10/30/2017- Elder Hepworth has a son- He's a trainer, district leader, and is on a bike

Hey everyone!!!

How are you? Good? Good.

So as you heard from last week... I’m a trainer and district leader. Truly honored, and truly stressed. Nah jk. I’m not that stressed, but life isn’t a breeze like it used to be! 

So this week was a whole lot of running around!! Before I picked up my child on Tuesday, I spent literally the whole day going back and forth from the apartment I was moving out of, into the members home that I was moving into. And then I also had to go buy a bike! I got a pretty good deal I’d say. We have a “bike shop” that is part of the mission and I called Elder Brown who is in charge of that and he set me uuuuuuuuup. Blessings. 

And then when I went to pick up Elder Matamoros (hijo) from the mission office, we got back to the house all good. But I most definitely did NOT buy him a bike cause that’s dumb. So he just used a members bike that night and it was a piece of junk  but it worked for a night! And then the next day we went to a meeting for new missionaries and trainers and after we went to buy him a bike and go shopping. Well, he bought a cheaper bike because who likes to spend money?? Nobody. So he bought one and well yeah THAT DIDNT WORK OUT! So on Friday I was like alright Elder we have to get you a new bike (cause the one he had the chain kept falling off). And so we went to Walmart to get him a better bike on Friday! Was that bad? Should we have waited until Monday? Idk. It was a necessity. So now the bike he has is great! But it was HILARIOUS that Friday night. We were heading home and we were crossing the street (not in a crosswalk, shame on us) and my companions bike has a water bottle holder and when he started crossing the street and the water bottle started falling out and so he went to grab it and his wheel turned and he straight ATE IT!  right in the middle of the street  and i turn around (surprisingly all calm) and all I thought was, GET OUT OF THE ROAD THERES CARS COMING!! But luckily there weren’t any cars and we all got home safely. But now that I think about it... THAT WAS FUNNY!!!!!

This week has been a struggle cause we have to ask people for rides. And there aren’t enough Elders with cars that could take us places, so we have to ask members to help us out. Hermano Gaytán is a lifesaver. He has helped us literally every time because nobody else will  but hey we’re doing good and time is still moving forward. I honestly feel like this week went by really slow. It was a loooooong week. 

Last night we had dinner that was 2 miles away from where we were at. That’s far!! Doesn’t seem far when you’re in a car but on bike it’s like what the heck 

But hey we do feel kind of famous! Cause we always get honked at and people wave at us and I’m like yeah, yeah I know 🏽‍♂️But there was also this group of guys (I believe. I didn’t really pay much attention) that was screaming at us from across the street as we were passing by. They said something about Mormons (obviously in a bad way) and I was like, yup that’s me!!! 

I have a lot more responsibilities now! And I hate responsibility. Nah jk. There’s just a lot more I have to do and it’s just a little bit of a change. It’s good though! I feel pretty accomplished. 

My companion, Elder Matamoros, is awesome! He already speaks Spanish (hence the name) so that’s already done and covered! And he’s super good. I look back to when I was being trained and I WAS THE WORST! So I’m glad I don’t have to deal with somebody like me. He’s super positive and definitely has a lot more energy than I do! 14 months take a lot of energy out of you. 

Well that was my week! I’ll come to you guys next week with some more stressful, hilarious, or scary stories! 

Les quiero a todos  

Élder Hepworth 

 

Elder Hepworth's son, Elder Matamoros

Only 8 months left and on a bike now.  Isn't it pretty?!!!!

 

 

 

10/23/2017 - ELDER JAKE JOHNSON HEADED HOME

Well everyone... It’s sure been a week!! It went by fast, but it was a stressful one.

So my companion (Elder Johnson) is going home and being the companion who isn’t going home is honestly the worst. Like I hated it. I am not saying he’s a bad missionary or anything! Cause honestly he was the best and he taught me so much and he never got trunky! But everrrryyy conversation is centered around them and the fact that they’re going home. And it’s just all about HOME HOME HOME and it’s awful because I’m not the one going home and I don’t want to talk about it!!!!! But I’m happy and I love the mission and time goes by so fast. I can’t believe it’s already been 14 months! I’m still working hard and will keep doing it until the day I die.

So I have so INFORRMATIIOONNN FOR YAAALLLL!

