2015-2-16 I love the spirit! I love the gospel and I love SHARING THE GOSPEL!

In the church with Osmara and our CTR/HLJ rings

Funny funny FUNNY story. Once upon a time there were transfers coming. And they came...
All week I felt like I wasn't going to change. It was weird, in all of my other transfers, I knew I was going to change, but this time I didn't feel like that.  I have 3 transfers here in Aeropuerto, my companion solo one, and she felt like she was going to change.
We got the calls at 6ish...and I was right...again!! I'm STAYING IN AEROPUERTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and my comp is leaving :( But she's going to my beloved Guasave...so she should be happy :)

It's a funny story because...well...you people that know me well know that I have a weird fascination with numbers and patterns....well guess what happened...
1st area...1 transfer
2nd area...2 transfers
3rd area...3 transfers
4th area....4 TRANSFERS!!!!

Yup. 1234, 1234!!!! Can life get any better?!?! I submit that it cannot!! jajaja Good times. God loves me :)

Anyway...for this week...We had some really really good days...and other days less good. But we felt good about our work this week.
We reached our goal to talk to 50 people in the street!! It was super crazy and super fun. Talking 10 ten people every day is difficult but it's sooo worth the effort!

hahaha...so we had our zone conference. I gave my presentation and then we had a practice. FAIL!!
But it was my first time being in charge of the practice...so yeah...I am soooo learning from my mistakes. I just wish it didn't make me feel so humble...ja ja ja ja ja...deep breaths and baby steps :)

Okay...super duper cool experience today in Tufesa ( the bus station place)
We were sitting there, waiting for my comp to leave and others to get there, and there was this man, 55 anos mas o menos, with a huge cowboy hat, pirate earrings in both ears, and just a super crazy cowboy mustache. Since there was a bunch of missionaries in the central, we were all talking and not paying much attention to anybody. But he started to talk to us because he's actually from Wyoming. Well the elders that were next to him weren't really talking to him, so I decided to talk to him...why not. LONG STORY SHORT...his twin brother just died...so we started talking about the plan of salvation. He actually was taking the lessons from the missionaries a few years ago and really really likes our religion. He has had bad experiences with religions in the past, so he doesn't practice one right now. BUT he has read the Book of Mormon and really likes it. AND he told me that if he were to start going to a church, he would go to ours.
Jump a little bit backward. Earlier that day, I was thinking about what I was going to bring to the bus station and last minute I grabbed a baby Book of Mormon en English...just in case one of the elders wanted one. Well as I was talking to this man, he mentioned how he wanted to read the Book of Mormon again...but he doesn't speak Spanish very well...and all of our material is in Spanish...BUT WAIT...I have my baby Book of Mormon brand spanking new!! So I gave it to him and he was SUPER excited to have it!!! He has a long ride home and wanted to read it!! How cool is that?!?! And even better, he gave me his address so that we can send the missionaries to his house!!!!!!!!!!
It was the coolest day ever!!!
I love the spirit and I love the gospel and I love SHARING THE GOSPEL!!! It's the best :)

You should all do it too!!!
And remember 1 Cor.15:58--Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!
oh...and Happy Valentines day!!!!
Love, Hermana Cook

I got to play the violin again!! LOVE IT!!! (remind me to practice when I get home...okay :)

2015-2-9 The Atonement & 1 yr in Mexico

Guess what??! It's not ''cold'' anymore!!!!!!! Yup.  Mexico is hot hot hot again.
But this is only the beginning!!! Welcome back sweat rags and tan lines!!!!!!!! hahaha
Anywho...Well...this week went by super fast and I can't remember what happened.

OH...Feb 3 I completed 1 year in Mexico!!!!!!! I cannot even believe how fast that went by!

Flashback to my 1st day in Mexico with Pres. Munive and his wife--1 year anniversary!!!

 I love Mexico!! It's super great and the food is the most amazing food on the planet!! If you ever want to visit Mexico...make sure you go to Sonora!! BEST FOOD EVER!!! And the people are super great too (hahahaha not to eat...just good people).  So yeah...1 year happened :) I still can't speak Spanish very well....in fact, my comp told me that when she heard she was going to be my comp, every told her ''hna. Cook is super great! super sweet, super funny, works hard,....but can't speak Spanish very well'' ...so yeah...there's that. But it's okay...I am learning soooo much patience these days :)

Thursday I went up to Obregon for the consejo de liderazgo!!! (leadership conference)

SO GREAT!!! I am always always amazed at how many great great missionaries there are here!! Seriously, future leaders of the church are coming forth from the Mexico  Cuidad Obregon mission!! We learned more about the GREAT importance to do our family history work and getting others to do it too!!! It's SOOOO important. Moses 3:7...God's work and glory is the immortality and salvation of us his children...and not just the living ones!! We are here to do the work of SALVATION!!! Salvation for all!! So yeah...get doing your family history work and then...GO TO THE TEMPLE!!!!!!! Wahoo!!!

