Una vez Mas

Hola mi familia!

Pos. One last letter! First off I would like to express my gratitude to all who have supported me on my mission. Most especially mom and dad! Thank you all for your prayers, for the letters, the care packages, and even just thinking about me! I have never once felt alone, unsafe, or unsupported! It means so much to me and I know the reunions will be joyful!

These past few days have caused me to reflect a lot on the past two years of my life. Where they have gone. Who I have met. How I have changed. What I have seen. The lessons I have learned. Overall I've felt so much gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the blessing it has been to serve as a missionary! Today I'll just briefly share a few of the lessons from my mission and my testimony of the Lord’s work.

Alma 26: 37 Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

First, I love "the Valley" and people of South Texas. The people are a wonderful mixture of the United States and Mexico and it’s a place you've never heard of before, never been, and a hidden treasure on this earth! The members, friends we’ve taught, less active members treat us with so much love and generosity! Everyone here will talk to you! It’s such a unique and wonderful place.

1 Nephi 1:20 But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

In the past 2 years I’ve seen the hand of the Lord daily! It’s amazing to me how much He loves us and how much He does to show us that He cares! The Lord really is involved in the details of our lives and loves to give us "tender mercies" and small little personal surprises that only mean something to us. Today for example as we went to send off my bike, we felt prompted to invite another companionship to accompany us! At the bus station one of the Elders ran into a man he had taught almost a year ago who had wanted to get baptized but was about to serve time in prison. Today as we met him he had just been released and was on his way back home! There are those "celestial coincidences" that to me are the strongest proof of God’s character as a loving Heavenly Father!

Mosiah 18:30 And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.

I know that as we lose ourselves in the service of others we will be happy. As we turn outward when our natural self would turn inward, we are blessed with experiences where we are made instruments in the Lords hands. As He works through us we are blessed to "come to the knowledge of our Redeemer". I cannot express the gratitude I feel towards my Savior, or the love that I feel for Him.

I know that this is Christ’s true and living church here upon the Earth today. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us as His children. I know that this life is the time for us to repent and prepare to meet God and as we do so we will find peace and joy in our time. I know that God restored His church through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that the Book of Mormon is not merely just an evidence of this, but one of God’s greatest instruments in helping us to feel His love. I know it is true and I love to read its words. It has taught me how to be a disciple of the Savior. I know that Jesus Christ lives. That He suffered for our sins, sicknesses, pains, and heartaches and that He died on the Cross and rose the 3rd day, and because of that.we will all live again someday and stand before Him and He will be our judge. I know that families truly can be together forever and that as we keep the commandments we will be happy.

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

- Con amor,

Elder Cook

 

Las ovejas regresan! (June 9, 2014)

Hola mi familia!

Wow! This was another wonderful week! I learned so much and feel like there’s still so much to do! A good part of the week we spent in meetings (Tues/Wed) and it was good to see some of my friends in the mission for the final time. I think the biggest thing that I learned this week came down to the Holy Ghost! There were a few times where we felt just the smallest prompting to go do something that required a change in plans, or to go back a certain way or do something differently and each time it yielded great results! I've learned that every time I follow a prompting, I get better at following the next one! But if I choose not to follow it or ignore it then the Holy Ghost will leave me in a painful silence until I repent and promise to be obedient!

Here are a few of these small little tender mercies!

Tuesday night- We were told we needed to prepare a musical number for a conference and we had the distinct impression that a few certain missionaries (who normally don't participate) needed to perform. We ended up doing a mix of the hymns “As I have loved you” with "love at home." It was so powerful! Afterward the missionaries thanked us and told us how much it had strengthened their testimonies!

Wed- we stopped by an investigator’s home after leaving a training meeting and found no one home. As we started to drive away we looked down another street and thought we saw a man we recognized so we decided to go back. It turned out to be Jorge, the father of a family we used to visit whose younger brother (Marvin) we are teaching right now. He has been working a lot lately and it was the first time we had made contact with that family in a few days and because of it we were able to go by the next day and help Marvin come to church!

Sunday- I walked into the Spanish Ward and was asked to play the piano! I’m usually hesitant if one of the Sister missionaries are present but that day there weren't any. As I looked at the program I saw "Para siempre Dios este con vos" and "Todo esta bien" (come come ye saints!) two of my favorite mission songs! This next week I’ll be in the English ward so it was a great tender mercy that the Lord arranged for those songs to be sung on my final Sunday there!

Ah! There are so many to share! But I know that the Lord does bless us in accordance to our faith and trust in Him! This is His church and His work!

Have a great week!

Con amor,

Elder Cook!

Recent Photos!

Mi Valle! (June 2, 2014)

Hola mi familia!

If I could come up with an analogy for the progression of my mission, I think I’d have to compare it to a regular summer day in the Valley! You wake up in the mornings and see a beautiful sunrise with palm trees and big fast moving clouds and it’s humid but not too hot. You've made plans and you try to envision just exactly how everything you've planned is going to work out! There are goals, dreams, needs, and wants that all need to be taken care of! By mid’ day its hot hot hot but there are toy story shaped clouds all across the sky. Its lots of work and sweat but if you’re diligent then miracles happen. Problems come up, plans change, but small tender mercies make it all fun and exciting!  As the evening hits it slowly cools down and then you get to see a beautiful Texas sunset and the wind picks up to cool you down! All the work and sweat and stress of the day are erased by a calm still peace as whole world seems to prepare for the night. It’s the most beautiful part of the day! You have time to reflect on the day’s events, the people you knew, and the things the Lord has done to help you be happy!

Here in the sunset phase of my mission I feel the same way! The "morning" of my mission seems miles away, the heat of the day doesn't seem quite as rough as I thought it was when it occurred and I'm blessed to have the help of the Lord as I look back in hindsight of everything that's happened. Each day this week something amazing happened and it’s humbling to see how good the Lord is at loving us personally!

This week:

People:

Paulina was confirmed this past Sunday and their family is fully active again in the church! We use Oreos about as often as the scriptures when we teach her haha (she’s like me!) and we had a cool lesson where we shared the video from Pres. Faust about the voice of the spirit!

