Elder Cook Week Sixty-Three

Hey Familia,

Did you know another parrot messed with us?  Seriously those things are really getting annoying!  They think I’m so dumb!  But I fall into their little trap every time.  This last one could keep a conversation going!  I’m pretty sure he even laughed when we walked away.  Apart from that we had a great week! 

We got lost on a mountain. We took a wrong turn on a path and we were climbing around trying to find it again for a long time.  We prayed and eventually found a guy to show us out.  Then we were contacting on Sunday, and we found the coolest guy! When we knocked on the door, he came out super happy and friendly.  My companion and I gave each other sideways glances.  I always get a little worried when people are like that.  But he let us in and we taught the most amazing lesson!  We taught the restoration and the spirit was super strong.  He understood everything and answered our questions perfectly!  It was so crazy.  Too crazy.  Before we left the house we asked him if Joseph Smith was a prophet, if the Book of Mormon was true (he already read a lot of the Book of Mormon) and if this was the true church.  He said yes to everything!  So we asked him if he’d like to be baptized but he said no.  He’s comfortable in his church.  We asked him if he believed our church has the priesthood and he said “Yeah, but I like my church”.   We told him to read and pray, and we’re going back Saturday.  His name is J    and it would be great for you to pray for him!

I learned something pretty important about faith in my personal studies.  It changed my way of thinking.  We will have just as much faith as we allow ourselves to have.  That’s interesting to me because I always thought it was an on or off thing.  Like if we do good things, and try real hard we have lots of faith.  If we don’t, our faith becomes a lot dimmer.  While that is part of it, the most important thing is the fact that what we put in, we get out. If we want lots of faith we read a ton in the scriptures, pray all the time and work hard to get it.  And we gain lots of faith.  If we don’t care that much to have strong faith, we won’t read the scriptures or pray with intent, or try that hard to get it.  And we won’t have very much faith.  If you want a testimony of the Book of Mormon, read it.  If you want a strong testimony of  the Book of Mormon, study it.  If you want to know without a doubt that the book of Mormon is the word of God, read it, study it, and apply the teachings to your life.  Like it says in Ephesians in the Bible, faith is a gift from God.  But like with every great gift, the wrapping paper doesn’t unwrap itself, you have to put in the effort.  And it’s always worth the effort. 

Love

Elder Cook 

Elder Cook Week Sixty-Two

I bet you can't guess which one is me 

(Elder Cook has sent us several pictures of himself from the neck down.)

Familia

I've eaten some of this guys friends

This is the kind of lizard they serve us at dinner appointments.

Remember how I’ve always said how much I hate computers?  I really hate computers.  This darn thing drives me nuts sometimes!  I feel like computers spend more time having problems than working.  I think Heavenly Father sent me to the office to learn patience.  

I have survived the financial secretary boot camp. Those were probably the craziest couple of weeks in my whole mission! But I think I’m getting things kinda under control.  On Friday, I was able to get my huge stack of checks and papers that have piled up in the last two weeks down to about half its size! I was pretty happy about that.  I have pretty much no idea what to do with the other half, but that first half didn’t even know what Gringo hit it. Other missionaries always ask me how being the finance guy is going and if I like it. I usually jokingly say that I just throw money up in the air and hope it lands in the right spot. I said it as a joke but worried if it was true. I know now that the Lord has His hand in literally every aspect of His church, not just the spiritual side.  I have personally witnessed it in my work in the office.  God won’t just let some 20 year old kid be in charge of His money and mess stuff up.  No matter what happens, things just always turn out alright, even if I don’t know how. 

I’ve also had some incredibly spiritual experiences these last couple weeks.  It amazes me sometimes how Heavenly Father works and how easy it is to have a testimony that there is a God if we just do His will.  He just wants to help us!  He is always there.  He is always listening.  The absolute hardest thing I’ve learned on my mission is about how our Heavenly Father answers us.

This last week my comp and I had an amazing day. One of the best days of my mission.  We were talking with everyone, we had the two most spiritual lessons I’ve ever been in and people came up to us off the street telling us to come teach them.  The most incredible day.  That night, we walked home on a spiritual high but I felt kinda sad.  I just couldn’t understand why after all this time, a year of busting my butt up hills, and stairs, crying and praying about investigators, pleading to see some kind of answer from my Heavenly Father in my life and that of others, coming home most days drained spiritually and physically with not even a glimmer of hope in all that work, why I didn’t see more success.  For days I’ve thought about it, and that story you sent me dad hit me.  Heavenly Father asked me to push the rock.  I’ve preached and pushed that rock for a long time with no success.  Or that’s what I’ve thought.  I got a little weak and felt sorry for myself.  But the Lord had spoken with me through the spirit, and told me to look back.  All that time struggling, reading the scriptures, working my tail off, praying my heart out, not a single moment was spent in vain.  My muscles have grown under the constant pressure of that rock. My testimony is so much stronger, my faith and knowledge in the gospel has deepened, and my love for the Savior has grown more than I thought possible.  The Lord has called us to be obedient and push, and He will move the rock.  Heavenly Father had been answering my prayers the entire time!  By allowing me to struggle it helped me become better.

