Week 84, Super Busy Week!

Hello again! Another bright sun-shiny day in Bay Shore, NY. I just
want to start this off with a cool story. My companion and I both have
been blessed to have musical talents and we happened to have our
instruments in the car so, like we did back in the Bushwick days, we
went music tracting! People are totally receptive to this! We just
have a couple of songs in our repertoire, but Elder McDonald would
play guitar and sing and I would add some lovely descents or something
fun. One door we knocked on beheld an older gentleman holding Samuel
Adams in his hand let us in. He was a little drunk, but said that we
could play and he invited his wife in. After we played one he wanted
an encore. They said that next time we come back they will invite
their neighbors and we will have a big jam sesh at their house
(hopefully alcohol free this time haha). It was a cool experience
though. That family's heart softened as we sang some pretty hymns.
Some other families were also softened while we played.

I had the privilege to interview a young man for baptism. He is 23
years old and he was being taught by some other missionaries in our
zone. It is so much fun to interview people for baptism. They are
always very excited and have strong testimonies. His baptism was great
even if he had to be baptized four times due to his feet coming up. He
was then confirmed at church the next day.

On an exchange with my District Leader, there was one guy we were
going to talk to when he got out of his car with some groceries, but
then he saw us staring at him and then he stared at us, then it just
got super awkward so we we just got in the car! After he got into the
house. I sat there just staring at his house, so I stopped the car and
said we just need to go knock on his door anyway! He happened to be
quite friendly and he said he would be interested, so hopefully we can
teach him later on. On another exchange this week, this Elder and I
were knocking on some doors and this guy immediately says, "come on
in". I was shocked! I felt like I was being called up to The Price is
Right, "come on  down", but even better! This man was taught by
missionaries back in the late 90s and just stopped meeting with them.
We committed him to be baptized and he said "Yea, that seems like it
would be good." We were excited about that. And then on another
exchange... Just kidding no more exchange stories this time.

The other day I was starting to get a little discouraged as we just
aren't finding anyone to teach! I feel like I have been trying my best
to find others by knocking on doors, fearlessing people on the street,
setting up appointments to meet with the members, and making lots of
phone calls, etc! It so happens this was on an exchange too, but we
visited a family who was in our area book to see who they were. They
are a great family! The Johnson family has had many experiences with
the church as Sis Johnson's mother-in-law is a member, but now just
very old and sickly. Sis Johnson said come back tomorrow in the
evening and we would catch her husband home. So we did just that and
he was home and let us right in. He told us all about his past
experiences with the missionaries and how they were all going to get
baptized! They were not able to, however, due to some complications
getting married they were not able to be baptized. They are totally
ready to be baptized and love the church. Bro Johnson said that he
wanted to get baptized ASAP. We chose a date and then a day to come
back to meet his whole family! This was such a blessing to me. I was
praying and reading and knew The Lord was preparing someone for us to
teach. I have no doubt that this is true. I mean, this is the Lord's
work, why wouldn't He be preparing his children to return to his
presence?

Here is a fun picture of me doing some service! We were moving tons of bricks!

Week 83, Learning From Challenges.

I just realized that on Saturday I hit 19 months (the thought I had
when I wrote this was, "oh my gosh this is awful haha!). I used to
think missionaries were so old when they would say that they were at 6
months haha! So, I finally had a normal haircut for the first time in
my mission this afternoon (except from Sis Jangula in Staten Island).
All these other places in the city kept giving me line-ups and
trimming my hair in spots that don't look good on a white guy that is
40% bald, hah just kidding.

I am going to be honest, this week was extremely difficult for me! I
was just anxious out of my mind! Lots of little things that I kept
worrying about, but I just kept pushing them a side saying I will
think about that at 9:30pm when I am free from talking to people.
After a while it all just built up, becoming something that I was
having a hard time handling. I wasn't able to think very clearly, and
I felt unworthy. The Lord is always with us. Sometimes we start
feeling so frustrated, feeling inadequate, or feeling "why me" we
hinder the Holy Ghost from prompting us because we get so preoccupied
by these thoughts, leaving us unable to feeling the quiet, subtle
whispers of the spirit. This is why it's important to read the
scriptures, pray, and do things that invite the spirit like listening
to uplifting music during challenges.

Elder S. Gifford Nielsen of the First Quorum of the Seventy came to
tour our mission! I had the opportunity to be with him twice, once in
an Mission Leadership Council format and then in a Mega Zone
Conference. He gave many valuable insights that I cherished. He and
his wife are just awesome! You can definitely feel the mantle of their
calling when you see him. From watching him on General Conference, he
doesn't look all that tall, but he is huge! He is 6'5". He said
President Monson sent a messenger over to him during their lunch break
asking Elder Nielsen to come over and talk to him. Elder Nielsen,
nervous, went over and Pres Monson says "How tall are you!?" "6'5"
says Elder Nielsen. "Well, I am 6'3"." It was a pretty funny
conversation that he described. Here are some brief summaries of what
I learned. "You can't waste a minute on this mission... You will never
have another opportunity like this... This is your time." I am the
future of the church. Am I the problem or the solution? "This mission
will change my entire mortal and eternal existence".  "If it doesn't
start with the leaders, it won't happen". It was awesome to have him
with us!

Here is a miracle!
On an exchange with Elder Acosta, a missionary in my zone, we went up
to a lady and talked with her for a bit on her driveway. She said she
would be open to listen and I ask well what about right now? She said
she had time. We spoke for about an hour and it was looking very
stormy,  but since there was no man in he house we had to teach it
outside. Once we finished the lesson and got in the car the rains came
down and the floods came up! We knew that God allowed us to teach that
lady! It was raining on and off all day, so to have the rain
completely stop was no coincidence. She said that she felt really good
during the lesson and would like us to come back! It was all in
Spanish, therefore, I had Elder Acosta translate what she said in
English and translate what I said in Spanish. It was cool!

Even though it was a tough week, it still taught me a lot. I gave a
talk on Father's Day during sacrament meeting. It is at the bottom if
you want to read it!

Have an awesome week! Happy Birthday to my Mom this week!

Elder Hooper


(This is just an outline)
Brother's and Sisters, before I begin my talk I want each of you to
think of a fond memory you had with your dad. Hold on to these
memories while I speak and think of the good your dad now does or has
done for you.

I would like to share with you some of my favorite memories of my dad:
going with my dad on deliveries, working on the Chevelle, priesthood
blessings I received from him.

