La Primavera!

Hola mi familia!

It’s been a great week! Things are pretty warm but we're doing ok! Lots of exciting things this week! Things are going really well with Vivi (Juan's sister) and she was able to come to church this week! She fit just right in and it was great! We're still working with the less active Garcia family (I played 26 games of tic tac toe in church with their 7 year old to help her be reverent...whew!) and the Morales family. Roberto is preparing to be baptized this week but his wife back in Mexico has some mixed feelings about it! Please keep them in your prayers!

We also have continued to visit Siomara (she lives way out in the country) and she brought a friend to church this Sunday. Her mom passed a way this week and it reminded me a lot of the situation when Alma (from Mercedes) had the passing of her mom and how helpless they felt because communication was limited and the distance was so far!

This week I finished el Libro de Mormon in Spanish! I have such a strong testimony that it is true! It helps me feel my Saviors love and I am so grateful for it! It has honestly been a miracle to see how far I've come with Spanish and I owe a large portion of my progress to reading from the Book of Mormon! This time as I finished up a few verses at the end really stood out to me!

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

I love in verse 7 how it tells us by the Holy Ghost we can know that Christ is! That is such a powerful witness and such a key to our relationship with our Savior and with others. If we constantly renew that testimony we will earn charity from our Heavenly Father and we will grow closer to all we come in contact with! Yo se que el libro de Mormon es verdadero y estoy tan agredecido por esta oportunidad de compartirlo con la gente del valle!

les amo!

Con amor!

Elder Cook

Hola mi familia

Hola mi familia!

It was another wild week in Brownsville! Things are going great. Juan was confirmed this past Sunday and we're now teaching one of his sisters as well! We're still working with Robert and things are going great with him! This week we worked a lot with two less active families! The first is the Morales families...they have 3 daughters (22, 18, 14) and a son (8) and the step dad isn’t a member. The mom works on Sundays but the kids were able to come to church this week! We had a really fun family home evening with them and we sang Cuando Hay Amor (it just wouldn’t be a family night without that song!). They're a fun family and they've all started reading the Book of Mormon again.

As well we found the Garcia family this week! We'd planned to go by a street that’s off the beaten path and hidden behind a few other streets in the area called Mora Road. As we pulled onto the street Friday night we decided to drive down it first and park out the end before walking around to talk to people. The first house we came to had a few people outside and they didn’t really take us to seriously. As we were getting ready to leave one of them said "let me find Chuy". A few minutes later a man came out of a small dwelling to the side of the main house and invited us into his house. His wife was behind him in the door and asked us "Quien les mando?" (who sent you!?!). turns out they were members from Matamoros who had been here for a few months but were unable to find transportation to church. The wife had talked to some Jehovah’s witnesses the week before and had been praying for help! It was pretty amazing to hear their story and to talk with them. She thought for sure someone from church had sent us there to visit them!  Their oldest child is named Jahannah and when we came back Saturday to visit again she had highlighted all 10 verses in 1 Nephi 1 where they had read the night before, the kids were also all dressed up in their Sunday clothes when we came and were sitting down with the Book of Mormon waiting for us! It was a sweet scene! They are such a humble family and the kids are our best friends! The husband wasn’t able to make it to church on Sunday because he works but the wife and the 3 kids made it and were able to stay for the other Elders baptism as well!

I'm grateful that Heavenly Father is aware of each of His children, and especially has special concern and care for families! It was a humbling experience and definitely motivated me to be better when I heard the words "Quien les Mando??"

Elder Paulsen is a great piano player by the way! He plays by ear and with 2 pianos in the chapel/multi purpose room we were able to play a duet of "the river flows in you" (I played it a lot before I left!) and neither of us have ever seen the music for it!

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Sur Tejas

Hola Mi familia!

This was a great week! Lots of challenges but lots of success and miracles as well! First off, Juan Quiroz was baptized on Sunday! It was such a wonderful experience. He's been such a blessing for our companionship and watching him quit smoking has been such a miracle! He's also reading through the Book of Mormon like crazy! He's more than halfway through Alma (pg. 388 en Espanol!) and takes his book with him everywhere he goes! His mom and 1 of his sisters were both able to attend and it was a special experience to see them there! I'm sending a picture in the mail this week...but to give you a better sum up of who he is...Juan's 26...about 5"10 and weighs about 215lbs. He had a rough past and wasn’t able to finish high school. Almost every family down here has someone who's been a part of or affected by drugs, gangs, or been to prison. Juan was definitely someone who was prepared to accept the gospel. With him, a lot of the major changes he needed to make in his life, he had already done before we met him. After his baptism it really helped me to understand that while it’s such a simple act, baptism opens a door in heaven that real and truly does bring a remission of sins!

We also got news of transfers! Both Elder Paulsen and I are staying in Southmost! I'm excited! I really love the branch we attend and I've made some great friends! Dad- I thought of you a lot this week! We had someone give us an entire cheesecake on Saturday, and then throughout the week 2 or 3 other families gave us cheesecake as well! Turns out the young woman were doing a fundraiser...making cheesecake....no complaints though! it was really good! I love you all! Thanks for all the support!

Con amor

Elder Cook

El parte mas sur de todo!

Hola Mi familia!

Well! Another great week down here in BrownTown. We have two main investigators right now! Juan and Roberto! Juan is actually going to be baptized this coming Sunday! He is such a miracle! We drove by his house the other day and saw him outside his house reading the Book of Mormon! Nothing makes a missionary happier than to see that! Roberto was a miracle as well! He showed up at a garage sale of the mother in law of our ward mission leader. They talked for a bit and he said he was looking for a church. She (non-member by the way) told him that her family goes each week and invited him! He's come twice now and we've had the chance to teach him a few times. He's one of the most humble people I have ever met! He loved church because everyone was just so nice and kind to him!

As well, this past Sunday was interesting because we got to teach a lesson about the 10 commandments to the entire primary! hijole! We were teaching in Spanish but half spoke back in English and half in Spanish and the primary presidency only knew Spanish! We made it through all 10 and now when we walk around the Iglesias, all we have to say when we see the kids is "Que es numero sies?" y they respond "no mataras!" (don’t kill) with their finger-guns pointed at us. Nos divertimos mucho! Que mas... I'm nearing the end of the book of Mormon in Spanish finally! It truly has been a miracle to see how far I’ve come with the language! Sorry for the Tex-Mex as well...we're just starting a 2 week fast from English and the switch doesn’t always happen so fast!

Hard to believe its March already...but the great news with time moving so fast is that conference is just around the corner! We had the chance to give a couple priesthood blessings in the past week or so and they were all wonderful experiencias that reminded me of how blessed we are to be alive in a time where so many have the priesthood of God!

Quiero darles mi testimonio! que yo se que dios nos ama y que el siempre nos invita a hacer lo bueno!

I want to give you my testimony! that I know that God loves us y that He Always invites us to do the good!

Estoy agredecido que el Espiritu santo nos habla personalmente y que conoce los deseos de nuestros corazones y que la expiacion de cristo nos da la fuerza para superar las debilidades y desafios que nos enfrenten.

I'm grateful that the spirit speaks personally to each of us, knows the desires of our hearts and the atonement of Christ gives us the strength to overcome weakness and challenge!

Les amo mucho!

Con amor,

Elder Cook