Marvin!: He's a 15 year old we taught back in April who’s recently just began coming to church! He reads the Book of Mormon everyday and he came and played soccer at the church with some of the other youth! He's a super cool kid and has a really good heart! He always tries to do what’s right regardless of what his family members do.

Zoraya!: She’s getting reading for her baptism soon and she is being a missionary in her own family! Her older sister wanted to take her down to Brownsville for the zoo but she told her sister that she had to go to church! It’s been fun helping her to make friends with the other girls in Primary.

Priscilla & Valeria: We have a lot of fun visiting them! We teach them at their cousins’ house and it’s always a party! Valeria (who’s 8) helps her mom remember to read and pray and she is so responsive to the spirit! Last night we went over for dinner and Elder Munoz taught the moms how to make Arepas (algo colombiano! Son muy ricos!) and I taught an impromptu primary class using Mormon messages, hang man, and thumb wars to the kids: in total there are 8 kids ranging from 6-14! haha it’s a fun group!

Blanca!: Her friend got baptized last week and she has been coming each week and told us this week that she knows the book of Mormon is true! she has a young little daughter who has the same hair style as my companion! (see the attached picture!) haha.

Fun Experiences:

Wednesday we decided to go on bikes for the day and as we visited Blanca it started to sprinkle. A few minutes later it was a full blown thunderstorm! After trying to wait it out for about an hour under a neighbor’s garage overhang we decided to try and ride to our next appointment (some members) which was about 2 miles away! it was awesome! The streets were flooded and after about 10 sec. we were soaked. At one point we had to get off our bikes and walk on the side walk to avoid some mud. A bus came by at the perfect time and  I got snowplowed by a wall of water! haha. I miss being a bike missionary! Better yet...as we kept riding I missed the turn and so we literally went the "extra' mile that day! But we made it to our destination and things turned out well!

Sat- As we finished  teaching Priscilla and Valeria a nearby drive thru started blasting really loud music...the family told us that that evening there was going to be a Lucha libre...(ha think Nacho libre!). We drove by later and caught a glimpse of the masked Mexican wrestlers ....yes...even dressed up in their "stretchy pants'". It kind of underscored the culture differences between Ohio and South Texas ...the Ohio State fair or corn festival would've been the equivalent for the Lucha Libres in Alamo Texas. I love it all!

Lastly, my testimony really has grown this week about the power of the family! I know that Heavenly Father really is our Father in heaven and that He loves each of us as His children! As we visit and teach families the gospel of Jesus Christ, it all just comes back down to the simple story of a family. A Father who loves His Children sent His oldest Son to show us the example and to help us out so that some day we can all go back home and be happily together forever! I know this is true!

Just as the primary song says:

How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness?
He sent his Son, a newborn babe, with peace and holiness.
How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go?
He sent his Son to walk with men on earth, that we may know.
How could the Father tell the world of sacrifice, of death?
He sent his Son to die for us and rise with living breath.
What does the Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say?
Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way.
What does he ask? Live like his Son.

Con amor animo y agredecimiento,

Elder Cook!

Hola mi familia!

Hola mi familia!

This week I learned some great lessons on attitude! I’ve learned recently that your attitude and excitement for something really has such a powerful effect! Finding joy in the little things, and especially finding fun in the unpleasant things takes a roller coaster day with ups and downs and turns it into a jet ski ride!

This week we had a lot to do! Ill share a little bit though about the people we’re visiting:

Gonzalez family = The family are all members of the church except their youngest daughter Paulina! she's really smart and loves to read the Book of Mormon. It’s fun to watch her and her Dad joke around and she always gives him a hard time. Bro. Gonzalez speaks great Tex-Mex and there’s hardly ever a sentence he says that doesn’t use both languages! We had a great lesson with the bishop’s wife this week and it was fun to see old friends reuniting as this family have come back to church!

Zoraya Escamilla= Her family is less active but her brother goes to a different ward on occasion with friends there. We've taught her the last few weeks and she is the sweetest little girl! Each time as we’re about to leave she tells us "thanks for helping me!" or just "thanks for coming!" She has a little toy starter guitar that she’s trying to figure out how to play! She says really good prayers and it’s great to see how she’s been a great example for the rest of her family! She lives way out in the boonies so it’s always fun to have lessons in the evenings there when it’s cool and under the Texas sunsets! Their family has a helote van (Scott and Dad will soon have the joy of seeing those in action) and the other day when we were there we saw a car crash on their street (it wasn’t serious at all!).

Priscilla & Valeria & the Aleman family= the Aleman family are members that some of my past companions/friends (Elders Welker/Child/Crimm) all visited. They’re a family of 2 sisters with 4 kids each (all under 16). We have a lot of fun with them! Each time after lessons we take a few minutes to play basketball or soccer with the kids. We're teaching their cousins Priscilla and her daughter Valeria! Valeria is 8 and loves reading the Book of Mormon! Priscilla has lots of good questions!

As well yesterday we stopped by Glenda and Jorge and Jorges' brother Marvin - a family we visited and taught in April. It was really good to see them again and Marvin really wants to come to mutual on Wednesdays and church on Sundays so he can be baptized! We found out later after we’d been teaching them that Marvin and Jorges mom is a member so hopefully she'll be coming back to church as well!

The Lopez family! They’re a family that Neil visited a lot and they sometimes can’t make it to church because of ride situations and the husband has work! We've been visiting them and teaching them the lessons again and it’s been a lot of fun!

There’s more! hahaPharr, Donna, and Edinburgh Texas!! Haha it’s crazy but we do cover parts of at least 5 towns! The Pharr ward is for sure one of my favorite wards and even on Wednesday when we stopped in for mutual it just felt like home! Oh! And Friday we saw a live mariachi band at a Mother’s Day activity! super cool! Super good! super music...like street musicians...and super loud!

I want to share my testimony about the Light of Christ! I know that when we can simply share a smile with others and do it with sincere love, it helps to brighten the lives of those who are stuck in the darkness of sin or struggle! I know the Savior's light touches each of us through every good thing we do! I love being a representative of Jesus Christ and I know that His Gospel really is a Gospel of Happiness!

Have a great week!

Con amor y animo!

Elder Cook

Photos

Un buen domingo!

