Conference Weekend (Email from 10/8/12)

Hola familia!

This week was a pretty great week! Things went very well in Mercedes! General Conference was an amazing experience! I was so excited for it and it still exceeded expectations! We were all so shocked but equally excited about the missionary age announcement. I also loved Elder Nelson's advice to "Ask the missionaries...they can help!". The most powerful talk to me though was from Priesthood session about the missionary who took the view of trying to bring the gospel to and baptize everyone he met. I am so grateful to be in Mercedes now and serving as a missionary. Alright I'm seeing so many ways I need to change and improve. With the age announcement I was so grateful that it had happened AFTER I had left on a mission. Last year at BYU was such a big growing experience for me and Im sure I would’ve left at 18 if they'd have let me! I would’ve missed out on meeting some of my best friends and wouldn’t have gone through the growth I had. Ian and Spencer (and Claire!!!!) start getting ready now! Scott will be the first to tell you how fast it goes! We have Alma and Angelina getting baptized this week! We always like to joke about Alma because their whole family has religious names...the others in her family are Jesus (pronounced Hey-zues)...Salvador and Adam. Angelina has been through a lot of tough times in her life but the gospel has changed her so much! We've felt the spirit as we've taught her and she has come so far!

The culture of the valley is so different. There are a lot of people who need a lot and can't seem to find a way out. I'm so grateful the gospel of Jesus Christ is a universal gospel. Im grateful the atonement covers all sorrows and pain as well as sin. We had exchanges last Thursday and Elder Marble went with Elder Curletti to the other Elder's area. It was a good growing experience for me because that meant I was in charge of our area with Elder Sanders. My Spanish was better than I thought and the day turned out to go really well. Heavenly Father helped me a lot! I'm so grateful that He cares about our individual specific daily needs. Quick story before I end: We were biking to an appointment and had about 10 minutes to spare when we passed a road that led to a less active's residence in a trailer that a member had told us about. We didn’t have an address, name or phone number or anything to go on. As we were about to pass the road we felt prompted to go stop by and try and find it. We turned around and went over to see what we could do. As we locked our bikes up across the street from the area we thought they lived...a bus pulled up and dropped off a couple of kids. One of the kids was a girl of about 10 years. She saw us and waved and then ran towards a white trailer behind a house! She was so excited to see us! We walked over to the trailer and heard " ....para los elderes" and saw her come back out with Kool-Aid! It was  the family we were looking for! The mom told us that they had been waiting for us to come since the missionaries had not been by for a few months! I know we were answer to the whole family's prayers and especially the young girl. Nothing brings more happiness than finding out that the Lord used you to answer the prayers of another.

I'm so grateful for Mom and Dad teaching us to say our prayers. I can remember climbing on dads back and catapulting myself into bed after saying nightly prayers or saying them with Mom and singing primary songs at night. Those experiences built my testimony and I am so grateful for parents who taught me the importance of heavenly communication and then did it with me as well. I'm also grateful for the countless hours of selfless sacrifice from both Mom and Dad. All my life Dad has spent significant hours on a weekly basis with church callings...Mom has done so much and I'll always look up to her amazing organization skills. You’re both the best!

Con Amor,

Elder Cook

P.S. Yesterday and today it was in the 60's! It’s called a cold front and it leaves tomorrow (it’ll be in the 90's again). I LOVE IT!!!! I miss fall and winter..ha-ha...cold weather is a blessing!

Recent Photos from Texas

1st Transfer in the books (still in Mercedes!)

Hola Familia!

So the first transfer is over...right as Scott finishes his last week! Pretty crazy timing! This Tuesday is actually the official day of transfers. Out of our entire zone there was only 1 elder (of about 25) who will be transferred. Pretty interesting! So I will be in Mercedes at least until Nov. (probably until Christmas as well since Elder Marble has been here since July...he'll probably be transferred in November) and our neighbors Elders Curletti and Sanders will be staying as well!