So this week, on a wonderful Tuesday afternoon, I received a call from our mission president. AND GUESS WHAT HE DID?! He asked me to be a TRAINER and a DISTRICT LEADER! I’m super excited, but stressed out of my mind. I literally have no idea what I’m doing. And then we got transfer news on Saturday (like usual) and I found out that IM GOING TO BE ON BIKE! (Sorry Mom) They are moving us into a members home and taking away our car. I’m not complaining at at! I’m just stressed and it’s a big change. I’m super excited to be on bike though. It’s so fun!! But now I have so many responsibilities. And I’m excited. I repeat, I’m excited. And we went to the members home that we’re going to be moving into and it’ll be fun, but a little different. We literally live inside of the home, with only our bedroom and a bathroom. They’ll be like my grandparents! 

The only problem I have is trying to get to dinner appointments! Because we have a huuuuge ward boundary and idk how I’m going to get to dinners on time. But hey! I’m going to be losing weight! (Not that I have any to lose) 

So now I...

-am a district leader

-a trainer

-on bike

-live in a members home (it’s going to be legit) 

But other than that, we just did regular missionary work all week and it was pretty awesome! One thing that is super important, is love. Learn to love!!! That’s what makes it all worthwhile. 

Love people! Love yourself! Love love love 

Love you 

Élder Hepworth 

 

Killed Elder Jake Johnson and sent him home

No pumpkin?  No problem!  Write it on an orange!

 

 

 

10/16/17

Hey everyone!!! 

this week went by so fast!! .... oh wait I just realized it was because P Day was on Tuesday last week well... yeah went by super fast!!! Hahahahaha

We had a district meeting on Wednesday (district meetings happen every week for those of you who don’t know) and it was like a slap on the face  we talked about stuff about improving our ward council meetings and well.. the ward! And one of our assistants to the president was there and he threw out so many good ideas!!! We all felt like idiots for not thinking about it  but it helped a lot! So we’re working more closely with members and just taking things slowly and being smarter with things and we’re working more smartly with the ward council. It’s going to get somewhere!! 

Oh yeah and we also went to Barro’s pizza for lunch after that. If you don’t know what that is, yeah don’t worry cause I didn’t either before the mission. But it’s a super good pizza place and it’s amazing and I just had to tell you. Anyways...

One of the things our mission president told us was to always be working on a Christlike attribute. So, I decided to work on diligence! Let me tell you guys. Diligence is hard! Laziness is so easy to give in to  but as a missionary that’s not okay!!! And honestly if you get lazy, you definitely feel bad because the time is precious and time is short on a mission. But you always get so tired and so mentally exhausted and wow ya it’s hard guys. BUT! I’ve been studying it as well. And diligence always brings feelings of satisfaction and happiness. And I’ve noticed that that is so true! I know I always feel so accomplished if I know that I did all that I could and was diligent. There are so many nights when nothing happens and we get rejected so much and all that fun mission stuff, but if I do all I can and keep trying, I always feel SO GOOD! I don’t judge my happiness on how many lessons we had and all that. I mean yeah! That stuff makes me super happy when all is going well! But if it’s not, there’s no need to get discouraged!! Just keep working! And if you did all you can, that’s when you know that God is satisfied with your works and just keep plugging along!!! (Help the missionaries  people). 

Oh also! A super funny story!! Yesterday we were in ward council and we were talking about the Halloween party and all that fun stuff. And they told us that we can wear costumes but no masks! And one brother said “masks no but brooms are ok” (mind you this was all in Spanish) and then the same guy said “like we say in Mexico ‘brujeres jóvenes’” (so the joke is funny because Bruja means witch and so they play a joke on words and called them young witches). And also we were talking about how the Mesa Temple is going to be closing down in May, and how we are going to have to go to the Gilbert temple. And we were talking about the Spanish sessions and they asked if they were going to change the times so that we had more Spanish sessions, since a lot more people will be going to that temple. And they were like “no, no we don’t think so.” And the same member who made the joke about the young witches looks over and says “THATS DISCRIMINATION! THATS RACISM!” (He just said it jokingly). I literally laughed so hard  

Well, that’s all I got for this week!! Love you all and hope you find my stories funny 

 

 

10/9/17

Alright everyone. It’s been a fantastic week! Right? Right.