James E. Faust said, "Brethren, noble fatherhood gives us a glimpse of
the divine attributes of our Father in Heaven. A father should be many
things. He should magnify his priesthood and be an example of
righteousness. In companionship with his wife, he should be the source
of stability and strength for the whole family. He should be the
protector and the provider and the champion of the members of his
family. Much of his love for his children should flow from his example
of love, concern, and fidelity for their mother. By his uncompromising
example he should instill character into his children." (“Them That
Honour Me I Will Honour", James E. Faust).

I feel one of the most important ways a father can lead by example is
working with his wife in unity, being equally yoked in the decisions
of the family, and treating her with utmost respect.

Through the council of our church leaders, we have learned that as
parents learn their duty and lead their homes in a Christ-like manner,
they in return will learn what our Heavenly Father feels towards all
of us, His children. "And this is life eternal, that they might know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." As a
father, as you pattern your home after the manner righteousness, you
will come to know the only true God and Jesus Christ.

Do you remember the memory you thought of about your father? Now I
want you to think of your most fond memory when you felt the love of
your Heavenly Father.

"Of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given
to deity, God has asked us to address Him as Father." Jesus Christ,
before he ascended into Heaven, said "Touch me not; for I am not yet
ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I
ascend unto my Father, and "your" Father (John 20:17)." We know that
God is our Father, the Father of our Spirits. We are all His children
and He loves us! He loves us so much that He has given us a Savior,
living prophets, the scriptures, continuous revelation, the Holy
Ghost, and temples! Why has he done all of this? It is so you and I
can have peace in this life and eternal salvation in the next life,
just like any loving father would want us to have!

Testimony
Amen

Week 82, Beautiful Bay Shore!

Today I was on an exchange with one of the district leaders in my zone. He has been very overwhelmed and stressed since he just came back from Bermuda, which is like being exiled to the isle of Patmos, and having no idea what is going on in the mission. In addition to this he is training and got blinded into a pool with no one to teach!

Going on an exchange with him really lifted my spirits. It was so good to see his whole perspective change and his confidence in himself increase. I called an audible for him to do an emergency district meeting (Elder McDonald mentioned it). It went really well. At the beginning of the meeting as we were giving a quick workshop, I felt impressed to share my love and trust in this Elder and then ask for a sustaining vote of support to him from his district. I felt that with a sustaining vote it would bring some district unity. It was well received. After the exchange he even sent me a text saying thanks for the awesome exchange! It is such a joy for me to see missionaries just boom after a bit of training I give. I know that because of the gifts and talents God has given me, I can be a tool in His hand. We found a good family and a solid LA member to teach!

So here is something that has changed my life! Of course this is from President Calderwood- he is my hero. During our online proselyting training, he said that he felt impressed to testify of the Savior and His Atonement. He said that the cleansing power of the Atonement is real and important, but it alone isn't enough for this world at this time. With the healing power combined, we can be healed from the scars this world leaves on us. I then felt impressed that with all of the scars that the world leaves on us we can be healed and made while again. I can be healed of the anger, vulgarity, and promiscuity that enters into my mind from the world and I felt strongly that this principle was true. I have been starting to simply pray, accepting the Atonement, and just trusting in the Savior when these thoughts come and I have felt sooooo much better! I feel so much more at peace with my mind as I rely on the Savior to heal me from these wounds! I love Him!

So we found this awesome flower farm while we were knocking on some doors. The family that owns the place was very friendly and we had a fun conversation about God and such. The mother of the family was telling us that you can learn a lot about God through nature and growing plants like faith for example. She said that with all the years she has been running this farm, until the Easter season is over all the plants won't bloom, symbolic of the Savior's resurrection, even if it is a later Easter. I thought that was totally cool! We came back the next day to volunteer our time to help with some of the menial chores. They took us back to where they begin growing the flowers and vegetables they allowed us to eat some of the veggies off the vine and they were delicious! It was so pretty around their farm too! No wonder the ancient prophets and Christ went to beautiful places like gardens and mountains to seek revelation.

This week is going to be awesome! Elder S. Gifford Nielsen of the Seventy is here touring our mission. Elder McDonald and I will be attending a council with the other Zone Leaders and the APs and president with Elder Nielsen! I am super stoked for this! It will be a lot fun. On Wednesday we will be having our zone conference with him.

He is the EXCLAMATION POINT guy in conference last October.

I am sorry that I don't have a ton to write this week! I didn't do a very good job of writing in my journal and forgot like everything haha!

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn! Happy Fat-her's Dad!

Love,
Elder Hooper

Week 81, Transfers!

I am now in Bay Shore, Long Island! This is my first time in LI and it

is beautiful out here. I could definitely live here. So before
transfer meeting begins, all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training
Leaders get together to receive your new list of missionaries in your
zone which you will announce at the pulpit during transfer meeting,
and for those who are being transferred like me figure out who your
new zone leader companion and area is. There were two spots open for
me. Bay Shore or Staten Island again! Either one I was excited for. I
was assigned Bay Shore and the funny thing is that I am back with
Elder McDonald who trained me way back in the day! I love him! I am
super stoked to be with him again. We have both changed a ton and it
is fun to bring back all the good'ol Bushwick memories.

Bay Shore is beautiful! The nature scenery is so pretty. It is as if I
am not even in NY anymore! The people here are very friendly and open
to talk with you. It has been a unique adjustment coming from the city
to the island as there is just no one to talk to on the streets!
Knocking on doors seems to be what is effective. In my past areas,
Staten Island being kind of an exception, have all been crazy cities
with buildings everywhere. The cement forests have now turned into
real forests. It's beautiful here. My apartment is pretty sweet as
well. It is really small, but has a cool spiral staircase that goes up
to a loft where are beds and dressers are. It is a unique apartment.

I do have a car out here. We are driving a 2011 Toyota Corolla. It is
definitely different not being able to talk to people on the street
because there isn't anyone on the street! Elder McDonald noticed a
family that he met once was outside so we stopped by to see of we
could get a return appointment. He graciously allowed us to sit with
him in his backyard and we had a nice discussion and his wife also
came out too! They are an awesome family. They have a strong belief in
Christ. We visited them again on Sunday and the whole family came out
to listen as well. It is a family of 5 and the kids are super smart!
They named almost all of the 12 apostles during our restoration
activity. They are a great family.

The Bay Shore Ward is like a traditional ward at home. It is so weird
though! I am used to having people respond with "Good Morning!" to
everyone that says good morning at the pulpit etc. Every calling is
filled and it is so structured! I am not used to that. In the city the
culture of the people is so different. I kind of miss the Caribbean
culture mixed in the church. This ward is great though and the
organist is amazing! It was a blast to sing to.

