July 29, 2013

Hola mi familia!

Well it’s gotten to that point again where I feel like I’ve been here for a couple of months but it’s only been two weeks! Each day has been full of things to do and it’s been fun finding new people to teach and getting to meet the members! Our area is pretty interesting geographically because it covers maybe 5 or 6 neighborhoods off of a few main roads and then a rural section out by the coast! Elder Stevens is good about being patient as I get an orientation!

So...the highlights from the week!

-Southmost!!!! On Thursday we had exchanges and I got to go back and work in my old area! It was a really special experience full of lots of tender mercies! First we visited Siomara and it was great to see how she has kept her faith strong and to see how happy she was! Then we visited a recent convert that Elder Paulsen had baptized the month after I left! He really had a huge impact on the area and on the branch and I look forward to catching up with him whenever I serve with him next. After that we visited Bro. Boccanegra the ward mission leader! It was great to talk to him and to get the run down on the branch there in Southmost. They’ve lost a few families but a few of the part-member families and less actives are now coming! For our dinner appt. we went to Mama Isaguires and she slammed us with food (as usual!)! It was great to eat so much Mexican food again! Lastly we went by the Quiroz family! Juan looked way different! He's lost 50 lbs since April and has now read through the entire Spanish standard works! Keep him in your prayers as well as his sister Vivi! She's going to be giving birth in September (she hadn’t told us the whole time back in march or April that she was pregnant)..but it was fun to see the whole family excited about the baby! We shared a good lesson with them and the Spirit was so strong! Vivi was doing a really good job of trying to involve two of the other sisters as well!

-Friday night Elder Stevens felt impressed to go back and visit a woman he had taught earlier this summer...and we found out that she needed her lawn cut in 24 hours or she would face a $35 fine! we found her up to her neck in bills and that her husband had just left her! It was a miracle that we were able to pass by and the next day we found a mower and mowed the lawn for her! It felt so good to serve!

-Today we went downtown for a couple errands and as we were walking back to the truck we found the Garcia family! A family Elder Paulsen and I had helped reactivate in Southmost! They now live in a different ward and Heavenly Father definitely put them in our path today! It’s a big town and the chances of just happening to  run into them are way too small for it to be coincidence! I had a good talk with Sister Garcia and she told me their 8 year old (the one we had helped baptize) was up in Corpus now!

-Sunday night after church we went to teach a man named Luis! He is so humble and sensitive to the Spirit! He has been through a lot in his life and was so kind and respectful when he listened to our message! Tonight we have an FHE with him and we're excited to see him progress!

This week I had the chance to study on faith! I found a good quote from one of Pres. Trayners emails that said simply "If you believe,  you will receive!". I’m learning how necessary it is that we constantly strengthen, apply, and renew our faith! Miracles truly do follow!

Que tengan una gran semana y que hagan algo para servir!

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Brownsville Pt. II

Hola mi familia!

This was a great week! Lots of craziness with transfers but it was a lot of fun! The drive down from Corpus was a lot of fun. First, because we drove with just missionaries leaving corpus so I got to talk with the ones I’d served with for the last month or so. It was a good time to reflect on how my mission has gone and really the ultimate halfway point! I’m so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the places I’ve been and the people I have met and especially the companions I served with! I could not be happier with how it has been!

I definitely will miss the missionaries I served with in Corpus! It was an isolated part of the mission where the missionaries in your Zone become a lot closer! I learned a lot there and made some great friends! I got the chance to say bye to the Perez family, Danny Tellez, and a few of the members by phone before we left...we found out Monday so there wasn’t much time! Monday night we had a really fun barbecue with the Perez family and their dad told me as I said goodbye how grateful he was for our help and the Spirit bore witness to me of how Heavenly Father had put us in their path to bring them the gospel! I know one day that family will go to the temple and be sealed together forever!

