Elder Cook: May Update

May 5
Good afternoon everyone! Things are going really well here in Round Rock/Many Farms! So i am stayin another transfer! And i am still with Elder Robinson. Things are really going well! We had a really good experience on Sunday! The area here is really being prepared! I fell like Elder Robinson and i aren't doing anything different but the area is just going up and up! We have found like 32 new investigators in this last transfer! We have been finding a lot of people! Most were just being nice, but there are some in there that are really prepared to hear the Gospel! So that has been going really well! Also if you remember me talking about Billy awhile ago, something really cool happened! So we have been teaching Billy ever since i got here in Round Rock. But he was doing really well when we started teaching him and he would read everyday and prey and come to church and he was trying to find out if it was true. But at the beginning of last transfer he started going downhill and started falling into temptation and it was really hard to see. But we have been praying and fasting for him and just last week he started reading again and he was sober and he came to church yesterday for the first time in awhile. He went up and bore his testimony on how all of the testimonies really helped him and also how he tried an experiment like Alma says in Alma 32: 29 or 30. But apparently he tried and experiment to see if church, praying, and reading really helped or not so he just stopped and that is when things started going downhill. We didnt know this the whole time. But he was able to overcome all the temptations and he recognized that it really does help! that was pretty dangerous on his side but it worked out. I guess everyone finds out the church is true in their own way! But he bore a really strong testimony and i think it was one of the best fast and testimony meetings i have ever been to! But experiences like that build my testimony even more and more! It was really hard for me to see Billy go through all of that but he was able to pull through it. he still has a long way to go but he knows it is true now and i dont think anything could stop him from progressing. He wants to go to AARP now and really wants to get involved in the church! But that was a really good experience! But i just see how hard of a life he has had and now what he is going through and God is really looking after him just like he is with everyone of his children! But if any of you ever go through a hard time just remember that you are all a child of God and he loves everyone! I also had a good experience 2 weeks ago were i was feeling a little lonely at times and long story made short, i prayed just to feel that love that God has for me and everyone and i was overcome with and overwhelming feeling! It was at stake conference when that happened! I dont know why i was feeling a little lonely! I know that you are all there too! But now that i felt a little of that love that he has for me, i can begin to feel the love he has for everyone! But yeah a lot of good things have been happening! And dont worry by the way! Ha i am doing great! We went to a less active members who speaks Navajo better and we brought a member with us and he spoke in Navajo and we could really feel the spirit even though we had no idea what was being said! But he was able to come to church too this last Sunday!

Love,

Elder Cook

 

May 12

Good afternoon! It was great to be able to talk to everyone last night! I was glad that we got a lot more time to be able to talk to family yesterday! Ha but thank you for all that you do and i love you all! So i told you a little bit yesterday but i will go over this week! It was kind of a slower week though. But it was a really great week! So we only were able to see 8 people so it was that many as usual. But we has a really good lesson with this new guy and his kids. His name is Eldon and he had 3 of his kids there that were younger. But we talked about the first two points of the restoration lesson which is "God is our loving Heavenly Father" and also "The gospel blesses families". So that was really good and he had a lot of really good questions and you could just feel the spirit so strong! We haven't had that good of a lesson since Elder Quijano was here. I felt like it was a tender mercy of the Lord because we were not as prepared for that lesson! But it was just a really good lesson that we had and he said at the end that this might be the way for him to find truth. So we invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and he said he would. So that was really good and we are going to see him again tonight! Also this week we were able to see Kel and Whitney and their two kids. We had a really good lesson with them and they have really been wondering where we go after this life because Whitney's mom died a couple of months ago. That is when we were pall bearers for the funeral when i first got into Many Farms. But we taught them about the Plan of Salvation and how they could see her mom again and how we could be together as a family forever in a perfect happiness after this life. And also we invited them to be baptized June 7th and they said yes. They came to church yesterday for mothers day and they enjoyed it! So that was really cool! And also we had someone from New Zealand come to Many Farms and give a presentation on temples and related it to mountains. It was a really good presentation! So that was really cool also! And also i got a little sick.; I think i got the stomach flu on Thursday and we had like 6 appointments that day after district meeting and i was feeling pretty sick so i asked for a blessing because we needed to go out and see these people. But i got a blessing and i felt better and we went out for the day! Ha like 4 or 5 of our appointments fell through! But its all good! We were able to see at least 1 of them! Billy is doing great still! He didnt come to church yesterday because he was cooking for his mom and spending time with her! But we stopped by and said hi and to see how things were going! We are going back to see Billy tomorrow so i am excited for that! Anyway it was really great to talk to you all and i enjoyed to see everyone!

