Fun week in Argentina

So despite it being winter, it´s like 90 and 80-90% humitity. So that is just a blast. But despite the heat, it´s been great. So I´ll talk about the fun stuff first. Since it has been super hot and I haven´t cut my hair since the first week of july, I needed a haircut. So I was like super scared because I couldn´t explain how I wanted my hair and my scherades wasn´t working well. But my hair turned out great! so I´m ready for the onset of summer. Also this week we have had this family we have been visiting with that have 5 dachshunds. It´s so fun. Well 2 of their dogs were pregnant and this week they gave birth. So there were like 15 puppy dachshunds running around with the original 5. It was so cute. It´s funny because people have house dogs, when there are like millions of strays. I can always see at least 10 dogs. They are just everywhere and I love it.  I also ate cow stomach this week.  It was kinda good as weird as that sounds. the kids love my drawings. So i drew a kid a picture of an airplane but made it that when you held it up to the light, you could see through it and see the inside. It was so cool. I´m also in a triplet this week. AND one of the local canchas has been on fire this week so the whole area is just always in smoke. It is just a wonderful adventure. And this week i got to see our mission president so I got a photo with him.

So in a more spiritual side of this week. It has been kinda a rollercoaster. So we had a lot of people loooking into the church. And we could see how it was blessing their lives. So it was good because they were progressing, then one day we lost 4 people for onereason or another. So we were upset because we could feel how much the gospel would of blessed their lives but they just decided to not acccept it. So that was sad. But the same day the last lesson, the boy whom we were teaching got up and walked out, it was weird. But then he walked back in in all white. He wanted to surprise us with him wanting to be baptized. So we will get to baptize him this Saturday. So that is exciting. Other wonderfully spiritual expirences happened this week but would be a little much to share. Spanish is interesting. Like I kinda half think. Half spanish, half Íngles. And it isn´t fun. It is interesting because the more I study spanish, the more I come to realize I´ll never learn it on my own. It is wonderfully terrifying that the way God shows himself in our lives is by sometimes showing how little we can do ourselves and that if we are to ever suceed we must rely on him. I know that we are never alone but he gives us the opportunity to struggle and grow so in our time of need, we can see his hand reaching down to pull us up. Lots of love.

So this week I also gave my first blessing in Spanish. It was weird because I was scared buit instantly she was healed. But Yeah it was great. We also had a family request us to bring them a plant so we found this awesome deathly looking plants with lots of thorns!!! So that was fun! and my companion and I both felt that we were going to be whitewashed to a new area although I´m not done with training. Then yesterday with the mission president, we were talking about anothe Elder who was going to join us becuase his companion finished his mission then he dropped a HUGE hint that we might be leaving. The companion to join us is named Elder Chuy. He was Elder Jones, Alison´s son, companion so that is a cool coincidence. He played professional soccer in Chile so he is cool. But yeah I love it here. I miss home because it´s comfortablñe but its whatever.

Here are some cool photos:)

We had some gelato today it was great! 

Love Elder Hoopes

¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Mi prima!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So these week I finally saw Hermana Safsten!!!! (my cousin) So That was so much fun! she got moved into an area nearby so I get to see her often. So it is great. This week has been just a typical Argentina week. During on lesson a gunshot is shot at the neighbors and the people we are teaching are like, "it´s an explosion, no worries" So that was fun. And in another lesson, The next door neighbor´s dog killed the other next door neighbor´s dog. So it´s crazy everyday! 

This week we had Multizona. So all the zones in Formosa met together with the mission president. That was so cool. I loved it for three reasons; one, I understood a lot of the spanish, two, I saw my cousin, and three, I learned so much about Faith. 

Faith is so powerful. with faith, we can accomplish all things. We need not only the faith to believe but to act as well. It is so cool to think of all the miracles that were performed with just faith. But Yeah I wish I could type longer and fully share my feelings of Faith. 

Sorry I can´t email more right now, but I´ll email later.

Anyway I love it here 

Live long and prosper

Love Elder Hoopes

Connor's apartment above the carnicería 

Zanja Frenzy

So this week in argentina has been pretty fun!. Since I´m in the southern hemisphere it´s winter. So it´s been raining and cloudy and could and great!! I love it. Of course everything is muddy because this part of formosa is swampy so it slows us down because of the thick, slushy, mud. I think it´s a lot of fun. 

So along with the great weather, my companion, Elder Higuera fell in a zanja. Technically it wasn´t a zanja but it was a drainage ditch that was helping the nearby neighborhood drain water. So he stepped lightly with the first foot because he looked like dried mud. It kinda held up then he took his second stepped and just fell into it!!!! It was so funny. Me and him get along great!! So he majored in Greek, Latin, and French at Johns Hopkins so he is helping me a ton with the language!. He is super smart! Like he is out of this world! He is just so stellar. I cannot explain to you the gravity of his awesomeness!!! Me and him get a long great. So it is pretty fun. It´s literally a new adventure everyday. yeah we found the house in the neighbor that was burned down becuase there was a rapest that lived there. And I got policed searched the other day. That was exciting. But life's good ere.

The work is coming a long here too. It´s difficult because the church is an hour walk away from here so it´s difficult to get people to church. But nonetheless people are doing good. We were kinda let down this week. This Sister had been having difficulties and was praying for help when my companion and his old companion showed up. Then we visited with here and it was going great, she was reading and praying, then two days ago, she said she doesn´t want to meet anymore so that was sad. But we are praying and pressing forward. Aside from that we have several people looking into the church and it´s hard because it´s as if time doesn´t exist here and no one ever keeps appointments. But it´s whatever. 