So my new companion is Elder Stevens! He is a great missionary! He finishes up his mission this month but has lots of great plans to make this an awesome month! He's from California (Sacramento) went to BYU before, swims, sings, plays guitar, and has awesome Spanish! We live with two other elders. Elder Mulitalo (he’s a BYU offensive lineman) and Elder Walker (from Alaska!). They’re both a lot of fun and it was fun to see Elder Mulitalo again after Corpus (he came back down in June though). Tuesday we had a couple tender mercies welcoming me to Brownsville! As we pulled into the parking lot at the church we ran into the Martinez family...a family I knew really well back in Southmost. Turns out they’ve moved and now live in the new ward boundaries. The first people I saw back in Brownsville were the kids David (18) and Dianna (16). It was great to see some familiar faces! Then we left for a meal appointment which turned out to be with another family who attended the Southmost branch but lives outside of the boundaries. I remember giving the address to Elder Stevens and his companion back when I was in Southmost so that they could go visit them! It was fun to see how paying it forward came back to me! We had some great Mexican food and it was a good easy adjustment back to Spanish! Woohoo! I love speaking so much Spanish again! It’s part of my soul as a missionary! Even when people don’t want to listen I can always find comfort that we’re doing everything in another language! It’s been so good to hear the same old familiar phrases and words again! I need to work way hard at it though! The battle with Spanish will never be over!
In the morning to exercise we actually go to a member’s house nearby and workout on a bench press and a bar...Elder Stevens wants to get in shape and eat healthy before he goes home so as his companion I get the same benefits! We're still sore though from Saturday!

We were able to do a lot of service this week and it really helped me remember how important that is in keeping our baptismal covenant! It’s amazing how much better your day goes and how much more sensitive you are to the Spirit when you are able to serve! We also had the chance to sing an acapella version of Nearer My God to Thee at a ward activity as an apartment! It was really fun and I'm so grateful for the hymns...or the "green scriptures"...as some from the MTC used to call it! Thursday we had to run an errand and I got to stop by the Southmost apartment again where I lived from Feb. to April. Just like the other times where I’ve passed through former areas...it always feels the exact same as when I left it ..maybe a few small changes..but the feelings the same...but I definitely feel a lot different and it helps me recognize the progress and change I’ve gone through on my mission! I'm so grateful for that progression! I heard a quote that I really liked this week! "Heavenly Father has already armed you for the trials that you will face!". I’m grateful that our Father in Heaven gives us specific capabilities and attributes and puts us in the situations where He can use us best! I’ve seen that in just a few miraculous ways this past week and my testimony has grown a lot on the Atonement and how it can bless us in our progress!

Great scriptures for the week!
Mark 5:36
D&C 84:88

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Brownsville Part II

Hola mi familia!

Transfers are here again! They were later this time and we just found out this morning! And tomorrow I’m going back down to the valley! Specifically Brownsville! WOOOHOOO! I'm really excited! It was a pretty big surprise! I’m happy for the time I’ve spent up North and it really has been a good test for me as a missionary! I’ll be in a car too so looks like the sunburn risk is going to be lower!

Last week we had a mini zone meeting with the Maluendas and it was incredible! They only speak Spanish to the missionaries and a lot of people were nervous to talk to them! I had a lot of fun and learned a lot from their trainings. They have 4 kids that are living here with them, a son on a mission in California, and a daughter from BYU who is coming to visit as well! Definitely different from the Trayners but differences are what makes us unique and individual! Presidente Maluenda spoke often about the importance of being obedient and diligent and enjoying our missions! He shared a really good story from 1 Nephi 16. I invite you to read it again this week and learn about how Nephi applied his faith and obedience! He made the good point as well that Nephi had to help Lehi fulfill his duty as a prophet when he asks him to pray for direction and that's a great lesson of humility for us!

This week Elder Graff and I grew a lot closer together as a companionship and we really had a lot of fun! It was great to see his improvement over the past few weeks and I know he’ll do great things with the area! I’ll miss being on the water so often but it’ll be a ton of fun to be preaching the gospel in Spanish again! I know the Lord hears and answers our prayers and that as we serve Him, He draws nearer to us!

Con amor,
 
Elder Cook

Uni Heights!

Hola mi familia!

Another great week up here in Corpus! This week was a pretty good transition week for us! The 4th of July went well, it felt a lot more like a Saturday but a lot of people went downtown for the parades and fireworks but we spent some good time with our members!

- Jessica and Marky had their confirmations this past Sunday! We visited them just about every day this week. We're working with them but also their younger siblings JJ (12) and Alyssa (14). They both came to church as well and had a great time! Marky and Jessica both got up in church and bore their testimonies! We felt so proud of them and the wards both loved them! They came to the YSA ward for the first time and everyone welcomed them with open arms! Before they left Jessica went around and gave everyone a hi five! She’s always happy and is probably the friendliest person I’ve met on my mission! Marky is a pretty mature guy who likes asking questions and is just as friendly! After Elders’ Quorum in the family ward he went over to a new member of the quorum in his 30’s and welcomed him and started a conversation about engineering! We felt like the world’s proudest parents!