Hola mi familia!

Today I think I’ll just keep things simple and share a cool experience from yesterday. After getting home from church we ate, finished our studies, changed from our suits into our normal missionary clothes and went out to visit people. The first house we visited was a lady who had spoken with missionaries previously, and it had turned out that Elder Munoz had actually taught that family a year before when he was on exchanges. We talked to a few more people on that street (they weren't too keen on accepting) but we felt good about our efforts.

Next we went to visit a family who was supposed to be moving down from Corpus but they weren't home so we decided to take a Sunday walk around the block. One of my favorite things about being a missionary is just the fact that whenever we seem to exercise a particle of great faith (such as a walk around the block, with the trust that God will put someone in our path) a miracle can occur! After we’d made it around the first turn and talked to a few families, we noticed a house behind one of the main houses that was only accessible and visible from the back alley way. We felt impressed to go to that home and we’re pleased to meet a woman named Blanca from Honduras! She received us instantly with so much happiness! She’s been struggling a lot in her life lately and has felt desires to come closer to God. She loved the things we shared with her and at the end prayed to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet and received a strong answer as she felt peace through the Holy Ghost! AS she told us about the situation of her life, the details fit almost perfectly with another woman named Siomara (also from Honduras) who I had taught in Brownsville. It felt so good to know that we had been where the Lord wanted us to be and that we had been instruments in His hands!

I know when we trust in the Lord, He will take care of us and miracles will occur! We're excited to help Blanca as she makes the necessary changes in her life to follow her Savior Jesus Christ. I love the gospel and the hope it offers to each of us! May we each have a greater trust and confidence in the Lord!

Con amor,

Elder Cook!

La taqueria diligencia

Hola mi familia!!!!

So this week one of my focuses was diligence! It’s always fun to see how the emails you send me can reflect the things or lessons I’ve just learned (Moms really good at it!). This week Spencer told me about his night of 3hrs of homework and it made me laugh again! We worked really hard this week with helping our investigators make friends and meet people in the wards where we are serving and it was a great week!

The Reyes family (Glenda and Jorge) are doing really well and we had a wonderful lesson where we taught Glenda about the plan of Salvation! She loved learning about what happens after we die and was so excited to come to church on Sunday to keep learning about the gospel. We also had a really great lesson with a less active member of the church named Ashley. She’s 29 and has 6 kids and is going through a really ugly divorce right now. Wednesday night she came over to the church for the first time since last November and as she learned about Joseph Smith and the restoration and prayed to receive a confirmation of its truthfulness, the spirit bore a strong witness to her and she felt such a strong desire to come back and feel the Saviors love again in her life. I love experiences like that! They seem to come and go so quickly and I try to do all I can to savor them! I really have a strong testimony of the power and authority of those who are called to preach the gospel. It’s such an interesting thing to see how people act when missionaries invite them to come closer to the savior...and I believe so strongly that the same way they respond is the way they would respond to the Savior Himself.

As a missionary I’ve learned that diligence is a great expression of one’s love. Often by being persistent at the little things we communicate our love to those we are serving or trying to help. I am so grateful for the Saviors example. He was so persistent in teaching those around him and observing their needs. I know that as we serve the Lord with all our heart might mind and strength and seek to do all we can to help others...we are able to see how we can bear their burdens through the Saviors love and make their lives easier! I know the Savior’s promise is true when He said:

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Con amor,

 
Elder Cook

Semana de la conferencia!

Hola mi familia!

This was a pretty great week! It was full of lots of learning and my checklist of things to do and put into practice seems longer than it’s ever been! It’s great though! Recently we’ve received a lot of great training on the importance of goals and planning and how a good goal only comes from good plans! Lots of desires means lots of plans which translates into lots of changes to make!

Things are going great with my new companion elder Munoz! He is great! I learn something new about Colombia just about every single day and it’s fun to compare the differences between his culture and the Mexicana cultura! Saturday we had a little lunch in between conference and he taught us how to make plantains (those banana like things that are really popular in South America). One of my goals for this month is to improve my culinary skills!

General Conference was a great experience! It was such a blessing to hear from the prophets and apostles and to learn directly the will of the Lord. In between the Saturday sessions Elder Munoz made the comment that he couldn’t believe that so much of the world could miss such a big event! I think the messages that left the biggest impression on me (aside from all of the apostolic testimonies) were the talks by Elder Bednar on the "loads" we carry and spiritual traction, and then Elder Zwick’s talk on communication! Being a better listener and listening with the intent of understanding is an area where I can definitely improve. In our area this week we had lots of cool experiences meeting people that I had talked with before. We made contact again with three families that I had met when I first came into this area back in December but with whom we hadn’t had contact for a few months! One of them, a man named Noe came to institute, 4 sessions of conference, and stayed for a baptism! Seeing him with his friend (who is a member) at conference reminded me of when Kelsey Sicker came over for conference and that led to her learning from the missionaries! That was such a fun experience!

This week I’m focusing on being a more patient Elder Cook.  In Romans 8, Paul teaches about the power of patience and the great need to develop more of this Christ like attribute:

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I have a testimony of the redeeming and renewing power of His Atonement. Through him we can become better people and our efforts to make permanent changes in our natures and characters of being occur according to the faith and trust we place in Him. His example of Patient suffering and labor should motivate each of us to be kinder and more willing to sacrifice for others! I hope we can all be a little more patient this week!

Con amor,

Elder Cook!

Hola!

Hola mi familia!

One of my goals this transfer is to do a lot better job at taking and sending pictures! It’s definitely a weakness! This picture we took this morning at the mission office after cleaning out the truck. Preparation days, after studies and cleaning, we go to La Vista to vacuum out the truck and turn in some reports. Then we email at the library. Next we’ll shop and do laundry and then probably go play sports or do something fun at the church with other missionaries!