Now when my investigators ask me, why didn’t I get an answer?  I’ve prayed about the book, read it, and got nothing.”  That is a pretty common question, and I know why now.  Heavenly Father isn’t the problem, we are.  HE ALWAYS ANSWERS MY PRAYERS.  In His own time, His own way, and in His own place.  We have to be ready, worthy, willing, and putting our own effort to receive it.  Please pray.  Don’t waste another minute not using the special gift God has given us of direct communication with Him.  Trust in Him.  Trust that He loves you and He is always looking to give you the best life and most growth possible in this time here on earth.  He will answer you.  I know that.  And he acts based on your faith in Him.  The faith always precedes the miracle.  Pray when you wake up.  Pray when you go to bed.  Pray when you leave the house.  Pray in every moment you think of prayer.  Talk to Him because He wants to talk to you. 

Sometimes at night I think.  Usually I just crash, and blink, and can’t believe it’s morning, but sometimes I am awake long enough to think.  The overwhelming thought that comes is just how happy I am!  I am just happy all the time.  That’s just something I love about the gospel.  The happiness is brings to people’s lives.  I love this work.  I know God lives, He loves us, He sent His son for us, and this is His church. 

Love

Elder Cook

Elder Cook Week Sixty-One

A ward member made me a birthday treat

Hey Familia,

I have a testimony that God listens. And I’m pretty sure He likes to play jokes sometimes too.  I was talking to someone and we were saying how hard it would be to be the Financial Secretary, how I always felt so bad for him.  Guess I shouldn’t have blabbed my mouth!  

Great kid, he calls me cookie

We were playing basketball on p-day and I was super happy, because we were playing basketball.  Then the Zone Leaders got a call from President.  Whenever that happens, everyone prays really hard it’s not for them.  Well, it was for me.  I didn’t pray hard enough so I started talking to him and he asked me about the area, and if we have fechas.  Then he asked me if I knew anything about finances.  My heart dropped, and I said, “Not a clue”.  Then president told me “Well then you’ll learn real fast.”  

So I said my goodbyes to people in the area and got picked up at 10am the next morning to head to the office.  I left three baptism dates behind and a bunch of food because I was sure I’d be there another change!  I was pretty sad to leave. 

That first day in the office was insane every secretary is trained for a week with the elder he’s replacing. It seriously felt like I was brand new to the mission!  I was so confused it was like he was speaking a different language!  I had to learn financial talk in Spanish.  We went to the office at 10am and left the office at about 7pm everyday confused, super tired, and with a crazy headache.  Friday Elder J told me all that I learned in those days was only about 20 percent of what he still had to teach me.  

Saturday is p-day in the office we were supposed to pick up president from the airport and take his kid to an activity that morning, and Elder J got sick. He was the only one allowed to drive besides me. So my first day driving in Honduras was with president, his wife, and their kid in the car.  This place is so crazy to drive in!  Traffic laws don’t really exist.  And neither do lanes.  You have to dodge and weave through traffic.  Crosswalks haven’t been invented yet so people just cross the street whenever they want!  Even on freeways.  

We’re trying to really focus in on our area because we only get a few hours to proselyte every day.

Love you,

 

Elder Cook 

Elder Cook Week Sixty

We found this picture on the mission blog

Elder J and Elder Cook

Love you!  Sorry I´m trying to get the hang of this emailing thing here. It´s next to impossible to get time to write an email.  We can Skype Mother´s Day but not sure what time.  I’m the new Finical Secretary in the office.  Still alive (kind of).  Trying to stay afloat over all the papers and receipts and phone calls I’m getting.  Yeah we ate pizza for my birthday!!!  I’ll send you the pic sometime.  And a nice little family made a cake and dinner for me!  Thank you for all the birthday emails! I’m having to travel around our mission and Tegucigalpa!  No worries I’ve been in Honduras long enough to know how to be careful.  My comp’s name is Elder W from Chile.

Love you a ton!

Elder Cook