Hi Family,
Well we had a good week. We got transfer calls on Saturday, and I wasn't surprised at all to find out that me and Elder Watkins will be staying for another transfer together here in Pittsburg. I would have been sad if I had to leave, so Im excited that we are staying. My Tongan roommate - Elder Latu - has finished his mission and will be going home. My new roommate is Elder Ouellette! My first comp in Marsh Creek. So that will be fun.
Well this week we found a new investigator. His name is Alan. He is an African american, and lives in the more ghetto part of Pittsburg. We taught him the first lesson and it went really well. He even watched the BYU channel the next morning, about Joseph Smith! He is cool guy. Our other investigators are doing well. Tui (Too-ee) is awesome. She is loving what we teach, even though she learns a little slower than most. The wonderful thing about Preach My Gospel is we can take the lessons as slow as we want. As long as Tui is feeling the spirit, learning and progressing, and gaining a testimony, that is all that matters. She is a very visual learner, and every time we watch a movie with her, like finding faith in Christ, she cries.
Angel, our 9 year old investigator, is ready to be baptized, as soon as her mom is reactivated. We don't want to baptize her with no support, so we would like her mom to start coming out to church more often. It is really really hard to see people be lazy about living the gospel. It is hard to see people struggle (like Angels mom), and you know that if they lived the gospel, and read the scriptures, and put God first in their life, then they would have peace. That is something that has been frustrating to me in this area. People don't understand that if they want Gods promised blessings than they have to obey. I have to keep reminding myself that I just need to follow the spirit, do my best to be obedient, have patience and faith, then let God take care of the rest. I'm starting to understand why missionaries have so many rules. Because the spirit is key. To have the spirit we have to be obedient and worthy. That is something I've known since day one out here, but now being in a situation where you want to help people so bad, and help them to see the blessings of living the gospel, having the spirit to know how to help them is vital.
So conference was great! We were able to watch all of conference at our investigators house - Jerry and Martha Howe. They have the BYU channel, so we watched all 4 sessions with them there. Jerry is excited to be baptized in 2 weeks, and Martha is getting there. I think she enjoyed conference more than Jerry! She is the cutest little old lady from Nicaragua. She is like my mission mom in Pittsburg! On Saturday and Sunday she fed us breakfast before the morning session, lunch in between sessions, and dinner after the afternoon session! You should have seen what they did for me on my birthday! On Sunday night they decorated their house with happy birthday signs and balloons, made a birthday dinner for me, got me a present (cologne), and Martha ordered a fancy cake that said happy birthday Elder Cook on it! I was so surprised. Jerry and Martha are the best!
Also this week I went on splits with Elder Latu in his area (in the Tongan program). There are A LOT of Tongans in the Bay Area. In our mission we have 2 Tongan stakes, and a lot of Tongan wards. So on Thursday I spent the day in the Tongan ward. We went to dinner at this sweet little old Tongan ladies house, and she dint speak English. We sat down at the dinner table, and I was surprised to find out what we were about to eat! She fed us a pig head! Everything was still there - it was nasty! So Elder Latu digs in, and I go for the other meat the she served - horse! So I ate horse meat while Elder Latu ate the pig head. When he got to the brains I tried a little bit, and it was really not good. Elder Latu said that in Tonga they always save the pig head for the chief, and that it is an honor. I say no thanks!
So the week was full of surprises! I hope all is well at home! I love you all very much!
- Elder Cook
Oh and I would love conference on cd! That would be great!
Hey Mom and Dad! I just wanted to write a separate email this week to tell you how much I love and appreciate you both! As I watched conference this weekend (and by the way, I didn't fall asleep once!), I noticed that a lot of the talks were about raising kids, and providing them with guidance, or helping youth have a firm foundation, or the importance of motherhood in nurturing her children, or the importance of providing children with a home where the gospel of Jesus Christ can be taught. As I listened to these talks I thought about my parents and how I have been raised. I will eternally be grateful for the example that you have shown to me. As I listened to conference I felt so blessed to have the opportunity to grow up in a home where the spirit was felt. That we always prayed as a family, and read the scriptures together. I'm thankful for the foundation that you helped me lay. I'm grateful that I grew up without a doubt in my mind that my Dad and Mom, loves me. I know that families are ordained of God, and words cannot begin to describe how grateful I am for my family!
Thank you for your love and support! I love you!
-Elder Cook
No comments:
Post a Comment