Wow! My life has changed a lot in the last 7 days! My new companion is Elder Munoz!!! He's from Colombia! I’m super excited to have a companion from another country and now we just mostly speak Spanish (unless I get frustrated about expressing myself and have to switch to English!) He's a great Elder and we've had a ton of fun so far! While Elder Ayers was my tallest companion and the tallest in our mission, Elder Munoz is the smallest! Ha-ha…it makes me feel dyslexic about my height! We had lots of changes with the transfer and our area actually gained a whole new area. It’s been a lot of work organizing it and trying to balance things with the area we covered before but it’s a great challenge for me and after 4or 5 months here definitely keeps things fresh! I feel a lot like I did when I went up to Corpus Christi earlier in my mission! There are 10,000 things to do and never enough time in the day to take care of it...music and food help me not to stress so much! As well, I’ve started running more in the mornings and that has been really enjoyable! I’ve missed it a lot! In our area right now we’re visiting this really cool family named the Reyes family (Glenda, Jorge and Marvin, Gayell, Bridgette y Jocelyn). They’re a lot of fun and the kids are a handful but they help us to be creative!

Lately I’ve learned a lot about pride and how most of our struggles come in one way or another from pride. A few of our investigators have struggled with making commitments to God because they feel that they need to do more. They set the standard higher for themselves then where the Lord's set it. For me, it’s been so sad to see when a person’s pride holds them back from the Atonement. President Benson taught this really well in one of his talks! He said:"Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.

The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.

Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)"

Later on he closes with this invitation:

Let us choose to be humble.

We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high as or higher than we are.

We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement.

We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us.

We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless service.

We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others.

We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the temple more frequently.

We can choose to humble ourselves by confessing and forsaking our sins and being born of God.

We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives.

Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can.

I have a testimony that as we seek the will of the Lord and do small Christ like actions to bless others, we lose our pride and grow in humility! I know that the Savior wants to love us and the only thing that keeps us back from feeling that love ever is our own pride or selfish interest! I need to be a lot more humble and in the next 12 weeks I’ll be doing all I can to make that change!

Thanks for your letters! Glad to see you had fun on spring break!

Con amor,

Elder Cook!

Placentero nos es trabajar!

Hola mi familia!

Hope spring break has been fun and safe so far for everyone! I had a great week! With lots of learning and I think something "crazy" happened just about every single day! One of the best lessons I’ve learned this week was just how clearly and directly Heavenly Father will speak to us if we take time to listen for the promptings of the Holy Ghost! Here are some of the highlights/good moments from this week:

-Tuesday we helped by moving furniture in and out of some of the apartments and it was a good opportunity to get to know some of the other missionaries better! After a district meeting we went to Wendy’s (I can never resist the opportunity to tell them that it started in Columbus!).

-Elder Ayers is preparing to go home on Wednesday and we've had fun helping him as he plans and prepares for all of his great adventures yet to come.

-Sunday was a marathon day! Saturday night we'd forgotten to fill up the truck and as we turned the key Sunday morning the gas light went on. We went about 27 miles that day without getting stranded! That was a tender mercy!

-Church was a marathon day! I attended the Spanish ward and played piano for 3 hymns and a special musical #, gave a talk and then we had a really good meeting with our new Bishop right afterwards. His name is Obispo Trevino and I actually taught his daughter (who’s not a member because she needs to get married) back when I was in Las Milpas. We spent the evening saying goodbye to some of the members and this morning we got to go eat breakfast with Joe and Lupita!

- We got transfers! I m excited! I’ll have 6 more weeks in Alamo Norte (hopefully 12!!!) and our area will actually be growing a lot bigger (we’re taking about half of the area above us). It’ll be a lot of work organizing everything and getting to know all the new families but I’m excited!

- For one of my studies this week I read a talk by President Uchtdorf!  In preparation for conference I thought I’d just share the video clip and invite ya’ll to watch it this week! https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng&query=regrets+and+resolutions

Thanks for all your love, support and prayers! I’m so grateful for this time I have to represent the Savior and it means so much to have wonderful and loving family and friends cheering me on. It makes me reflect on the angels in heaven that cheer us on in our mortal existence. While it’s rare that we hear from them and will most likely never see them in this life, their influence is felt the whole time! I know that we were prepared so well by loved ones before we came to this Earth in order to keep the special promises we made with our Heavenly Father. Equally, I know that there will be a great celestial fanfare for each of us if we do our best to live faithfully to the commandments and covenants of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Con mucho amor y animo

Elder Cook

Remember the Alamo!!!!!!!

Hola mi familia!!!!

Wow! This week went by so fast! And it was a great week too! Full of fun surprises good days and we met lots of really sincere people as well! This week we had a little more time to be in our area and it made me really appreciate it a lot more! We’re blessed to have lots of members of the church and they’re all so willing to help us and serve us! I love it! Tuesday we had a lesson at the home of a sister who had a baby about 2 weeks ago, but about 5 days after the baby she was back on her feet and living life normal again (she has 2 other small children ages 2 and 4). She definitely exemplifies a mother’s amazing ability to win a perpetual wrestling match with the kids while cooking dinner and doing 100 other things! We taught two of her friends inside her home and the visits ended with her bear hugging one of her friends who was in tears after praying the first time to know if God was real! It was a great experience!

On Thursday we also had a huge miracle! We’d just finished visiting the Ortega family (the wife was baptized about a month ago) and a car pulled up and a lady asked us in English if we could come by sometime and visit. She was in her 20's and her husband was driving and there was a young man in the back of the car as well! She told us her husband had seen us outside a few days before and wanted to talk to us! We set an appointment for the next day and came back to teach the Reyes family!!! They are an awesome family and the husband (Jorge) had tons of questions and it was fun to watch him find the answers on his own as the Holy Ghost taught him through the pictures of the Restoration pamphlet! On Saturday we introduced them to the Book of Mormon, Sunday they came to church for the first time and during gospel principles he received a call from a restaurant that wanted to have him come in for an interview (he had been out of work for about a week and told us that he’d lost his job because of some poor decisions in his life and wanted to change before he lost anything else important!) He's a good example to me of humility!

Lastly: A few more things I'm grateful for this week:

-Warm South Texas days (woohoo! they’re back!)

-Elder Ayers got to eat menudo for the 1st time (Google it!)

-A few old TMM missionaries came back to visit

-We got to sing hymns for lots of the members

-A really good visit with the Leija family

-Reading the story of Captain Moroni and Pahoran this week

-Feeling better after eating healthier (we’re make sandwiches from 12 grain bread...who knew they had that!)

