At 22 years old, William Hopoate of Sydney, Australia had his life career presented before him. Hopoate is a rugby star in Australia, but he is also a returned missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a teenager, Hopoate won a premiership in 2011 at Manly and represented his state within the same year.
Hopoate left for his mission soon after that when he came off of his contract, and had very few problems getting back into the game. Hopoate believes it’s due to his presence in serving a mission.
Smh.com interviewed Hopoate about his mission and post-mission experiences; he responded:
Being away for two years and facing quite a bit of adversity and rejection, it’s helped me to be a bit more mentally stronger and a bit more thick-skinned, I think that helps.
Watch the video here and read the full story at LDS.net.