So this story might be a but too much information, but it is kind of
funny! So, out of no where I just had to go to the bathroom really bad
while we were out proselyting. Elder McDonald said that there was a
former investigator that would let us in. He is actually being taught
by the Spanish sisters. He has a date scheduled for baptism on June
22. After I relieved the bladder we talked with him for a bit. He said
he was having some doubts about the Facsimiles in the Pearl of Great
Price. We gave him some counsel to not let the small things bother
him. He said that he felt that we came at the right time when he was
having these thoughts. I obviously was hit by the pee wave so that we
would go to his house to use his bathroom! God works in mysterious and
I guess humorous ways.

Love,

Elder Hooper
Sent from my iPad

Week 80, I know that the Book of Mormon is true! I know it.

I am getting transferred! I was shocked when I heard that I was leaving. I have only been here for 3 transfers (just 4 months). I was feeling that I did not work hard enough here in Jamaica and didn't do my part. I was praying earnestly that I could just feel the spirit and know that I am worthy and ready to move on from this area. I baptized Lovern, and Mike Davis. I have been an influence to many people here in this area! I love this ward in Jamaica. Bro Hack has done an awesome job as we have been putting together a "teaching the teachers how to teach" class and he announced it in Elder's Quorum. We met with the Elders Quorum presidency and made a plan to have every Elder have a temple recommend by June 29th. The EQ Pres announced it in class and as I was sitting there, I felt that this is what The Lord wanted me to do- strengthen the ward. This ward does not have much motivation and I feel that because of The Lord leading me I was able to be a huge asset to this ward, helping the auxiliary leaders has blessed me tremendously. I know that I did what The Lord wanted me to do here. I will miss Jamaica.

We also got 20 new investigators again this transfer!

Michael and Tiffany's lesson was awesome! Sister Mendoza came with us as well which made it even better. We made a nice PowerPoint presentation on temples and the different things we do inside and it was just what they needed as they were thinking about temples and getting sealed. They are walking miracles! Tiffany has seen mane blessings as she has started believing in God and exercising faith. She has seen her relationship with her mother heal and she miraculously got Sundays off! She had a other job interview with Denny's and asked the corporate manager interviewing her for Sundays off because she is Mormon (she technically isn't yet) and the manager said "of course, I am Mormon too". What in the world!? This is NYC. That never happens! Michael has had the same thing happen too. He has been listening to the lessons in church about work and honesty and he found a job interview after he was tired searching, but he just felt that because he learned that he needs to work hard because of the lesson he received he looked one more time to find that there was going to be a job interview at a restaurant in Time Square in the next we hours so he got dressed and hurried down. It was a group interview and the other people were very qualified for the job as a server. They were corporate servers, restaurant managers, and he had had a year of experience at a restaurant and can't carry 7 plates at a time like they can. He said that he wanted to be dishonest about his skills to look better, but because of the lesson in church he knew that honesty was important so he didn't lie. He was hired right after the interview! Obedience brings blessings. They are amazing. I just felt the spirit as I was teaching them! I love this couple. 

The beginning of the week was a bit crazy as well. Just from last week with all the masonry stuff, I was again bombarded with more Anti-Mormon individuals. One man that the sisters gave a church tour to was Atheist, but said that he would be Mormon if he did believe. He talked about how the Book of Mormon is such foolishness, etc. That didn't bother me at all, but then at another lesson we had that same night, one of my favorite families was giving us some grief about the doctrine of the Restoration. They were telling us to be careful not to grieve the spirit by what we were saying (that did offend me a bit). He asked us to open our hearts and really ask God if what he have is true. By this point I was just so frustrated with all of this. With all of this opposition, I needed some answers from my Father in Heaven

I pleaded with the Lord to help me understand his ways and his path. I love the Lord and want to follow Him. I acknowledged my weaknesses. I told him my struggles, my questions, and my fears. I told Him that I needed a witness if the Book of Mormon was true, if Joseph Smith was truly called as a Prophet, and if Jesus Christ was the Savior. I felt that I have received a witness many years ago, but pleaded for one more so that I could continue to share His word with conviction. After I pleaded for what felt like an hour, I opened my mind and I allowed the Lord to speak. I felt strongly that Jesus was the Christ and that God was my Father. My mind was drawn back to a time when I was 16 years old when I was in the first hour of hour worship service; the speaker said “God and Jesus Christ love you”. That simple testimony filled my soul. I felt the Lord’s love surround me and knew that they loved me. A few months later while attending a wedding in Salt Lake City, Utah, my family and I went into a visitor’s center at Temple Square. On the second floor of the building, which is accessed by a curved ramp way, houses a large statue of Christ called the “Christus”. I remember walking up that ramp way next to my mom and a strong, warm feeling entered my heart. When I beheld the Christus statue, the Holy Ghost bore witness to me that Jesus Christ was the Savior. I know He lives. After I thanked the Lord for giving me this witness I asked for more.

As I sat waiting for further inspiration, I began thinking about Joseph Smith. I again felt my mind was enlightened and I felt strongly that he was indeed called as a Prophet of God. My mind was brought back to more experiences when I was in high school of watching an hour long film of the life of Joseph when the part of the movie where Joseph Smith sees God and Jesus Christ, I remember having this incredibly strong feeling in my heart and in my mind that I knew he was a Prophet. I have had many other instances where the Holy Ghost has testified to me that he was called by God.

I also know that the Book of Mormon is true! I know it. I felt as I continued to listen to the Spirit that it is true and is divine scripture written by ancient prophets. With the Book of Mormon as a sacred companion to the Bible, we gain so much understanding of the Godhead and the role of the Savior’s Atonement.

Love,
Elder Hooper

Week 79, 18 months!

Happy Monday everyone! It has been a super crazy week! The weather is great and the city has become livelier.

We had our first ever Zone Exchange where each missionary in the zone was pared up with someone different for the day. Miracles truly did happen! We set Standard of Excellence's of 20 new investigators and 10 member referrals during the 24 hour exchange. I was honestly amazed at how well we did! We found 12 new investigators, and hit 10 member referrals!! That is what a normal week for our zone looks like. I was so proud! It makes me so happy when I see other-missionaries-whom-I-serve's success (there is some interesting grammar in that sentence)! Everyone's faith increased, and diligence skyrocketed! I couldn't be more proud of the work our zone did. Even the newer missionaries' faith increased tremendously. There was a lot
of revelation that went into that, and for that I am very grateful.