- On Saturday as we pulled up to a house we saw a squirrel on a birdbath do a push up. It was hilarious!

I know the Lord loves each of us and as we recognize the blessings in our lives on a daily basis we’ll feel more peace and joy!

Have a great week!

Con amor y animo!

Elder Cook

Con amor y animo y ahinco por lo bueno!!!

Hola mi familia!!

This was a great week! We had 2 or 3 days of meetings still but it was still full of cool things! We’re getting lots of training on the new teaching methods and it’s fun to have such a big change up!

It’s been raining and coolish still (we thought the heat was back) but it still feels like February here! My testimony grew a lot this week in the power of prayer and I'm really grateful that we can help others to gain answers from their Heavenly Father! Here are a couple fun highlights as well!

-In our apartment we realized that in the Mexican culture..."graham crackers" don't exist! The Elders we lived with bought some this past week and it was a good sentimental snack of our "old culture".

-Presidente Maluenda really likes using math or the principles of math to teach us about missionary work! Ha-ha it really helps me to understand things better as far as measuring quantities of things (like love, obedience, hard work, attitude) and I feel like King Agrippa before Paul ..." Thou almost persuadeth me to be a *student of math* " (in the scripture it says Christian.) But it’s been fun to see something that before I thought was outright unpleasant have a useful function in my life....to put it short and with a pun... I’ve started to see the absolute value of math in life....har har!

- This week we had a week of the Breakfast of Campiones!!!! (Champions!!!...although ironically that word also means mushrooms in Spanish....no Spencer...I did not eat mushrooms for breakfast this week!) A couple of days I got ambitious with the cooking (had to prove the last name) and we had breakfasts of tortillas, bacon, hash browns, eggs, smoothies and toast (if you’re not hungry reading this you probably had a good lunch!) Stock up on tortillas for this summer!

Alright! One cool miracle as well! Saturday night I worked with Elder Merrill in his area on bikes and we talked to some really great people! About an hour or so left before the end of the night we saw a lady outside with her kids! We started talking to her and I shared with her how we took Sunday walks back at home! It turned out that she actually has been coming to our English ward for the last 3 months and the Elders just didn't know she lived in their area! Her husband is a member already and we met him too! We sat down for a lesson and at the end she prayed to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet and received an answer that he was! The Spirit was so strong and after her prayer she told us she wanted to get baptized! The next day at church they had already planned on having the baby blessing for their new born baby and then her brother in law (who was in the Lesson and is 16) got up and bore his testimony! It was super great and such a huge tender mercy! The thing she said that stood out to me the most was when she talked about all the little ways and miracles that have helped her feel God's love and how she feels like God is telling her exactly what she needs to do! We had a great ride home that night!

I know that our Heavenly Father hears and answers each of our prayers and that His plan is the best plan!

Con amor y animo y ahinco por lo bueno!!! (ha-ha)

Elder Cook

Como ensenar!!!

Hola mi familia!

This week was a pretty packed week! We had lots of training and a visit from the Missionary Department! It was super great! They've completely revamped our teaching approach and it’s been a lot of fun so far! There’s a lot more discussion now as we teach and the lessons are guided by the responses our investigators give as they are prompted by the spirit! We need lots and lots of practice but its lots and lots of fun! As I’ve reflected on teaching and learning it’s been interesting to see how so much of communication is just teaching and learning information! I love it!

A few fun experiences from this week:

We shared the restoration lesson with a member family and the kids knew so much and so they practically taught us everything! in the past it was a little tougher to keep their attention but because it was simple and based on pictures the kids taught us all of the lesson and we just helped them keep it in order!

-I got to work on bike in the downtown area of Pharr! One of the families we visited the husband's from Canton, Ohio! When I found out he was from Ohio I said "O-H"... with my arms up and he smiled and responded "I-O...Go Buckeyes!!!!  The other missionary joked with me that he thought we did some weird gang symbol or something. It was great!

-One of the families we’re visiting has a daughter who received such a strong answer she prayed to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet! She was so happy to see us the next day when we came by to visit and when we gave them the Book of Mormon she promised to read it in 3 hours!!! Ha-ha. It’s so great to see people’s eagerness to learn about the Gospel and the impelling influence that the Spirit has on accepting hearts!

-We had a late breakfast/brunch with a recent convert family in our area (Joe and Lupita!!!!) They’re doing super good! I re-discovered the simple beauty of breakfast tacos!!! (I’ll be making my own for breakfast this week....man...ya'll better stock up on tortillas cause that's all I’ll be eating this Summer!...de arina por favor!)

Stake conference was great this week! The biggest lesson I'm learning now in my mission is summed up in a quote from L. Tom Perry:

"There is just so much fun in church service!" ...really for me it’s that there is "So much fun in Christ's service"

The greatest service of all came through Jesus Christ’s act of sacrifice for our sins and to overcome death! Without this great act of love we truly all would be lost as Jacob teaches in the Book of Mormon:

"And this is not all—it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost."

I too have a testimony of this and I know that through the power of the Holy Ghost and through asking our Heavenly Father we can gain a testimony of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice! Each time we serve out of love this testimony is confirmed by the joy we feel in our hearts!

Have a wonderful week!!!

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Hay Amor!!!

Hola mi familia!

One of the things I love most about the mission is seeing how much enjoyment comes out of the little things! Here are a few of the big and little things that happened this week!

-We had 3 days of training in McAllen and boy did we learn a lot!!! It was great to see former companions and missionaries I lived with and we saw lots of great miracles during the night times (we were in training from 10-6 and then had 3 hours each night to work).

-Elder Ayers and I participated in 4 musical numbers...it was super fun! One of which I got to accompany an Elder singing a solo for Be Still My Soul, and then Elder Ayers and I sang a duet with guitar of "I love to look for rainbows." It was great! Music and missionary work make such a good combo!

-Saturday I was back in Mercedes on bike and we found some really cool people to teach! We talked to a guy on top of a gas station roof who was looking for a church, felt impressed at one point to knock on a car window and that led to us helping a lady take in her groceries and then we taught her and her sister, and then we also met a few people that knew some of our members back in Alamo! It was really cool! I worked with an Elder Child who’s from Northern Utah and he's been with me both in McAllen and Brownsville! He’s a great friend and it was really good to spend the day learning from him! It was great being on a bike too...we even got a little rain!