Anyway I love it here! I´ll email later today and answer specific questions. I´ll send more pictures too. Nos Vemos

Love,

Elder Hoopes

Jeepers its the creepers

So this week was very interesting. We definitely felt the promptings of the spirit guiding and protecting us. The subject title totally summarizes the expirences. So the neighborhood is kinda sketchy at night. We have to be back to the pension by 8:30. And we can´t go out after 9. So we were walking back the way we always do and these two delinquints, who we usually see on the corner smoking, called out to us and said,"don´t go that way. You will get jumped." So my companion and I trusted them and went the other way home. It was interesting because they never talk to us but then. So that was cool. So the next night we where in the same neighborhood. And ,y companion and I were like, "we need to go." and so we kept walking and thought we could make it to the individuals house because they were somewhat close. Then instantly my companion and I felt and I kinda heard distinctly, "leave." So we hightailed it on out as fast as we could. when we got out. It felt somewhat lighter but still very creepy. So we started walking in a safer part of the neighborhood and this man started following us. We would turn, he would turn. So my companion and I was like lets talk to these drunk men over here and felt good about it. So we talked to them, they were so drunk they didn´t know what was happening then the man past. So now crisis two had been adverted. Well not exactly. We walk away and he had posted up on the corner and waited for us. so we went the oppoiste way. So finally we get to this junction. All the roads are dark. We can either go straight, left or right. and I felt and heard "straight" which was weird cause it was the darkest and going away from home. But I trusted the voice and proceeded. We met the best family on this road and it took up the rest of the night. So during these scary expirences we could see not only the Spirit´s hand protecting us from any bad situations, but it´s hand in guiding us to those in need.

I learned that God will let us expirence terrible things, to terryifing expirences, and hardships, so we can see His hand guinding and protecting us. That sometimes it´s better for us to dangle just a little and struggle for just a moment so we can then see him carrying us to safety. It is sometimes scary in the moment, like it was for us in the neighborhood, but God has a plan and help us in the end, just like how he ultimately led us to that family. If it wasn´t for those felings, we would of been literally in the southernmost part of our are and would of never found those people in need. I know that God has a plan for us. that he will guide us and protect us. 

Anyway Life´s good here. I´m learning alot. Still loosening weight butr whatever. Email me. I´ll be on later. This is a picture of an area in my mission. I´ll email more later. Monday is my new day to email.

Well I´m in Argentina

 So life is pretty good here. Argentina is cool. So it´s  ¨winter¨¨ yet its like 90 degres. so I´m just super excited for summer to start in a few weeks. But I love it here. We walk literally 15 miles a day. Our area is the size of the four stakes in mesa. so its huge. Lik eI´m so thankful I have my tactically boots because I´ve walked through some weird stuff. But it´s pretty fun. We have siesta here. so We study during the time so we get out of the sun. none of the water is clean here so I cannot tell you how much soda I´ve drinken. But contrary to popular belief, I haven´t put on any weight from the soda. I ´ve lost all the weight i gained from the MTC and already weigh less than what I was when I left. Our area is just so large and we are alway walking in the sun that I just burned/sweated it all off.  actually love to walk. 

So the food is pretty decent. The meet is INCREDIBLE. I got out of eating blood sausage so i lucked out there but I´ve eaten everything else. I actually love their candy. because we alsways have to buy soda and juice to drink. i buy their candy ALOT. I love it. I´ve eaten with members almost every lunch so Ive had alot. But Since breakfeast and dinner is the same, (the bananas at the Pension) lunch is just awesome cause we can just eat. so it´s all good in the hood. We live in the hood. its super sketchy.

the language is just so exciting. So they speak Castillono. so the ¨ll¨ and the ¨y¨ make a ¨shhh¨ sound and to add to that here in Formosa they dop the s off of the words and talk like they are in a library when they are outside with dogs barking, tractors plowing, gunshots, and just every sound in the universe taking place next door. and that always happens. so Its been difficult to understand everyone. and the kids laugh at me because i´m a tall gringo who can´t speak spanish. but its all good. i´m getting better every day and can actually teach the people

I´m in formosa. the poorer part but its super fun. I love it. but its super humbling. our pension is bigger then all the homes we visit. It´s exciting. there are no bugs in our pension and I´d say its because of the spiders, but its nice. we dont´t have any problems with the spiders. the shower is exitcting because there is only one tempurture. boiling hot. and its on a high piont in the bathrom so the water always goes out the door. So thats always fun showing and boiling my self. but our pesnion has two AC´s so lifes pretty chill. (pun intended). We don´t share the pension with anyone either. So idk. I´m not worried about too much.

My companion is named Elder Higuera. He is awesome. he is not native. He speaks spanish pretty well because he is half mexican and lived in mexico. But he is super smart. He can  speak Greek and Latin too. so he is helping me a lot and is super nice. He is just so kind. 

this week we talk a lot of people. but since I´m brand new, I can´t say there names and nopt 100% sure whats happening with them. but, There was this little boy that told me he liked Star Wars and Legos. but that can´t get them because of money and just other sad circumstances. so on sunday I gave him my lego Millenum Falcon and he LOVED it. He like Exploded with joy. It was so cute!!! so That was so much fun to give away. But I just living it up down here in the wonderful world that is argentina. i see crazy things every day. Like two days ago i saw this cat get chased by a dog that then got hit by a car and still got up and ran away. or like my companion´s previous investigator that they had to drop ended up trying to rob a vegatable shop and the vegatable salesman pulled out a gun from his vegies and shot the brother of this man and he fled to paraguay. and I would share others, but they are super weird /graphic so yeah. It´s great here. 

I love serving and I´m thankful I can be here and help. this is my companion and I