The temple is just awesome! Elder Nugent and I went to the temple for our anniversary trips. We left our apartment around 8:30am to go to our temple session. On our way to the temple we were told to be fearless and talk with people along the way. Every person I spoke to was very welcoming and open to talk. I showed everyone pictures of the temple in Manhattan and had great discussions. I really just felt God's love for these people and wanted to weep with them because I knew that they were missing out on so many blessings. The temple was great. I love the temple and felt so at peace there. I may have felt too at peace as I fell asleep in the Celestial Room for a few minutes, haha! 

This week's funny:
I was feeling overwhelmingly tired and while we were walking to the library I yawned a nice big yawn. Immediately a lady walking the opposite direction arrogantly says to me, "Cover your mouth when you yawn. That's disgusting!" I was already having a bad day as it was, and I admit that it probably wasn't the classiest thing I did, but really!? It was so rude, haha! I wanted to say lose some weight you're disgusting, but no way would I ever say that!

While on this exchange, I saw two men that were about to enter a Masonic Lodge and I was always curious about what their beliefs were. They wouldn't tell me much. They were fairly secretive and just told me things like Joseph Smith was a mason, and things that I already knew. This however aroused many questions in my mind that distracted me immensely. I was questioning some of the things that go take place in the temple that are similar to the Masonic traditions. Many doubts started to enter my mind and I couldn't stop thinking about it (as my OCD mind wouldn't let me off the hook with these thoughts). I felt my testimony diminishing. I was on a search for answers; I didn't really know what I was searching for. Monday morning during my studies I realized that this was all of Satan's game plan and he has been plotting this for a while. Here is how: The past couple of weeks I have been extremely exhausted and have fallen asleep in my studies of the scriptures 15 minutes in every morning. Before I shut my eyes, two thoughts entered into my mind: I could either stand up and wake up, or shut my eyes because I already know the doctrines and have a strong testimony. I chose the latter option, and allowed myself to fall asleep on and off during my study. I slowly noticed less conviction in
my words as I bore testimony. The adversary then saw that I was weak and through in some questions that I couldn't find answers to. I also started to realize that throughout my studies inhale been trying to just find scriptures that prove what it am saying, it necessarily to help increase my faith in the doctrine. As I was busy dozing off during studies and trying to prove things right or wrong, my faith weakened and Satan attacked. I learned this morning that I must stop this way of thinking. I had a wonderful study this morning, stayed awake, learned, and increased faith. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true. If we don't study daily, trying to increase our faith daily as the prophets and apostles have wisely counseled, we will fall very quickly! Please study everyday to gain a stronger testimony and to strengthen your resolve to keep your covenants!

Week 78, #baptism!

Another awesome week here on Jamaica! Mike was baptized and I was privileged to baptize him! It was a great experience. He was texting us later that night explaining how he good he felt and felt like he was a new person! He was just glowing afterwards! It is so cool to see someone who has had a difficult life, turn around, repent, and have the Light of Christ just beaming from them. Even after his baptismal interview you could just tell there was a lot of weight lifted from his shoulders. He is looking forward to receive the Holy Ghost on Sunday! Michael and Tiffany came to church for the first time and we also had their wedding planning before too! Ahh I love them.

They are so cool. They loved church and the members fellowshipped them so well. They came to the baptism and enjoyed it too. They are looking forward to their wedding and baptism.

On Friday, Elder Nugent and I held our monthly Zone Training Meeting where we give instructions that we learned in our Mission Leader Council with President Calderwood.

Here are some pictures of what we did!

Some Videos of Elder Hooper Playing his violin and Singing.

Week 77, #miracles and This weeks funny

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life, especially my mom, the best mom of all! I am looking forward to skyping you on Sunday! The weather is finally warm! It has been in the upper 60s. I am sure that that is cold for everyone in AZ. We sure did have a miraculous week this last week.

After our weekly basketball activity, we taught a young man named Asa.

This guy is a stud and a really good example to me. He has a lot of faith and I was super excited to teach him the restored gospel. It went really well and he said he would be baptized when he feels this is true. So we taught the Joseph family again this evening and they are just great (names changed). They fed us some delicious food and we had a good lesson with them. We were just super bold with them. They have been taught by missionaries for years! Their daughters are members, but they aren't. They are not married so they weren't able to get baptized. I said, so tell us some spiritual experiences you have had (I was trying to test the ice a bit and see where their testimonies were). The father immediately said, we know the church is true and the scriptures are true. At first I was a bit nervous, because I thought he was basically saying "yes, we know you are just trying to see where we are at". After some talk about the spirit I was praying and felt the only option I had was to just be straight forward with them. I said, "Bro and Sis Joseph, we need you in the church. We need you (Sis Joseph) in Relief Society, and you (Bro Joseph) in the elders quorum. The Lord needs you. We need you to be baptized. I know that you know that we are here to help you be baptized, so what is the next step for you?" They also gave a straight forward answer. We need to get married they said. They told us they will in July when their daughter is back in town! It was cool! Being loving and bold is what we must do! I am excited for them. After we taught them, we went over to the church to teach Michael and Tiffany. This was an awesome lesson! We talked about the Doctrine of Christ and they understood it well. Elder Nugent asked them to be baptized and they said they were thinking about it throughout the week and May 25th, the date we originally set, since this was Tiffany's birthday too! I then said you will need to get married as well. They said can we do it on the same day? I was like of course!! It was awesome. They got all excited and were cute together! A marriage and baptism on the same day!! That will be amazing. The Lord is blessing us so much. I feel honored to be able to be apart of this work. We are also teaching with President Calderwood at another awesome family's hours this week. Future bishop there!

We had an amazing Mission Leader's Council last Thursday and I learned a ton. Today has changed my life! We the most powerful Mission Leader Council ever. President Calderwood's prayer was the most powerful prayer I have ever heard. He addressed God with much respect, calling Him, omniscient, Man of Holiness, Father, etc. He sincerely thanked him for the blessings he had received, then told him the things that the mission has been doing, like the 5/5/5 goals to help The Lord reach His vision for His children. Then he asked him for the blessings we needed. The spirit in that room was undeniable. I honestly felt that God himself was standing in our midst. I learned how important prayer is and how sincere it needs to be to truly communicate with God! It was one of those prayers in the scriptures where it says the things were too sacred to write haha! It changed the way I pray I for sure.