-Sunday- We had some really good talks at church on forgiveness and charity!!! One thing one of the speakers said that really stood out to me was the fact that charity is being able to see a need in someone around us, then feeling a desire to help them and acting upon it in faith! I have a long way to go!

One of my new favorite scriptures is in 2 Peter 1! Here Peter talks about the process it takes for our faith to be transformed into charity! Elder Ayers and I looked at this list of characteristics and put it into a pyramid and it was interesting the progression!

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Or
                                                                                              charity

                                                                        brotherly kindness

                                                            godliness

                                                patience

                                    temperance

                        knowledge

            virtue

diligence

The higher we get up on the scale! The higher our love grows! My favorite part of that verse though is the end where it says that as we develop these qualities or "Christ-like attributes" the more we come to know our Savior!!! What a beautiful thought! I know that charity never fails and that people never forget the ones that love them! I know that the greatest form of charity comes from the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He loves each of us!

Con amor y animo!!!

Elder Cook!!!

Hasta Ver!!!

Hola mi familia!

We’re doing really good down here in South Texas! The temperature got down to 33 this week and boy was that cold. No worries though...today we’re back up in the 80's again! It feels so good to have the heat back...hopefully it’s Springtime now!

We received transfer news this week! I’m staying here in Alamo/San Juan/Pharr which means I’ll be Elder Ayers’ final companion! We were both really excited and happy to hear the news! We had a lot of changes in the missionaries who serve around us but the new missionaries who are coming are good friends as well! Today I’m short on time so I'll just share a few thoughts I sent to Scott earlier today!

Being in South Texas is all just one big Eternal summer. Today we got up early to go take breakfast to some Elders getting transferred and as we drove home from Weslaco to McAllen I had the strangest sensation that I was back in time at the start of my mission. I felt as If I still had a whole two years ahead of me! Looking back it feels like I’ve climbed a huge lighthouse and I see all the stairs...but when you look up and out you can see and savor all the beauty for miles. I’ve decided the easiest part of ending is that most of my mission friends have been older than me in the mission or will be ending just a few months after me! The hardest part...well...I think it’ll be the release itself. Lately I’ve noticed how strangely people act around missionaries. Unconsciously they can sense in their spirit that we really are representatives of Jesus Christ and so they often behave the same way towards us as they would behave if the Savior was there. Last week for example we taught Rene about the Word of Wisdom. We committed him to live it and he accepted and then took about 15 minutes to just unload his burdens about how he had felt unappreciated at work and in his family. It was completely unrelated...but I could tell that that's what he would have told the Savior if He were there! People just often need to speak about the problems and troubles in their lives and because the Savior has suffered and experienced all of it they can feel that as they open up and share these things with His representatives they will feel peace and happiness. It really taught me the principle of being a representative of the Savior. How grateful I am for the authority and power of the calling of a missionary!

I’m so grateful to be a representative of Jesus Christ. I have a testimony that He lives. I am His disciple and my commission is to say what He would say, to do what He would do, and to minister to the very people He has sent me to in the way that He would if He were here. The happiness I am experiencing on my mission is greater than any other of my life before or that I’ve yet found in this world! Missionary work really is the best!

Con amor,

Elder Cook!

From February 3 - Judges 15:3-6 (La razon por el cual el auto dominio es tan importante!)

Hola mi familia!

All right: highlight moments from the week:

1) Round II with the dog that bit me! We went back to the same house (my companion had planned that house the night before and didn't tell me which house on that street we were going to....which is good because otherwise I might have objected) and this time as we walked up through the gate we saw no dog and I confidently told Elder Ayers "Let’s go, no one ever gets bit by the same dog twice!". About 5 seconds later the monster dog came charging at us and this time I had my backpack off and started swinging like crazy in 'defense mode!' Luckily the owner was nearby and no harm was done to the dog or my left ankle. It turned out to be the home of a recent convert who we thought had moved to Corpus but really was still living there! We had a great lesson and he referred us to a friend who we’re now teaching as well!

2) We had 2 different exchanges and Elder Stott (from BYU) taught me a lot about trusting in the Lord and working with urgency!

3) Played some morning basketball (Elder Ayers...my 6"7 companion has gotten a lot better since he figured out the art of dribbling and that if he gets closer to the hoop it’s pretty much impossible to block him!)

4) Sunday was a fun day! Everyone and their dog had a cookout so as we went by visiting people we had plenty of carne asada offers and even some pan dulce! Every house has a fence, a dog, and a homemade barbecue made out of a tire rim and scrap metal! I love the Valley!

5) I had some really great studies from the Bible this week reading in the first few chapters of James and then in Judges as well (Samson’s pretty crazy!).

All in all...it was a great week!

I am so grateful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to serve a mission. It helps me so much to feel my Heavenly Fathers love, to see the hand of the Savior in my own life and the lives of those around me, and to learn from the Spirit as I study, pray and serve others! Often people ask us why we come to South Texas to serve as missionaries and my answer usually comes out as something along the lines of "well, we know these things are true and we've seen the blessings and happiness that have come into our lives by living these things and we want to share them with everyone." Lately I’ve pondered that a little further and realized how much I keep going through that same process over and over again. Before my mission I knew how to believe in the gospel, how to learn it and to teach it and to some extent apply it to my own life. Here in South Texas I think that more than anything I’ve learned how to live the gospel, and how to make daily changes to live more accordingly with the plan that I know my Father in Heaven has for me. The most exciting moments of our week this week were times where Elder Ayers saw the families and individuals we're visiting making changes to come closer to God or to see those good changes from the past become firmly cemented and rooted into their character. We've got a great friend named Rene who continues to show us what it means to be completely honest with yourself, with God and with your fellow man. Another lady Lupita has such a great desire to learn things from the scriptures that she can put into practice today to help her become a better mother and wife. Another young woman, who recently went through a painful separation, has taught us how recognizable the peace of the gospel is! I love it! It’s great to see the light of Christ come into their lives and direct them to the truth! As I see people on my mission making changes and losing their old worldly selves as they are reborn in Christ it reminds me of the Savior’s words:

23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

I know the Savior expects so much of us and the reward will be great and we have so much to gain in this life and the life to come if we take up our cross daily in following His example!

