly and unfortunately I am in fact moving again. Several of the other Elders there are also moving, so clearly it was just intended as a temporary move, so we will see where I end up! It's been said that there are going to be some big and important changes in the mission this transfer so we will see what is meant by that, or if it is really even anything big! So because I am moving and some of the others as well, today's e-mail might be a bit shorter than usual, but next week should be back to normal. One cool thing this past week that benefited the 3 of us was that several of the members that we saw this past week (whether doing service for them or just talking with them) mentioned how grateful they were for us missionaries and were mindful of the sacrifices that we make! So that was really comforting to hear that since normally noone ever says their appreciation in those words, and encouraged us to keep working hard. So whenever you see the missionaries be sure to tell them how much you appreciate them and the work they do because even though all the members I'm sure feel that way, it is often not expressed in words. So I wish I could've stayed longer back in Pakenham because it's such a wonderful area but I guess I should consider myself lucky that I was able to come back even if it was for a short time. Amazing to think that I only have 5 transfers left on the mission! It will go by so quickly I'm sure, but I will make sure to make it the best time of my mission so when I look back I can remember that I finished strong. Well I told you that it would be a shorter e-mail this week but I'm grateful as always for the wonderful love and support that you give me! I hope that you have a wonderful week! I love you heaps and I'll talk to you again soon!

 

Love,

 

Elder Hopkins