I sure do love my mission! So many miracles and just lots of awesome stuff. I know that this church is true. When we repent we are forgiven in "real time". As we participate in ordinances and make covenants we can be cleansed. Love you guys!

Elder Hooper

So we had a nasty rain storm the other day and of course being a missionary you just get soaked. I decided to put my shoes in the oven to dry them out. 385 degrees and 10min later, my companion looks at the oven and says "well it is working since you can see the steam coming from the oven!" I go and look and see that it is definitely not steam, it is dark smoke. I open the oven and the smoke goes everywhere and you can see for yourself what happened! Thankfully I put my shoes on the top rack knowing that the bottom would melt them, but my poor companion had to suffer the consequence!

Week 76, Jamaica Home sweet home

I can barely even remember what happened this week as it went by so fast! We were super busy! We have lots of people that are progressing and making steps towards baptism. We prepared a super cool "10 Commandment" slide shown with correlating pictures for each commandment. Mike really liked it and I think it helped him understand them better. Mike is really progressing! He is now in Mosiah and is taking notes of the things he learns. He is working on the word of wisdom, but otherwise is ready for baptism! Every meeting we have with him, he is remembering more and more. He will baptized May 11th on Mother's Day! Jeff is doing well too! He is 22 years old and is a stud of an athlete on the basketball court and is a role model for a lot of people. He knows the church is true and has set a date to be baptized June 8th! Michael and Tiffany are an amazing couple and area progressing as well! The are the most pure in heart people I have ever taught. I love them a lot! Tons of good things are going on here in Jamaica!

So here is a funny story. We were handing out Book of Mormons as an activity with our zone and I go up to this one man and ask him if I can give him a Book of Mormon , I explained to him that it is another testament of Christ and showed him a picture of Christ in the Book of Mormon. He then said "why is it that all of you who come around talking about Christ are all white? You guys are slave traders!" I didn't really know what to say to that one!

I know The Lord has given us the opportunity to have our own children to experience His joy. His precious spirits are given to us to take care of. I am sitting right behind a family that has a young boy named Ephraim who is really small for his age. He is the cutest little boy ever! He is a ball of light. It irritates me to see people judging his parents when he makes annoying little sounds and is a bit rowdy. He is a sweet boy loves to sing the hymns. When I finished my musical number, I came back to my seat and he was humming the song I played, My Heavenly Father Loves Me. It was the cutest thing! It was amazing to feel the spirit that was in the room after I played that song. I forgot how much I miss playing music and performing for others at church. It was a blessing to me.

So here is a picture of the awesome bulletin board we made for both the Spanish and English wards:

This is Mike!

This is Jeff!

I love serving here in Queens! There is no other place where I'd rather be then right here. The next 6 months are going to be a blast. I feel like I finally have a good idea how to do this whole missionary thing haha!

We are having our zone activity at Forest Park for some hiking, 3 legged races, and an egg toss! Wooh! It was nice to scape the brick forest and go to a real forest haha

Have a great week

Love,
Elder Hooper

Week 75, Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! It was a great Easter here in Jamaica, Queens.

The weather was beautiful and church was awesome. Elder Joseph Nugent is my new companion. He is from Utah, and his father's side of the family from the island Jamaica! He is a very dedicated missionary and working very hard. He has almost been out on his mission for a year.

We will be going to our anniversary temple trips the same day in May :). He just got back from serving in Bermuda. It has been fun to learn about what it is like over there. Our zone did get moved around a bit. We previously had another part of Queens called Richmond Hill, but now we don't have them so it is just the Jamaica 1st and 2nd wards. Only 16 missionaries are in our zone. I am so excited about this though! I was bummed at first, but now we can really focus on these missionaries, go on exchanges with all the Elders, and just be more united with everyone so close together!

So, before Easter Sunday I hadn't had the opportunity to take the sacrament for 2 Sundays due to General and Stake conferences back to back. It was so nice to partake of the sacrament yesterday, renew my covenants, and feeling clean. It is the best feeling and I am so grateful for the priesthood and the saving ordinances and associated covenants that The Lord has revealed and given to us in this dispensation to get nearer to God and live with Him after this life #BecauseofHim.

We couldn't get a hold of one of our investigators so we went to his apartment and he was there and we brought him to the church to have a quick lesson with him. When we got to the church there was this lady that had he face against the glass doors with her hands cupping her eyes so she could see the painting of Jesus in the lobby. I asked her if she wanted to come inside. We invited her in and she was really excited and said the she has been trying to visit for days, but the church wasn't ever open. Unfortunately she was a bit crazy and wouldn't let us talk and then it dragged on to 30 min! We really needed to teach Mike who was there sitting down though all of this so I called the sisters and begged them to help us and they walked down stairs and took her with them so we could talk to Mike. We had a super good lesson with him. We helped him understand that we want him to develop a relationship with God. It was all just pretty funny!

I had the chance to go on exchanges with Elder Briles, one of the Assistants. It was fun and so nice to go running on the boardwalk along the beach! So relaxing! After making some phone calls and finishing up my 5-5-5 presentation, we went to get some Chinese food. This lady came in and said that she wanted an order of French Fries. My first thought was, "French Fries from a Chinese restaurant?". I initially felt like talking to her, so I used that as a conversation starter. I asked her, "are the FF better at Chinese places than McDonalds?" She laughed and said yes! She gave us a few to try and they were actually pretty good. She started to ask us who we were and we then got on to the topic of Easter. We bore short testimony and she shared with us the exhaustion she has been feeling as she has been trying her best to live the commandments. I asked if we could say a prayer with her and she gladly accepted, then she asked if she could say a prayer for us. There was a nice little spirit in that Chinese restaurant. She said she needed that experience. Coincidence that she just walked right in to a Chinese place for FF? No way haha! Her countenance changed after that. She doesn't work or live out by this restaurant, just happened to be in the area. God led her to us.

Have a great week everyone! It was great over here!

Love,
Elder Hooper

 Alex During our Skype lesson

 Mission Goals

Sleeping during Conference

Week 74, Spring, and a new transfer!

Hey there! It is 63 degrees and I am sweating! It is the best. It is finally spring here and people are everywhere and a bit nicer :).

My companion, Elder Busby, is getting transferred, so I will be getting a new companion and will be the senior companion/zone leader which I am pretty nervous about haha. Elder Busby is a stud and it will take a ton to match up to him!

Mike, an awesome investigator that I wrote about last week, is scheduled to be baptized this Sunday on Easter! He is really excited and we are excited for him! Mike is awesome. He is really trying to change and follow Christ. On Sunday, the Spanish Elders passed off an English couple who is investigating the church and they are amazing!