Be happy and make a good change this week!!!

Con amor,

Elder Cook!!!!

P.S. Whenever we teach we say an opening and a closing prayer. One of us missionaries always says the first one and then last one is said by the person who’s being taught or who we’re visiting! Time after time they always pray for our families! So remember...the people you pray for often pray for you as well! It’s such a great thought isn't it?

Lo mas amor que tienes, mayor sera tu gozo!

Hola mi familia!

I'm grateful that Heavenly Father is a patient Heavenly parent with each of us! He knows us perfectly and always wants us to be happy! Here are some of the things that brought me happiness this week or made my week interesting!

1) Spoke 4 days of all Spanish (it was for our mission language program...and it was all Spanish except with English speakers) it was a good stretch and by day 4 Elder Ayers was missing speaking to me in English!

2) Thursday we had some rain blow down from Ohio and it got down to 33 degrees! I was in our area on exchanges, will Elder Ayers was on a bike over in Donna!

3) We discovered a new healthy snack for our lunches....a quarter of a green pepper with ranch dressing, a carrot and a cheese cube on top!

4) A man that we visit named Rene, has a super strong testimony (he literally told his son - I testify to you that the things these missionaries share with you will bring you more peace and happiness!) and sets a really good example of what it means to have integrity!

5) More visits with some of the returning less active members in the English ward and "finding" a few good families in the Spanish as well!

It was a fast week and full of work! The biggest lesson I learned this week was the importance of always learning and always recognizing our weaknesses...because if we don't...it becomes harder to place our trust in the Lord or harder to show that we have confidence in Him and His power. At this point in my mission I've really seen how I’ve been placed in areas or situations where the Lord needed and not necessarily the place where I thought I needed to be. It’s been a good lesson to learn how to change my attitude from wanting to be where I need to be to wanting to be where the Lord needs me. Elder Ayers is a good example of a missionary who has that outward focus and he teaches me a lot! If I’m ever down or a little disanimado he quickly makes a joke or finds a simple joy or something amusing! It’s such a blessing to never be alone on the mission! Here are a few of my favorite verses from Proverbs 3 on placing confidence in the Lord and relying on Him:

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I know the Lord sees all of our paths and knows the guidance we need now. If we follow and acknowledge Him at all times...we will be at peace even during the most difficult times! The Savior was such a good example of this and invites us as always to follow up. When we're weak, but acknowledge the Lord, we become strong!!!!

Have a great week!!!

Con amor,

Elder Cook!

El sapo a la sapa tienela por muy guapa (its a dicho!..beauty is in the eye of the beholder)!

Hola mi familia!

January is moving along and things here in Pharr/San Juan/Alamo are going great! Tuesday and Wednesday I spent the day back in Mercedes on exchanges and it was again wonderful to ride those same streets and see things again from the perspective of the missionary I was when I got to South Texas. Being there really helped me gain a deeper perspective as far as where I am now and the effect of what has occurred during my mission!

I really love serving my mission here in South Texas. I’m grateful for all the companions and missionaries I’ve served with, the members, the people I’ve taught, the places I’ve been, the things I’ve learned and the ways that Heavenly Father has helped me grow and change. The best moments of my mission have been days where we've set out to do something or helped someone, done our very best, seen miracles and divine intervention, and then afterwards felt satisfied that some good in the world has been done and that some of Heavenly Father's children are progressing towards returning back to His presence. I’ve realized that the joy and happiness I feel comes from service! Because the mission, is nothing but that! Recently, my testimony has become stronger on prayer. Prayer helps me focus. It helps me feel God's love. We teach people about prayer everyday and I don't think I’ve done a good job in recognizing the power it has to change hearts, minds, lives and situations.

On Sunday as I sat and partook of the sacrament and read of the story of the Savior’s atonement in Luke 22...I realized that the greatest act of love ever shown toward mankind, occurred during the prayer from Christ to His Father. I’m grateful for Christ’s example and the power that we can feel and experience in our lives because of that prayer!  The story goes as follows:

39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.

40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,

46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

Prayer is such a small and simple thing. At times it can seem like the easiest thing to do, but at other times the hardest. I know that prayer heals our soul. Prayer will allow God to give us answers in our lives. It allows us to see what we can’t see from our normal everyday perspectives. prayer brings us testimony. Prayer brings us peace!

This week...some of my goals are to improve my Spanish work ethic! To serve my companion more! To enjoy the weather each day! To play piano for at least 30 min!  To make sure my clothes are all folded and ironed! And to make sure each prayer I say is specific and sincere! It’s going to be a great week!!!!

Thanks for all of your love and support! Kind words letters, packages (especially the ones with food! woohoo! Elder Ayers is grateful for the lunches he hasn't had to prepare...we’ve shared with other missionaries as well too!) and of course...your prayers!

Con cuidado porque hay un elefante que le esta mirando!

(no mas para ver quien hace un esfuerzo cuando digo algo en espanol!)

Con amor,

Elder Cook

El Valle es mi hogar!

Hola mi familia!

Woohooooo! The warm (or at least semi-warm) weather has snuck back! It was so good to actually sweat a little bit this week! Our little south Texas winter seems to be over and the sweaters are back in the closet! It’s interesting how big of an effect the weather has on our lives! One of my favorite things about sunny days down here is that the sunsets at the end of the day are beautiful! Especially in Alamo where there’s lots of fields and agricultural areas and the skies are wide open! A few days this week we took advantage of the warm weather by taking walking days during the daytime hours so we could go out and talk to more people. In the evenings as we got back to the truck and drove to our teaching appointments, we would be driving just as the sunset was ending and the colors in the sky were gorgeous! It was a great pick me up!

