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
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