Just a short thought...

Hola mi familia!

Things are going great down here! Elder Welker (a missionary I knew in my last zone) is coming down from Corpus to be my new companion! He arrives on Tuesday and it will be a great week! I’m really excited! I'll share a small member work miracle that we saw this week!

So la Hna. Carillo is a member who lives in our area and we’ve grown really close to that family! We’ve been trying to find different ways to help involve them in missionary work and this week we saw a great miracle! We asked Hna. Carillo if there was anything we could do to help her after a meal appointment and she mentioned she was looking and trying to find a less active family that lived way out in the boonies of our area (it’s the boonies right about the Southmost boonies!)  She gave us an address and asked if we could go by because there were only mailboxes and unmarked houses! We went by and after stopping at a few of the houses (country farm houses)- we talked to a man named Robert! He was very friendly and invited us in (even though we just told him we were looking for his neighbor!) and we had a great lesson! The best part came after we talked with him about baptism and he accepted and then shared how he wants his family to be together forever! He opened the scriptures and shared Acts. 16:31 with us!

30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

It was so obvious to see how the Lord had prepared this man and how by the Spirit and because of his humility and faith in Christ...Heavenly Father has helped him find a lot of truth (such as eternal families, baptism at accountable age, praying only to god) on his own! I know that Heavenly Father is mindful of each of His children and knows exactly where they are at spiritually!

Con amor,

Elder Cook

El Verano eterno!

Hola mi familia!

This week was a great week! Elder Stevens and I really had a fun week and a lot of the enjoyment came from talking to so many people! It’s so much fun to talk with such a variety of people but to see the common threads and needs that we all have! We witnessed a lot of miracles as well! Wednesday we had the chance to do a significant amount of service! It started when we went by to visit a family and they weren’t home but we saw their neighbor next door outside shirtless and sweaty dumping rocks into a bed in front of the house. He accepted our offer to help and so we spent the next hour or so helping him fill buckets with rocks from a pile in the backyard and bring it back around to the front! It was such a simple act of service but it was so enjoyable and we knew that we were where Heavenly Father wanted us to be! Right after we were finished we went to see Kevin and Belen ( a couple we taught for a week or so) and helped them do some yard work in their backyard for another hour and a half! Elder Stevens mowed the lawn while I helped pick up tiny foam pieces from old shredded couch cushions and other pieces of trash up in the yard! Their house was right on the resaca (a small river that runs through the town) and the best part was seeing the lightning bugs come out as it was getting dark! Man, It had been a long time since id seen lightning bugs! I’m grateful that Heavenly Father gives us opportunities to help those around us to be happy through small and simple things!

One scripture that has stayed in my mind a lot this week is Ether 12:6:

And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

On Sunday night we went out to work and I had felt a little disanimado about our lack of success in finding people to teach who were ready and willing to work! After another family turned us down the words of that scripture came to my mind...especially the part about not receiving the witness until after the trial of our faith! Our last appointment of the night was with the Martinez family...who we had talked to just once about a week before! As soon as we got to their home they welcomed us in and we were able to have a great lesson! As a family they accepted the invitation to be baptized and throughout the lesson we could see how happy they were to learn about the blessings the Lord has in store for their family! We were so excited and grateful after the lesson! Sometimes the trial of our faith seems long and endless, but I know that the Lord knows our limits and knows exactly how far He wants us to stretch in order to help us grow! I know that sometimes we can only learn some lessons through experience and that being humble means recognizing as did Job, that both the good and the difficult (sometimes what we may call bad) or the success and lack of success are controlled by our Heavenly Father! I know He lives and loves each of us!

Con amor,

Elder Cook!

McAllen Week

Hola mi familia!

This was a great week! Lots of travel and lots of seeing old friends! But it was great! So Tues-Thurs. we had 3 days of  training in McAllen...we had about 10 missionaries from Brownsville that went ...so we got up and left Brownsville around 6:30 each morning in time to start at 8:00 a.m. and got back around 6 or 7 each night! It was great! The drive is about an hour and a half at most...it was fun to pass Mercedes and Las Milpas twice a day! McAllen and the La Vista chapel there still feel like home each time I visit! The different mission leaders gave trainings and President Maluenda taught us a lot! He loves to use the old testament and D&C in addition to the Book of Mormon and he taught us using the story of Moses from Exodus 4 and Moses 1. There were a lot of differences from the 3 day trainings with the Trayners but it was all positive and all good! I also got to take part in an octet for a special musical number! We sang I Need Thee Every Hour ...Elders Curletti and Sanders (the ones from Mercedes) as well as Elder Stevens were all in it plus the sister missionaries I knew up in Corpus! It was great to go back each night and have an hour or two in our area to apply what we learn!