They are so pure in heart and ready to receive the gospel. They get engaged because they felt they were not doing what God wanted them to by not being married. It is amazing to see The Lord preparing people to receive the gospel.

Elder Busby and I held a ZTM last Friday about weekly planning effectively and make sure to plan all aspects of finding in the week, as well as repentance. We had other missionaries present ideas and teach workshops. It was fun.

On Sunday, we had our stake conference and Elder Perkins and Olsen of the First and sixth quorum of the 70 were there to create the new Lynbrook Stake, which previously was a district. It was an exciting event! Many branches became wards, and it was amazing to see the a hastening of the work here. Another priesthood key holder is on the island and now we are just waiting for a temple :D.

This week went by so fast and I can hardly remember what happened!

Sorry this email is a little boring and no details. Next week will be good and I will make sure that I wrote in my journal so I can remember what happened.

Love,
Elder Hooper

P.S. The church is doing a new online outreach to those not of our faith! Visit mormonnewsroom.org and easter.mormon.org for details.
#becauseofhim #beapartofit!

Week 73, April Fools!!

I hope everyone enjoyed General Conference this weekend! I sure did.

This was a very difficult week for me. I fasted last Sunday that I would be able to learn from General Conference and that I could figure out what I was feeling. Because I was beating myself up and having lots of negative thoughts going on through my mind, it was hindering the Holy Ghost from telling me what I needed to change. During General Conference, the only thing that truly stuck out to me was President Monson's talk about being charitable. I needed to stop thinking about myself. I realized that all I was thinking about was my problems and my weaknesses. I lost the vision of the missionaries in my zone, all the families and individuals we are teaching and how to help them. I was focusing on all the negatives and not seeing how successful I have been. I have never been this successful until now and it gets better and better as I am finally understanding how to be a missionary, haha! Once I started to be charitable, more loving and selfless and looking for opportunities to serve, during the next few hours, I started to notice the spirit again and then was able to be taught by the Holy Ghost. With this, I learned another reason why Charity and Love is so important. It is not to just be more like Christ, but to also rid of negative feelings that hinder the Holy Ghost so we can be taught from on high. Charity and counting your blessings is so important! I also loved how much General Conference was focused on families and their eternal role! Eternal Life is family life!

So April Fools was all fun and games until the end of the night. So, my idea was to leave an alarm clock in the other elders' apartment. I took my super annoying alarm clock that I inherited from another missionary and put it in their closet set for 2am! I put a sticky note on the back that said ha ha April fools, Love you Zone Leaders. We also tried to play another trick on our district leader and change the sisters contact name to President Calderwood and had a good laugh after pulling our district leader out saying that there was some inappropriate behavior between an Elder and a sister and they were both being transferred out immediately. However when we got home that night we look at our apartment door and there is a joker card pinned up on it. We both were just like oh no, so we open the door and the apartment is trashed! Our ties were everywhere and our desk were moved, Pam spray was all over the floor, blue cheese on our towels in the oven, and the worst part was when they took our underwear, wet them down, and put them in the freezer! They all froze together! That was the only thing that upset me, haha. I was so frustrated, but it was actually funny.

So we have an investigator that came out of no where and is going to be baptized April 20th! He came to all sessions of General Conference and is really progressing. He is awesome! We are seeing a lot of miracles here in Jamaica. I am loving my mission. It is going by too fast!

Love,
Elder Hooper

Here is another April Fools trick! Enjoy.

Week 72, #ldsconf

Hey there everybody! It's one day from April and it is snowing right now! It is so weird. Elder Busby and I have had a great week! Lots of miracles. We were all over NY this week. We first had a doctor appointment in Manhattan, 2 visits to Brooklyn for a music concert I played my violin in, and then to northern part of Queens. It has been crazy. I am stoked for another busy week. We have our transfer apartment deep clean, a 6 hour leader council, and 10 hours of general conference! It is going to be awesome.

On Sunday we had 4 people at church! It was awesome! 2 people came that we haven't seen before and met for the first time. Mike was given a Mormon.org card and visited the site and chatted with a missionary online. We asked him to read the intro to the BoM and he did that and said, is that it? He kept reading and asked when he could be baptized #toogoodtobetrue? Chris was fearlessed by the sisters and he came, but he has some slight handicaps. We will see how it plays out. He also asked when he could be baptized as well.

So after church, we taught the Keslin family and found out that Bro Keslin goes to church every Sunday when he is not in Queens for work. He will attend the ward in NJ where he drives taxis. He has read some of the BoM and is progressing a lot more than we thought! We stopped by one of my favorite member's house to pick up my gps they updated for me and then had a quick chat with The husband. We asked if there was anything we could do for him and he of course said they were fine. Then after the prayer he said "you know, there is one thing you could do for me. You could give my wife a blessing". They have been having some fertility issues for 10 years and finally have been given some good news from the doctor to be able to have a child. It was a cool experience as I was giving the blessing. I felt certain things come to mind that she needed and I also pictured two little kids that I knew would be theirs. I then told her that she would have a child and that there was a future family in store for her. It was really cool! I can't wait to see the results from the doctor. I love the priesthood and being able to be a tool in God's hand! As you listen for the spirit during a blessing the Lord speaks.

Well these next few weeks are going to be great. The Queens NY Stake is splitting and the Lynbrook District is becoming a stake and the area that I am in is going to be put in the new stake! Elder Busby and I aren't sure what will happen to us or if we will be moving areas or what since there are already zone leaders where our Area will be added to, so it is going to be a fun change!

We are having our zone activity today! Elder Busby and I just bought 72 hot dogs and buns and the dogs are boiling now! We got chili, cheese, onions, relish, etc. It's gonna be delish.baby way, I love you guys! Have a wonderful week and get ready for General Conference!

Love,
Elder Hooper

Week 71, Another week in JamRock!

Hey there everyone! !  I am doing good! Just stuffed my face at a Pizza Hut buffet! It is freezing cold at the end of March... What is this place? Where is my AZ sun!? I'm just kidding, but really.

We had an awesome Zone Conference on Tuesday. During one of the workshops that the Sister Training Leaders gave, they used a fun analogy with basketball. Elder Adams, Busby, Hart, and myself were playing and Elder Hart and I teamed up against them. The object of the game, of course, was to shoot as many points as possible. Each team had their own ball. There were no rules, so I was jumping on top of Elder Busby, bear hugging him, stealing their ball and holding it. At one point, they forgot I was there and I grabbed a ball and just started shooting and scoring, but then I got jumped by my companion shortly after I scored 4 points! The worst part though, is at the end, both Elder Busby and

Adams made buzzer shots at the same time!