Love,

Elder Cook

 

May 19

Good morning everyone! This last week was a slow one but some good things happened. I am doing great! A lot better then a couple of weeks ago! But we saw Billy this week and he was going through a really hard day and he came by our trailer while we were weekly planning and he said that nothing was working anymore and he gave us the Book of Mormon back and then road away. So we felt pretty bad after that but we went by and no one was home and we just prayed for him. Well he showed up at church on Sunday and he said sorry and he said that he was just going through a really hard day. But he is doing even better now and he realized that the Gospel is the best thing to have. Anyway that was really the main part of our week! other then that we just did a lot of finding! It was a slower week but still a really good one! But we are going to work even harder this week and do the best we can to come home exhausted! Sorry i dont have much else for this week! Its getting really hot though! I am dying of heat right now so i want to get out of this trailer as fast as possible! The senior couple here are cooking and i am right next to the oven! ha i am sweating! But i love you all and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Cook

 

May 26

How is everyone doing! Things are great here! All the missionaries in our trailer are awesome! We have two companionship's here and it is way sweet! The work is going great! Things are just going really well! I think i have grown more in this past month then i have on my whole mission! Ha i dont know though! There is a lot of things that i have learned and a lot more i still have to learn! I am always way happy to go out and do work! So this last week was pretty good! We saw Billy like we always do! He is doing good! He has a lot on his mind but we has a really good lesson with him on Saturday! He doesnt really have an easy life. Thats for sure. He has been thinking a lot! He has few family and the few that he does have are bad influences on him. But he can overcome it! He wants the family to be as strong as it can be. But we told him to have that hope and just to keep that and let that be his driving power! Sometime if you dont know where you are going, it makes it hard to stay on a good track. So we told him to have something in mind that he wants to get to and to do all he can to be worthy to make it to that point! It really helped him and so that was pretty sweet! Also we have had some new investigators this week that were pretty cool! We have a lot of hope for this area! I hope i can stay in it longer but wherever i go i go! WE have a mission tour in twoish weeks! Elder Carlson is coming! I think he is from the 70. But i am excited! I love mission tours when the general authorities come and talk to us! this will be my second one! We also have a temple trip coming up this August! Today we are probably going to rope some sheep! Ha there is a member and he wants us to rope sheep with him! So we will go do that and then probably go on a hike somewhere! But things are going really well here! Ha the missionaries here are awesome and there is one that we are exactly alike! its pretty crazy! So not much new though! Elder Poulson who was my second companion goes home in a couple of weeks! He will be at the mission tour where i will be at so that is pretty cool that i will be able to see him before he goes home! There is a couple here that want to be baptized! Their names are Kel and Whitney! They are pretty cool! THey are going through a pretty rough time but they will do good! It rained here yesterday and we got stuck in the mud for a little! That was pretty fun! Also the other two missionaries got stuck in a sand dune that formed on a mainish dirt road and it was the only way out and they got stuck! Ha so we had to go get them out! We called President Batt to see if we could get permission to pull them out with our truck and he just laughed and said how did they do that! it was pretty funny! President Batt made fun of them a little! It was hilarious! President Batt is way cool! Anyway things are going really well and i am excited for this next week! Look forward to hearing from you all next week!

Love,

Elder Cook

This was a sweet place we went to for a activity with two districts. we played football and cooked some marshmallows! This area was sweet! Its like 30 minutes away from where we live! Ha its way cool! Also apparently Big Foot is suppose to live in these mountains. They had a tv show crew come and check it out! Ha the missionaries there met the main guy in it! Its called like finding big foot and it was in the Lukachukai mountains! anyway that was fun!