We're starting to work a lot with the Fernandez family! They’re a lot of fun and are quickly becoming some of our best friends! We’re helping them to start to come to church again and even though they aren’t fully active they always have family and friends over who they invite to listen or eat with us as well! Saturday we got a phone call from the AP’s telling us that President wanted the missionaries who sang to come sing in the Maluenda's ward since they would be giving talks! We drove up Saturday night and stayed the night in one of the mission homes so that we would have time in the morning! We stayed in the same house that I stayed in my very first night in the mission field....It brought back a lot of memories and was a good checkpoint for me! I'm so excited for these next few months of my mission! One thing President Maluenda has helped us focus on is how important it is to work towards and reach our potential as servants of the Lord! Each day is a building block! Sunday we got to sing and it went great! It was fun to hear the whole Maluenda family talk...they have 6 kids (one is on a mission to California) and their names and ages are Natalia (22), Fernando (20), Valeria (16), Catalina (14), Daniel (10) and Gabriela (8). The three daughters and then President and Sister Maluenda spoke!  It was strange to hear President in English and all the others except Valeria have pretty strong accents! Sister Maluendas English is coming along and it’ll be fun to see how much hers improves over the course of their mission! After singing at their ward at 9:00 a.m. we also stayed for the 11:00 a.m. ward as well. Then we went to the mission home for a lunch and we got to spend some time with them! It’s fun to see them as a family in the mission home! We sang a few more songs and President even had some of us play guitar and piano (I’m a little rusty on guitar! ah!). It’s definitely made me realize I want to devote some time to music after my mission! It makes life so much more enjoyable!

We're coming in on the homestretch of Elder Stevens mission and he really works harder than any missionary I know! He goes home next Friday! We have a lot of fun and I love being his companion!

This morning I read and studied a story in John 2! It’s the story of the Savior’s first miracle of turning water into wine! It made me grateful for the Joseph Smith translation! In verse the original version reads:

4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

but the JST says JST John 2:4 … Woman, what wilt thou have me to do for thee? that will I do; for mine hour is not yet come.

I noticed a huge difference in the first and the second! The second version (the correct one) shows how much more loving and willing to serve the Savior actually was! I’m grateful for modern revelation and for the work the prophet Joseph Smith did and that God loves us enough to make sure we have the truth! I know when we serve and do things for those we love we are happy! I know that Christ loves each of us and wants us to be as happy as we possibly can!

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Brownsville

Hola mi familia!

Wow! This past week was one of the busiest weeks of my life! But definitely one of the most rewarding weeks of the mission! I’ll share a few of the highlights!

-Wed: had an exchange with Elder Hobbs! He's a great missionary and was a good friend of mine in Brownsville the first time I was here...he's been in the same area for 6 transfers now (you probably wouldn’t of thought that possible from how quickly I change...but for some it is!). He’s a really loving missionary and uses the scriptures really well! We were able to talk to a lady named Ruby who invited us back for a lesson on Friday and then found a LA from Utah who hadn’t had contact with the church since she’s lived in the valley! Both huge miracles. We went back Friday and had a wonderful lesson on the plan of salvation with Ruby and her husband. She lost her dad 13 years ago when he got hit by a truck as he was changing the tire! The last thing he did before he got hit was push his wife (who was standing nearby) out of the way and it saved her life! He truly lived the scripture in John 15:13....that the greatest love we can have is to lay down our life for our friends! She shared a lot with us and it was a huge testimony to me of the type of spouse I want to become! As we made plans for church she told us that she was going to be out of town...at the point we asked the inspired question- "where?"..turns out she was headed to Corpus just outside of my old area! I was able to give her directions from the house she would be staying at and she went and had a great experience there! It was so much fun to see how the Lord works!

-Thursday: We went to McAllen and had a training meeting with the Maluendas! I got to see Elder Handy, Elder Curletti & Sanders (my 1st next door neighbors in Mercedes) , Elder Stott (from my residence hall at BYU), Elder Machuca and Elder Barrionuevo (lived in my apartment in Corpus) and a lot of other great mission friends! It was so much fun but the Maluendas really taught us a lot about revelation! Pres. Maluenda always makes a point to ask for thoughts, impressions and ideas! He is a quieter mission president but always has a smile on his face and is 100% optimistic! Sister Maluenda knows the scriptures so well and teaches us really well!

-Saturday we had a zone meeting and it was a lot of fun! We got to see all the other Brownsville missionaries and the spirit was so strong in the meeting! The training helped me focus more on improving my prayers and receiving specific answers to the problems and challenges I’ve faced!

Never been so tired! Never worked harder! But never been happier!

Con amor,

Elder Cook

July 29, 2013

Hola mi familia!

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

So...the highlights from the week!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Brownsville Pt. II

Hola mi familia!

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

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

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

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

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

Con amor,

Elder Cook

Brownsville Part II

Hola mi familia!

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

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

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

Con amor,
 
Elder Cook