Weather update: death. No just kidding it’s only hot now. We’re past the death part. 

I literally thought it was hot in Idaho. That’s nothing!!! I can’t complain to my dad anymore if I work with him  nah hahaha but really I can’t complain about heat ever again. 

But for real, the weather is cooling down and it’s not so hot. It’s like 85 ish now. Burrr!!!! 

This week was pretty normal! We did some teaching, some driving, some walking, and some more teaching! 

On Saturday we helped out with the “Mesa Sprint Triathlon”. It was so fun! We basically just directed the people in the direction they needed to go for four hours. But it was fun to cheer them on! They also did this little kid fun run thing and we helped direct them where to go too. The first thing they did was swim, and after they swam they had to run. Well, I was outside waiting for them to be done swimming because I was supposed to tell what direction to go after they put their shoes on (it was weird cause they were soaking wet and they just put shoes on and shorts over the swimsuit and just ran!). Well there was this little girl who was like one of the first ones to be done swimming and they comes out super mad (with her mom) trying to get her shoes and clothes on and stuff. And her mom was trying to help her and this little girl was TICKED! She was like “MOM ITS FAIR” And she was struggling to get her socks and shoes on and the mom was trying to help and the little girl was like “mom I’m going to kill you!!!” And the mom was British and she says, “it’s not my fault!” And then she finally gets her stuff on and she just sprints away. 

I honestly thought it was suuuper funny and I just had to tell you guys. I guess the little kids fun run is super intense!! 

But after that we went over to the finish line and cheered people on while they ran through it and with some of them we ran with them to the finish line to help them and it was honestly just super fun. But, we also did have to clean up. So we picked up trash and stuff. Still fun though! You can make everything fun! 

Fast Sunday was this Sunday, duh like you all know. And I’ve realized that when I’m fasting, after so many hours, I just stop feeling hungry and I just feel empty  it’s like I can keep fasting and my stomach doesn’t hurt I actually feel pretty good, but I’m empty. That’s just how it feels! It’s kind of hard to explain. But I just thought of that and thought it was funny. 

But other than feeling empty, fasting is great! It’s always important to fast with a purpose. Otherwise you’re literally just starving yourself. Don’t just not eat because it’s fast Sunday! Do it for something! Fast for gratitud, to receive an answer, etc. Whatever you feel. And I know that if you do so, you’ll be blessed with what you need! Have faith in the Lord! 

Well, that’s all the stories I got for the week! I hope you guys had a great week, and I hope this next one brings lots of great stuff. Love you all!

 

I was pretending I worked in the district office

 

10/02/2017 - GENERAL CONFERENCE

HEEEYYYYYYY

Wow another week? Hm. Went by fast just like all the others. Go figure.

Well anyways, this week was fantastic! Why? GENERAL CONFERENCE THATS
WHY!!! You know guys I'll be honest, I didn't like general conference
that much when I was younger. Less mature I guess 😂
Cause I thought it was super long and I always wanted to fall asleep
and my blanket and the couch looked really appealing for that. and
they were! They did me good.

But now I've realized that general conference is SO important!!! And
it's so awesome and I learn so much. During this conference I loved so
many talks, but one talk in particular really stuck with me. The talk
by W. Craig Zwick was the best! I felt the spirit so strongly, and
honestly I think I can say that I've never felt the spirit as strong
as I did in that moment. I was touched by the story of the kid who has
his alarm set to put Christ first in his life and to read the
scriptures. I learned that if we put Christ first, we will be soooo
happy. Because he is the light, life, and hope. Always put Christ
first everyone! Your life will be better, that's a promise. The church
is true. And general conference is important. There is always
something to learn. Take advantage of it!!! Oh, and don't fall asleep
😂 I encourage you to listen attentively and to take notes!

So I can't remember if I told you guys, but our district changed. Now
we only have 6 people, and my companion and I are the only Elders. We
call it a relief society 😂😂😂 but it's honestly super fun because
we're going to do fun stuff. And it works out really well because we
also all serve in the same ward, so during district meeting we can
talk about the ward and stuff to strengthen it and what not. It's
awesome!

But other than that, I can't remember much of what happened this week!
Sometimes emails are boring. So sorry 🙁 but life is still good and I
pray for you guys. Love you and have a great week 

Elder Hepworth

District