Last week we had a zone conference in McAllen! It was great! There were about 60 or 70 missionaries from 4 zones. It was a great spiritual feast and we learned a lot. I got to see Elder Stott and Elder Jolly (Stott's from my hallway at BYU and Jolly was his companion in the MTC). It was so great to see them! AND...I met a Sister Dudding, from Athens Ohio! She knew all of Valerie’s family and knew Reed as well! The valley gets smaller and smaller every week. It’s really a big mixture of Ohio and Utah. It’s a lot like the Salt lake valley in the fact that you have 1 major highway (83) and all the cities are along the highway and everyone has heard of every town along the way. It has the western heat but the Ohio humidity. Everyone's crazy about football (esp. the Cowboys) and I explain to Elder Marble that it’s a lot like being in Hilliard and Ohio. The rain is quick (usually no longer than 30 min) like it was in Utah but it can be as intense as the storms in Ohio. The other night we rode home and watched the lighting to the south of Mercedes and it was pretty cool! There also was someone visiting here for work at church on Sunday who was from Monroe, Ohio. I literally meet at least 2 new people each week who were born in Ohio. Besides zone conference, it was pretty much a normal week. We sang in church on Sunday as missionaries and the ward liked it a lot. I had a cool surprise when I opened the Ensign (Liahonna) last week...The main article on teaching chastity and virtue was written by Matthew Richardson...my Living Prophets course professor from BYU. It was so great to hear his voice again as I read the article and learn from that familiar teaching style! I hope Scott can take one of his classes in the winter..whoa...I can't believe he'll be back in Provo!

This week I'm especially grateful for family. I'm so grateful for The Family: A Proclamation. With the people we interact with down here the biggest difference is always family. Family is so important. It’s such a strong indicator on how someone's life will turn out and nothing can replace or fill the void left in its absence. I am so grateful for the love I felt and the lessons I learned growing up in a strong family. Mom and Dad I can't thank you enough for making time and making it a habit to have family scripture and prayer as well as family home evening. They seemed like such small things but they make a profound difference. With members and investigators if they could do those 3 things, they would be so much happier, so much more faithful, and have such a stronger relationship between themselves, with Heavenly Father and with Jesus Christ.

I love you all!

(Funny story for the week…almost fell off my bike this week in front of a few cars...and had a nice moment of compelled humility as the cars honked at us. We joke that instead of the missionaries who ride bikes...we're now the missionaries who TRY to ride bikes.)  [Elder Marble says I'll crash at some point and that all missionaries do...I'm determined to prove him wrong!]).

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Elder Cocinero y Canica

Hello!

So that’s how we introduce ourselves whenever we are speaking in Spanish...Cocinero = cook....cannica = marble. People love it!

This week was a pretty good week! Elder Marble did get bit again by a dog but it wasn’t bad. He's just to nice to give them a good kick. This week we did a lot to try and work more with members. We scheduled times where we could have lessons with them and then make another appointment and invite them to bring a friend! Its worked pretty well so far! We're also dedicating two mornings a week to washing the members cars! Its way fun! it brought back memories of student council car washes!

The end of the transfer is next week! hard to believe time has flown! The speed of a transfer is really interesting....the first 2 weeks are slow and then each week gets progressively (exponentially) faster! as far as how much we bike a day, I have no idea how much it is mileage wise..the furthest ride from our appt. is about 15sh minutes (with the wind) so everything really isn’t bad at all.  Friday night we had appointments falling through like crazy and so we decided to stop in by a less active teenager named JJ. He's 13 and we found him outside with a bunch of the neighborhood kids. So we ended up just sharing the story of the army of Helaman with them! It was so much fun! Just imagine two missionaries trying to explain that story to a group of 8 or 9 little kids using a mixture of Spanish and English (we call it Tex-Mex)..it was great...they loved it...it was kind of a rough part of town to so the message was about why we shouldn’t fight! Riding home I couldn’t stop thinking about the Savior's words "suffer the children to come to me". Even though that hour didn’t help us out much with new investigators or baptismal dates, I knew that’s where we were supposed to be and what we were supposed to be doing!

One of the families in our English ward was taught and baptized by Elder Hardin! They loved him so much and I can tell he's been a great missionary! I can't wait to see him! November we have a Mission conference and a general authority will be coming for a mission tour! We're excited! Oh, and could someone talk to Neil and find out where he served? It'd be great to hear where all he has served! Also if Dad could get Grant Mosley's address and Daniel Robinson's I'd love to write them! Elder Steele and I write each other just about every week and then I got mail from Kelsey, Anna, Kennedi (from BYU) and then Marissa (from EFY!). I did hear the buckeyes are undefeated from Bro. Grindstaff (the bro. Webster carbon copy!). Woohoo! We helped a family move this morning and we'll shop and  write letters later! The last few weeks have been so much fun with Elder Marble, Elder Sanders and Elder Curletti. They're treu (yup..spelled treu...)friends and great Elders! I've learned a lot from each of them! Elder sanders is really funny, Elder Curletti's way smart, and Elder Marbles way old! (in mission years!)

Thanks again for the package mom! we listen to the Spanish CD's every day before breakfast! I'm grateful for daily tender mercies! The spirit speaks in different ways to us individually and finding out how to use this line of divine communication has blessed my life so much! The Book of Mormon is true! I love it with all my heart and I’m so grateful to be able to share it on a daily basis!

