Week 100 - 23 months!!

This Tuesday (Oct 14th) is my 23rd month mark. Time sure does fly!

We have an investigator with a baptismal date for November 2nd! We are
super excited! We taught him the Plan of Salvation and talked about
the Doctrine of Christ. He said "all I need to do is work on the
Doctrine of Christ. I need to get baptized too." We were just like,
yes you do! We committed him and he said yes. We then said that he
would need to come to church. He said, "well can I call you guys
Saturday if I am going"? I then said "what is keeping you from
coming?" He sat and started thinking. Tears formed a bit in his eyes
and then he said, I don't know. The direct impression that came to my
mind is that he feels guilty and not good enough to come to church. I
asked him if that is the way he felt. He ashamedly said yes. We
comforted him and explained how that is so not true. He felt relief
and we asked him if we could go to church with him. He agreed! He is a
good man and needs the gospel! We picked him up and traveled to the
church with him running into a few members on the bus too! He really e
joyed it and all the talks were about love overcoming fears and
overcoming the challenges in the world. It was perfect.

After church we were walking down the street doing some look ups and I
was staring at a car that had something under its wheel, turned a way,
but then something caught my eye under the other side of the tire. It
was a crunched $20 bill! I was shocked! I grabbed it of course. My
companion and I are going out to eat! Following our dinner with the
Myers family. We headed over to the church to watch the broadcast of
the fireside in Manhattan where Elder L. Tom Perry was speaking for
the 50th anniversary of the World's Fair. It was not coming through on
the church's satellite system, but through a live Internet feed. Our
iPads were not compatible with the feed due to the restrictions that
have been installed on it. After downloading some forbidden apps,
putting the iPad at the microphone so we could hear it since the video
feed was dead, and trying other devices, Elder Morse and I still had
some tricks up our sleeve. We wanted to at least watch Elder Perry
would speak. We went to the Clerk's office computer, disassembled it,
and hooked it up to the tv! It worked! It was a hassle. We got it all
hooked up just in time to hear and see him speak.

So, I had a cool experience after my interview with President
Calderwood. I went into the hallway and I reverently prayed and talked
with God about my desire to gain a stronger testimony of him. I have
been having many "logic vs. faith" like questions and they were
irritating me. I went back into my life and thanked him for all the
blessings I had received. While doing this, my mind went back into a
period of my life that was extremely difficult, but that I hold sacred
to me. It shaped me to who I am today. I directly saw the hand of God
in my life. I know that he directed those few years in my life. I know
that God is there!

I had a really cool conversation with a girl on the train today. We
got on the train and she sees my name tag and squints to look at it. I
showed it to her and she asked what church we belong too. I went and
sat next to her and had a really good conversation. She asked what our
church was like, so I explained the purpose of our sacrament meetings
which led into her asking about who Christ is to us. I explained the
Doctrine of Christ, which answered her question about how do we know
if we are doing what God wants us to? I read from Helaman 5, then 2
Nephi 31 and told her that God expects to live Christ's doctrine. She
thanked me for sharing what I did with her. She has been searching for
truth. It was cool!

My birthday was great as well! Thanks to all who wished me a happy
birthday. Grandpa and Grandma Hooper, thanks so much for the letters!!
I also got a fun package from my family. It was a fun day.

I am looking forward to another week in Bushwick!

Love,

Elder Hooper