One great miracle this week was the Salazar family! They’re a less active family we've visited since Christmas and after coming to mutual on Wednesday (they have 4 girls -15, 14, 12, & 8 and 1 boy, Charles- 6) they attended church on Sunday and Ashley, the oldest, even brought a friend. They’re one of my favorite families here and we have a lot of fun when we visit them! They all wear cowboy boots and have bonfires out in the backyard and being at their place feels more like the Texan half of the Valley than the Mexican half! We're also teaching one of their neighbors who have been going through a hard time recently and it really has been a strong testimony to me of the importance of helping less active members return to church! Before, I used to always have a strong desire to find a complete family that we could teach and baptize and I had felt that I could get close but a family member or two was just always missing. Looking back now, I can see that my mission really is full of families in those less active members who have come back to church. They mean as much to me as those people who were investigators and I know the Lord has put them in my mission to bring me peace and happiness!

This week my testimony has grown on the importance of work! Elder Ayers my companion has shown me a good example of the effectiveness of multitasking and I’ve found that the harder the work, the more the Spirit prompts me to work in more effective ways! The Savior promises us this blessing as we work to bless His sheep:

2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;
4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;

(D&C 4:2-4....dad! I remember working hard to memorize those verses when we were young! That was such a good lesson for me!)

I know that each of us have been give a specific work to do in this life and that as we honor our callings and responsibilities- whether they be temporal or spiritual- the Lord will bless us and cause our efforts to flourish! I’m grateful Mom and Dad and Scott for all the hard work you've shown me and the examples of everyone else in my life! Sprint to the finish!!!!

Con amor

Elder Cook

Que Dios les bendiga

Hola mi familia!

This has been a great year all ready!!! Already I think it’s been one of the hardest working weeks of my mission and the joy and satisfaction you feel after working hard is priceless! With the changes of transfers things have been pretty busy and exciting! My new companion is Elder Ayers...he stands at a modest 6"6 and I often feel like a dwarf or a little kid just tagging along side of him! He's a spiritual giant as well and has taught me a lot about the importance of listening to others and treating them with love and respect even if they’re not interested in what we have to share or even if they’re not ready to act on the message! He’s really good at cleaning the apartment, speaking Spanish, and bearing testimony! 3 great qualities to have in a companion! He'll be going home in March so I might possibly be his last companion!

We had a really fun week this week getting to know all the new missionaries! For New Years Eve we got to watch a movie! Mulan! It was a lot of fun and I think we'd all forgotten how good the music was! All the missionaries had a fun time! Not staying up to 12 though made it hard to feel like New Years! I’m not connected at all to 2014!

Thursday we had a pretty cool miracle! We'd decided to take the bikes and go to a less visited part of our area! After talking to a few people outside we decided to take a back way over to a different neighborhood...it required an arduous bike ride through the mud but we got there ok! After we stopped by the house we were intending to visit, we found no one home and decided to take a lap around the block! The first man we saw was a man named Kirby! We went and talked to him and he shared with us that he was going through a tough time in his life and had felt a strong desire to do something to come closer to God! We had a great talk with him and the words in the Book of Mormon helped bring him peace and comfort! I'm grateful that God loves us and knows exactly when we are going through trials and what we need! I know that the scriptures hold power and that the Lord is always putting people in our path to bless our lives and help us to grow stronger! The best feeling as a missionary is when you talk to someone who says " I was just praying the other day for God to help me in some way" or "I’ve been going through a rough time" or "I’ve had questions about x" and being able to know with 100% certainty that God has placed you in their path and that the restored gospel has the relief or answers they need!

I love being in South Texas! The sunsets are still super cool! Each day is a fun day and a great day to be a missionary in the Texas McAllen mission! I’m so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the lessons He has taught me and for the people He has put into my life through my mission! For me my mission hasn't been much of a sacrifice in terms of worldly things like time or money, but in the weaknesses and shortcomings in myself that the Lord helps me change and overcome!

Que Dios les bendiga and I hope this week is the best you've had so far this year ;)

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Feliz Navidad y Prosero Ano de felicidad!

Hola mi familia!!!

Wow! This was a great week! One of the happiest times to be a missionary by far! It was a lot of fun to be able to Skype everyone and I'm still trying to get my mind around how the Xbox worked! Haha super cool! We had a great night with the Cantu's and ate lots of good food throughout the week (go Google menudo real quick and you’ll see the best of the best.......yuk!)! I don't think I mentioned it but we did spend a few hours going around visiting families we’re teaching and less actives! It was great! I’ve had a lot of fun sharing the buckeye crunch with everyone and all the other Christmas gifts have been great! Thank you so much! Thursday and Saturday we had exchanges and I got to spend both of them on bike...and it rained both days =]! It was so much and we saw lots of miracles! You'd think no one would be outside in rainy 50 degree weather...but you'd be surprised! Both days we talked to a lot of great people and we're now teaching several families from those efforts!

One of the people we’re teaching now is a man named Rene! he's the only one in his family investigating but he has such good desires and loves to read the book of Mormon! he talked about how much he wants to have the peace in his life that he sees in the missionaries and that he has seen in his friend who is a member of the church! His desires to have what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers has helped to strengthen my testimony of the peace that comes as we follow the Savior! To connect it to another couple events this weekend....Friday...we had a wild goose chase and successfully managed to visit all 3 of McAllen’s main operating hospitals. A member’s mother had gotten sick and the family had requested that we come by to give her a blessing. the directions we got were "the hospital by the street McColl'. turns out....2 of McAllen’s hospitals are directly off of McColl one on the north end the other on the south...and a3rd one is close by on the North end. to make a long story short...we were supposed to be in #3...but went to #'s 1 and 2 before figuring out that #'s 1 & 2 weren't hospital #3. After an hour of searching we made it! And were able to give the blessing and shared John 14:26-27 with the member who was distraught because her mother’s condition was so serious! I love those verses so much!

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Later we found out we had a recently baptized member of the church two floors above and we were able to go visit her and give a blessing as well! It’s fun to see how the Lord guides us to be exactly where he wants us!

I know that the Holy Ghost brings the peace this world cannot offer and that the Savior always sends Him to us in our times of need, trial and tribulation! There is no peace sweeter than the small warm reminders in our heart from the Holy Ghost that God loves us!

I love you all! Have a great week and set some good resolutions!

Con amor,

Elder Cook