Thank you all for your love and support! You’re the best!

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Life in the Valley (with Dogs)

Hola Familia!

So this week I'll start off by talking about dogs. We see them all day every day and everywhere. Friday we had an interesting experience. Usually the dogs come out and chase us for a couple of houses and then let us go. Most of them are big and ugly and bark a lot. This time however, one kept chasing after Elder Marble and bit him! Luckily it was just on his shoe so it didn’t end up being too serious and things were ok. While that was happening two other dogs were running me down and the only thing you can do is kick them while trying to out pedal them. Im sure it looked pretty funny. It definitely gets your adrenaline going, it’s kind of like a combination between stealing a base in baseball and kickboxing at the same time. When they start nipping at your heels it turns into all out war...foot vs. dog. The worst feeling ever though, is when you see a big angry dog barking behind a fence as you ride by, and then the dog manages to squeeze under the fence and starts chasing after you. there are lots of German Shepherds, American Bulldogs, Boxers, and mutts. The Chihuahuas are funny though because they’re too small to do anything.

But this week really was a good week! We worked a lot with visiting the less-active members of our ward and we found some people that really are ready to come back to church! We only found a few new investigators this week so this week we'll again focus on finding, but the one's we currently have are all still progressing well.

I got letters from Elder Steele, Anna Salaens, Kelsey Sicker, and Kennedi (BYU) and that was really exciting! The weather actually wasn’t too bad this week but we still sweat 24/7. One night we were at a members home teaching a lesson and I started shivering because of the AC. I looked over to see what the temperature said and it was at 80! 50 degrees in the winter really is going to be a lot colder than I thought!

One of the highlights in the week is when all the missionaries in the ward (10 of us) go over to the Grindstaff's house for Sunday dinner. Brother Grindstaff is almost a carbon copy of Bro. Webster and he reminds me so much of him! They’re really a great family and it’s nice to have a big, home cooked meal with the missionaries after 8 hours of being at the church. Friday night there was a ward activity to celebrate Mexico's independence day. It was quite the cultural experience and I felt pretty weird and out of place! This week I gained a greater sense of gratitude for prayer. I'm grateful that we can pray to our Heavenly Father whenever we have needs, questions, doubts, or weaknesses. I'm grateful for the strength we receive through prayer. I'm also grateful that growing up, Mom and Dad, you taught me to keep the Sabbath day holy! We were teaching one of our investigators about that commandment during the week and as I started to share my testimony about it, I realized the great blessings I received because of my obedience. Choosing to not play sports on Sundays was one of the best decisions of my life! I'm grateful for the Sabbath day and the chance we have to remember our covenants and to re-energize and prepare ourselves for the tests and trials of everyday life!

Thanks for all your love and support and prayers! You're all in mine! The Book of Mormon is true and I am so grateful for the lessons it has taught me! Alma 37:24 is how I feel about being a missionary!

Life is great!!!

Con amor,

Elder Cook

September 10, 2012 - Life in the Valley

Familia!

Ok. So in general there are 3 types of people we meet on the street or see in public....the ones not interested ...the people interested in only sharing what they believe but not listening...and the ones who want to do both! But there's actually one more group. Children! They are always friendly and here are a few funny stories. Yesterday we went to contact an investigator who hadn't made it to church. Two of his sons were playing outside and we asked them to go get their dad. One went in and called for their dad that we were here then came back out with an iPhone. They were about 5 and 7 years old and began taking turns posing with us and taking a picture on the iPhone as we stood there with our bikes. We felt like celebrities. It was pretty funny. I can't imagine what the parents will think when they look through the pictures on their phone. We also had a girl this week who asked us if we spoke English...she was about 8 or 9 and when she found out we were missionaries she asked us if we would talk to her parents so that we could help them stop doing bad things! Such faith and innocence! Her parents weren't interested but her uncle who's been looking for help, change and a church in his life wants to meet with us next week! The last thing I love about kids is that they always wave back! Usually the adults 'pretend' not to see us or look the other direction, but any disappointment from that is instantly replaced by the joy that comes from seeing a little hand waving from the back window. Moments like those make my day!

The sunsets and clouds here are still so awesome! We had a thunderstorm Sunday morning with (real!) rain for a few hours and it was great! We had an member of the 70 Elder Gifford Nelson came and spoke in stake conference on Sunday. I was in the building with the Spanish translation via satellite but still got a lot out of it! Last week we also went back to the La Vista (church by the mission home in McAllen) for training! That and a zone meeting at our ward building in Weslaco led to some shorter days. It was good to see the Elders I traveled down here with and compare greenie stories. By the way, only thing on my Christmas list is a gospel art book! They are the best for teaching families! Pictures help so much! Also if someone could look up the temperature for this past Saturday that would be appreciated...we don’t have a thermometer and so there are really only two types of days. Hot and REALLY hot. Saturday was one of those days! In other news...someone tried to steal our bikes but our good neighbors called the cops and things turned out ok!