After the conference was over, Lovern Smith, an investigator of the sisters, was going to be interviewed by President Calderwood. I saw her and for some reason, I wanted to go say hi. I really love this lady, She has had such real growth! I walk over, said hi, laughed with her little daughter and begin to walk away, and then Sister Hopkins says "go ahead, ask him." Curious, I stopped and waited for her question. Lovern said she wanted to give me the honor to baptize her! I was getting emotional at first! I was just so honored to do that. I told her that I just want to start crying and bore a quick testimony about the happiness the gospel brings. I walked away and was pretty emotional. I was so happy! I was just feeling a little inadequate, but once she asked me to perform that ordinance for her that all turned
around.

Hope you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Hooper

Week 70, Weird weather!

I can't wait for it to finally warm up here. It has been really cold and extremely windy!

Early in the week while teaching Kenel Charles, I had my testimony reconfirmed that Joseph Smith really was called of a God to be the first prophet in this dispensation and to restore the gospel! I felt it as I watched the Restoration video. I have watched that video 100 times, but this time it was special to me. I feel like I also looked at my 1.5 years of my mission in retrospect and seen how much I have grown! I am so grateful the Lord was willing to, figuratively, cut me down so I can grow into the man He wants me to be. I truly have changed! I love the gospel and my Heavenly Father.

I went on an exchange with an Elder who is training and been on his mission for one week! I remember my first Zone Leader exchange when I was training and I learned a lot. We had a miracle on the exchange! It was 3:40pm and we needed to get dinner so we could have our exchange interview before we ended the exchange. We had some time before 4, so I suggested we pray that the Lord would lead us to someone in these last few minutes. We prayed and began walking around the park looking for someone that we felt would be interested and this girl spotted us and said "Hey, are you guys Mormon?" I was just like yes! Thank you Heavenly Father for answering our prayer. She was taught by missionaries and her brother is a member. We got her info and passed it on to the sisters. It was cool! Elder Knight thought it was cool as well.

One of my favorite things to do as a Zone Leader is holding Zone Training Meetings. I know the Lord loves the missionaries that I am serving with as He always sends ideas and topics that the missionaries need by the spirit. Throughout the week I was having thoughts about the sacrament tying into faith which President Calderwood talked about in his workshop in a meeting. My companion and I put our ideas together and gave a powerful workshop that many missionaries came and said they needed. Knowing that the things I learned and prepared for the meeting really helped certain missionaries makes me so happy!

There is nothing that makes me happier seeing these missionaries be successful.

So here is kind of a funny story! So I was trying to find someone who had their wifi unprotected so I could use it and we noticed that the church below us has wifi and we helped them out once and knew the pastor there so we thought we would ask. We decided that we would be willing to pay $10 in case he asks us to pay a little. We ask, and the man we asked says he had to ask the Senior Pastor, so we went back the next day and the guy says, " Ok, I talked to the pastor. How much are you offering? "$10 my comp says". The man replies "$25 no less". I didn't say this, but I was just like yo, we aren't going to pay your entire bill, haha! No wifi for us :D.

Everything is great! Our zone had 2 baptisms last week and we will have 4 this week with a few temple trips as well!

Until next week,
Elder Hooper

Week 69, Tired? Wait for Daylight Savings time, then you will be tired!

Here is one reason I always want to live in Arizona; we always have enough sunlight to never have to go on Daylight Savings Time! For some reason I was so exhausted all week. It was probably due to transfers, lots of meetings, and not being able to take dinner hours all week.

Taking one hour off my normal sleeping schedule just destroyed me yesterday!

So enough with the bad! Here are some funny stories this week! While my companion, Elder Busby, and I were walking to our church building, we saw a huge semi-truck trying to squeeze into this tight one-way street with cars parked on both sides of the street. He was maneuvering quote well between the cars, but we couldn't help, but watch how close he was getting to hitting one of the cars. We are basically rubbernecking and when the truck driver pulled through clearly we turn back around and immediately I yell "watch out" as my companion walked right into a tree hahaha! We couldn't stop laughing after that.

The other super funny story was Saturday while waiting for a bus. We were talking to two ladies that were also waiting for the bus when a caravan driver pulled up next to us trying to get us to get in his van instead of the bus (for some background, there is a company of vans that drive along the bus routes picking people up and dropping them off along the bus route at anytime for 50 cents cheaper then the bus itself so it is faster and cheaper). The driver says "get in, it is only $2" so I start thinking of the movie "Better Off Dead" and think to myself "sorry Jimmy, I don't got a dime" and my companion then says we will go for free! And the driver says "well I need money for gas.

Do you have free gas?" Elder Busby says "well I have plenty of 'gas'".

Which was definitely a true statement that day after some large Chipotle burritos hahaha!

To kick off the transfer we had a Zone-Get-Know-You meeting. I love the members of my zone. I feel it every time we have a zone meeting!

It isn't a love from me, but I know that it is a love that my Father in Heaven gives to me to help these missionaries. I felt my testimony reconfirmed again today that the Book of Mormon is true. I love it! I truly believe that if any man will read the BoM they will get nearer to God because I have experience it. I also have experienced a forgiveness of sins! I know that this church is THE church. I had this testimony reconfirmed to me during the street sweep we did afterwards.

We created 4 stations regarding different topics: Book of Mormon, Plan of Salvation pamphlets, Family Proc pamphlets, and Restoration pamphlets. While giving copies of the Book of Mormon to people along Jamaica Ave, I just felt the importance of this other witness of Christ that, with the Bible, confounds false doctrines. I know it is true and I love it! It is such an amazing book. I also know that Joseph Smith was truly called as a prophet of God to restore the truth that was lost back to the earth.

So I am not sure if I shared this experience or not, but I want to tell it again. During our president interviews back in January, the church doorbell rang while I was waiting for my companion. I went to answer the door and there was an older lady there who said that the spirit lead her to the church. I asked her why it lead her here and she told me that she had someone that she wanted us to teach and help.