-On Thursday as we were biking a man stopped us and told us his name and address and invited us to come by on Sunday in about 30 sec! We stood their shocked for a second and had a good laugh about it! Last night we went back to talk to him and he told us how he’d never been "evangelized" before in his life and wanted to know what we did and shared! He asked us a lot of great questions and we set up a lesson at the church on Wednesday! His name is Brian and he’s an Analyst for the army! (haha...he asks some GREAT questions...one of his first being: Do you know who Melquesidec is from the Bible?). He's way prepared and we can already see how he’s going to fit into the ward!

Lastly I thought this week a lot about how we always have to increase our faith! Serving is such a great way to instantly feel our faith growing and see it working in the lives of others!

Sorry its short this week! Hope all goes well for you!

Con amor,

Elder Cook!

Mas Photos - July 1

Julio ya!

Hola mi familia!

It’s been another great week up here in Corpus Christi! The end of the month is always really exciting and it’s nice to start a new one! Sat. we hit 106 degrees but managed to stay out of the sun for a good part of the time! It’s definitely summer now! Here are the highlights again from the week:

-The Trayners leaving and the Maluendas coming! We haven't heard from the Maluendas yet but we received a few goodbye letters and messages from the Trayners. The mission climate depends so much on the mission family and we’re excited to hear from them!

-Jessica (18) and Marky Perez (19) were baptized yesterday! We're always working with other members of the family as well! The service went really well and the spirit was so strong. Their dad, brother, cousin, sister, and grandma all came and it all went smoothly! They were both so prepared to receive the gospel and it was such a tender mercy! The first time we talked to them was back when Elder Peterson was my companion. We had walked past their house on our way to visit another person and we'd waved to Jessica and she waved back! After a few more steps we decided to walk back and talk to her! Both she and Marky gave up smoking and it was a lot similar to Juan Quiroz's situation back in Brownsville! They love attending the YSA events during the week (Family Home Evenings on Mondays, Institute on Tuesdays, Addiction recovery class & Volleyball on Wednesdays) and they're both thinking about serving missions some day (yaba-daba-dooo!). Their brother JJ (12) has been a lot of fun as well...he read the entire book of Mormon stories reader in a week and loves basketball shoes!

-We've continued to visit the Jaen family as well! The kids are doing really well and we helped them move their belongings back into their apartment after they had their floor replaced! We got to teach them on the beachside park across from their apartment! It was pretty cool...but the sand and wind were a bit of a hassle! haha. Eddie works out in the mornings and Kristina has tennis camp all day...sound familiar? We're going to try and play tennis with them soon too since we have courts at our apt complex (we play 1-2x a week, sometimes with the sisters, in the morning for exercise!).

-Grateful to have Elder Graff as a companion! He keeps things fun and upbeat and makes sure that I don't stress out too much! He's a missionary who is really good at keeping a strong vision of what we want to accomplish and he works really well with the members!

-Try and have the Elders over this week to help out in the yard or do some sort of service! They would appreciate it so much! Give them a chance to serve and get to know you! We treasure every opportunity we have to spend time with the members and a missionary schedule is always flexible!!!

I think that one of the biggest lessons I learned this week was on inviting miracles into our lives and depending on the Lord to let them happen! Alma 7:23 has taught me a lot about how that happens!

23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

1) We need to prepare ourselves and live in such a way that we can be blessed with those miracles!

2) We must be humble! being humble gives us spiritual power which is the power it takes for miracles to happen!

3) We have to ask!

4) We have to give thanks for all we receive!

I’ve been able to add a lot of entries to my tender mercies journal from Grandma and Grandpa Ralph! It’s been such a blessing to look over those miracles and feel of the strength and inspiration that comes from recognizing Gods hand in our lives!

I know that the Savior is personally involved in the work of Salvation and works in a personal and loving way with each of us! I know that this is Christ's church restored here again on the Earth today! The Scriptures are true and we have a living prophet on the Earth today!

Thanks so much for all your love, prayers, and support! Les quiero mucho! Casi tuvimos una leccion en espanol el sabado. Hablamos con 3 homres por unos minutos pero estaban tomando y querrian fijar una cita para un major tiempo. Regresaremos en unos dias para ensenarles!

Hay! Extrano mucho el espanol! la abuela de la familia Perez trabajo con maestros de ESL en Columbus cada ano hasta 1995 por 20 anos. Hablamos mucho y fue bien divertido!

Con amor y hasta la proxima semana!

Elder Cook