I'll end by sharing just a few more "miracles" that happened on Thursday: We'd stopped by a less active members house and they weren’t home so we worked for about an hour on old investigators and potentials without any luck. As we were moving to a different part of town Elder Marble needed to use the restroom so we stopped at DQ. There were only 4 or 5 other people there. As we were leaving I figured hey let’s just go out the other door. Hiding around the corner that was obstructed from where the restrooms were sat the less active who we hadn’t found earlier! It was pretty cool! That night we also found a girl that Elder Marble visited a few times in Brownsville staying at her moms house. she had been to primary as a child and remembered the "welcome song" and we visited with her for a bit and sang “I am a Child of God” together! To end the night, we went to stop by a home looking to meet with two investigators but instead found out that they were both less active members!

Thanks so much for your love and support (esp. Dad for the OSU updates and MOM for the Spanish!). You are the best! And thanks to whoever reads this too! You're all in my prayers! I am having SO much fun but more importantly finding SO much joy in serving the people of Mercedes, TX! Enjoy the cold weather up north (we don’t have fall here...it just stays warm all year and maybe once a week a cold front comes in during December and January so they call it winter...according to Elder Marble). a little bit more about him...he did a lot of FFA in high school, wants to be a farmer when he gets back and teach FFA class, sounds a little bit like Larry from Veggie tales, asks the best questions during lessons, and he HAS heard of Steak and Shake (I'm not alone!).

God loves each of us. This church is true and the Book of Mormon is the word of God written specifically for us and our problems. As we follow the savior we will feel closer to him and help others come closer! Our true joy always and only comes from people...other people!!!

Con amor,

Elder cook

Life in the Valley

Hola familia!!!

Pos....(pues with a valley accent). So things here in "the valley" as everyone calls it..are great! We had the baptism for Dalia Gonzalez and the oldest 2 of her 6 kids on Sunday and it was so great! It was such a happy day! They're family is awesome! next week I’ll send you pictures!

Yesterday we couldn’t use the library since it was Labor Day so today’s the day for email. Sounds like things in Ohio are going well! It’s fun to tell people that I'm from Ohio because most of them expect Utah and most have worked in Ohio as migrant workers. On Saturday we got to do some service by unloading an LDS humanitarian truck (a full size semi) with clothes, shoes, school supplies, and bedding with a work force of about 20. It was work! We were all drenched in sweat after about 10 minutes and this was at 8 o clock in the morning. The heat hasn’t been too awful...the humidity isn’t to different from Ohio and landscaping prepared me really well!

So right now we're teaching the Arcaute family. She has cancer and he has severe knee problems but her cancer is in remission and he's doing better. The husband speaks a lot of Spanglish but Alma...the wife...speaks the fastest Spanish I've heard. I don’t understand how Hispanic women can speak so fast! They have so much to say and they just go on and on. ha-ha...but its great! we usually run into a couple of drunks throughout the week and the most positive part about those experiences are the fact that they make for good Spanish practice.

On P-day yesterday we went to the outlet malls b/c a member's son worked there and was able to get us a pretty good discount..I got a pair of green shorts and the others had a good time with the fact that the greenie missionary got green shorts. It was really weird to hear normal music and even weirder to realize that there was a lot of music I didn’t recognize at all! Time just flies!

So it’s always windy here and the wind blows up from Mexico unless there’s rain...in which case you can feel the cold front hit and the wind shifts to be coming from the north. Thursday I actually went on an exchange with one of the Elders next door who's in the car area surrounding ours. It was strange to be driving everywhere but nice not to have to take 10 minutes to get from pt. A to pt. B. I still think I prefer being on a bike. Saturday we got rained on pretty well but my poncho saved my backpack from getting wet! We had a really cool lesson with a man named Juan who has kind of been investigating but not really progressing. It’s been great to see him gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon but he struggles to understand why any church that teaches of Christ isn’t "the true church". But things are improving and we're going by his place again today. The dogs still continue to chase us and I really don’t think I even notice it anymore. This week we're focusing on finding some more people to teach! You'll all be in my prayers! 

One thing I’m really coming to understand better is how much preparation goes into our lives that we don't see! I’m grateful God is our Heavenly Father and is actively engaged in each and every one of our lives!

Con amor,

Elder Cook

P.S. Yesterday we watched "Mountain of the Lord" and even though I hadn’t seen it for a good 5 years I could still quote pretty much the whole movie!