I got the information from her and found out the background info on this person, and then asked if she had ever been to our church. She said she met with missionaries a long time ago, but hasn't for a while. She gave me her number and I called her the next day and scheduled a time to see them. She had us meet with the individual she wanted us to, but gradually it turned into us meeting with her! She is amazing! This lady follows the sprit to the 'T'. I want to be like her. She said the spirit told her to read the Book of Mormon and now she is almost done with 2nd Nephi and it has been two weeks! We have been teaching her and she believes all the things we are sharing. We are teaching her tonight and plan to help her set a baptismal date! It is such a miracle.

It is finally starting to warm up! Tomorrow the high is 57! I am sure that is probably cold for most of you on the west coast right now. The snow is almost all gone :). From most of the people that live here, have said that this was one of the rougher winters.

I hope all of you are doing well. Always remember that the Lord's love for you never changes!

Love,

Elder Hooper

NYNYSOUTHMISSIO

Week 68, Another transfer begins!

Hey there! I can't believe that it has already been 6 weeks being here in Queens. I really enjoy it out here. So, here is some awesome news. Our mission was given a new standard of excellence that we are to aim for and that is to get 20 new investigators each transfer! Elder Busby and I got the 20th new investigator at 8:45pm! We were pretty stoked. We worked so hard to get 20 new investigators.

We taught 3 member presents (a member present at lesson with investigator) the other night in like 2 hours! One with a man named Vincent, but I think the member we had scared him a bit so I don't know if we will see him again. The next one was with Sherrif's (one of the youth in the ward) girlfriend over skype which was really funny because he has actually never seen her before! They met over Facebook and started calling each other. He was our member present and we were his motivation to talk to her haha! The next one was with Sherrif again with their neighbor, Sister Linn. She is totally awesome
and very pure in heart. The Charles family is doing so awesome. During the lesson I had my testimony of the Book of a moron strengthened! I was showing how many verses in the BoM help clarify the Bible like The Fall of Adam and Eve. There were some other questions regarding things like would the people before Christ be able to repent that I answered from the BoM. I just realized how much of it I know and truly believe. I just felt that it is true. It answers so many questions that the Bible just can't.

During our basketball finding activity, I was on fire surprisingly! I made half my team's points that last game and everyone loved me after that, plus I did a little showboat with a Tim Tebow bow. That got a
pretty good laugh. I love the guys we play basketball with. They areall good individuals and they keep bringing their friends! :D

So last Saturday was transfer calls and the assistants called us to let us know who was leaving. It was interesting being on this end of the call. We then got on a conference call with our zone and then
missionary by missionary said "Elder so and so, you are.... out!" It is fun to make everyone freak out.

I have to get going now. We are hosting all the new missionaries for some street contacting for a bit. These missionaries just got here from the MTC so I am looking forward to helping them and seeing the
fire!

I am doing well! I love being out here in Queens.

Love,
Elder Hooper

Week 67, It was warm!

Hallelujah, it was finally warm this weekend. Unfortunately it is cold
again today, but to have 50 degrees and the snow melting was a tender
mercy. This week went by so fast and I can hardly remember anything.

We have been working with two families that are making preparations to
go to the temple! It is so exciting to help other families preparing
for an eternal marriage.

Well here was our week: Stake Mission Correlation, Stake Priesthood
Leadership meeting, exchanges, zone leaders meeting, district meeting,
weekly planning, deep clean of our apartment, and another district
meeting. I don't even know what to write about! We were in lots of
meetings and trainings. It is really cool how unified all the stakes
in this mission are in the "Work of Salvation".

So to make this email interesting here is a list of the crazy things I
saw this week: I walked down into the subway and there was this dense
smell of B.O., manure, and sewage. It was so bad. Then this big guy
with long gray hair with a long gray beard walked by and there was the
smell! It was the worst smell ever. I felt so bad for this man. He was
homeless and wherever he walked he cleared a big path through all the
people. It was so sad! The next was the guy scamming people for money.
He had this blue board with three cups and a ball and if you gave him
money and guessed where the ball was he would double your money. I
walk by and this lady gives him $100! I don't know if she lost or not.
I got rejected hardcore on the street haha! I go up this guy and
seemed like a sporty type so I was like hey do you play basketball? He
just gives me a dirty look and said don't talk to me then he hopped in
a taxi. A manhole blew up on Jamaica Avenue and flames were scorching
out of it so the cops surrounded to and the NYFD got it all taken care
or.

Well that was a summary of my week! Sorry there wasn't a lot of details!

Love,

Elder Hooper

Week 66, 15 Months :O

It has been so snowy and cold out here! So, super funny story to add to all the weather. On our way home Elder Busby and I came across a HUGE puddle on all sides of us on the sidewalk and street to our apartment. The only way around it was to just go through it and get soaked. I was like, nope, ain't nobody got time for dat. So I saw a gate on someone's driveway and I jumped onto it and started Prince of
Persia-ing across it to get around the water and Elder Busby follows, then I grab onto one of the decorative heads on the fence to pull me across and it snaps off, flies out of my hand, and I almost go down with it since I had all of my body weight on it! and yes I am fat. So I then just give up and let go and fall into the water, but then I caught my jacket on the fence and got stuck for a minute. I am just dangling there with my feet sopping on the water. We both got a pretty good laugh out of that.

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the temple with Honey Rose Mendoza to receive her endowment with her mom, the senior couple, the Scukanecs, and Sister Hopkins and Seely. It was a really neat
experience. It was great! I learned so much more and the new presentations are great! Just remember the covenants I have made inside helped me to recommit to serve my mission as I promised to dedicate my life to my Heavenly Father there! I also realized the importance of making covenants with God. Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, we were cut off from the presence of God and would never be able to return to Him. But God, knowing all things, provided away for us to get around this, and that is our Savior, Jesus Christ!

We held a zone flash mob on the J train at Jamaica Center. It was so much fun! I got on the train and just started playing random things on the violin to get everyone's attention on me. While I was trying to distract everyone from seeing all these similar-looking-young-people load up on the train, I was trying to make sure I didn't go down when the train was moving! Once the last person would get on, I would play the intro to I Feel My Savior's Love. And 2 sisters would start singing and then everyone else would gradually join in! It was a blast!

During another singing activity, there was a couple people who signed up for church DVDs. We went to deliver the requested movie, talked to her and set up a time to go back and talk about it. We went on to our
next appointment and that fell through so we were like, well we could just go back to that one family and see if we can teach them now. We did and they let us in! We even prayed before hand that it wouldn't be awkward haha! They are so great. It is a family of four and the 2 kids are twins! They were very active in the lesson and had tons of questions. We are so excited to have found them!

So here is a picture of the fence and also a zone activity we are doing right now- paintball style dart wars.
Love, Elder Hooper