There's a ton of other things they talked about...but don't got time for that.  Just remember to be happy and remember that GOD LOVES YOU!!!! He sent his Son so that we could have salvation!! We believe that ALL MANKIND may be saved through the ATONEMENT OF CHRIST and through OBEDIENCE to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel :) 

My companion received some very very very disheartening and sad news about some family members...so that was a little stressful. But we can testify of the power of the priesthood and how service to others helps us feel better :) Service is the medicine of the soul :)

We had a SUPER powerful lesson with Osmara on Saturday with a member from our ward...but she still won't commit to a baptismal date. :( So on Sunday we had a heart to heart goodbye lesson :( It really broke my heart. She has made SO much progress. But Satan is a bully and really is working hard on her. She knows all of it is true, she just needs to have more faith than fear!! Something I am also learning. So we are praying for her and know that she will someday make these important covenants with God...

Although we were SUPER heartbroken... God helped us with Karina and Isela!! Isela is the sister of a member in our ward and yeah. Super great they are!! Only had 1 lesson with them and She came to church for all 3 hours!! And liked it!! When we visited them later, Isela prayed and thanked God for the great experience in church that day!! IT was super neat and we are excited to see their progress :)

I know that this church is true! It really is the church of Jesus Christ!! How cool it is to say that!! LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about this gospel! So grateful that I, like Nephi, was born of GOODLY parents! The most goodly of them all!!!
I know that Heavenly Father loves us, sent his Son to die for us, and with His life we can live with them forever! I know that the atonement of Jesus Christ is real and can really really really truly heal all wounds...physically and spiritually!!
I love being a missionary and want to improve every day!! It's very true the scripture in John 7:17...and if any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.

I love you all so much!! Keep me updated on your lives...por favor :) LES QUIERO MUCHO!!!!!!!

forever yours,
Hna. Cook :)

2015-2-2 Repentance a change of mind and heart.

MUCHA AGUA!!!!  this week!!!

In Guyamas to renew our visas

There was so much rain this week!!!But yeah...Rain + dirt = MUD!!! 

lots and lots of mud...everywhere. haha.

Ummm.... this week was...a week.  I'm glad it's over and I'm ready to start a new one. The end.

hahaha...okay. It's true that obedience brings blessings and happiness (Mosiah 2:41).  I learned that from both sides this week.
Granted, we weren't super disobedient, but we weren't as anxiously engaged in a good cause 100% of the time and didn't reach our goals and yeah. It doesn't feel good :( Sad face.

But I am grateful for this opportunity to learn from my mistakes and try again. And again. And again :) This is why the Atonement is just the greatest thing ever!!!!!  Moroni 6:8 But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven.

I know what the scripture says is true! Super true!!! As oft as we repent we will be forgiven! But, it's important to remember what repentance is. It is not just a simple ''I'm sorry'' and all is good and fine. ''Repentance is more than simply acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. It is motivated by love for God and the sincere desire to obey His commandments.''   As oft as we try and turn away from our sins and our mistakes and have a change of mind and heart, He will forgive us!! I am super grateful for that promise. And as DyC 58:31 says  Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled? 

Anywho...there's a tiny message for ya'll.

Updates.
Osmara is doing well...ish. We had a super great lesson with her yesterday. We watched that little video of the mercy and justice and the guy that was in debt and couldn't pay for himself...but that's when his Jesus, steps in and says that he will pay the debt if we accept him as our creditor. I LOVE that video. It is soooo great!!!  And Osmara liked it too. She told us she needs to be baptized...but when we tried to get her to accept 14 de febrero...she said NO!!!!! We both could not believe it!!!!!!!!!!! But we are praying super hard and fasted and I really do think that she will be baptized that day. She is super ready and God is ready for her :)

Other than Osmara, we don't have anyone progressing really fast. But we did find this father that is SUPER nice and his 2 sons and his wife and they are just great and he read the pamphlet and the intro to the Book of Mormon and has A LOT of potencial!!! So yeah. We are happy.

I really do love my companion.  We have a lot of good times together. And I am super grateful that she is patient with me. I am soooooooo imperfect. A lot.
I read this from the talk Pres. Uchtdorf gave this past conference. LOVE LOVE LOVE
''The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”

The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.”  The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.''

I KNOW that as we come unto Christ, we will become perfected in Him. No importa if you are the Relief Society president, or on the break the fast committee. If you read your scriptures every day or don't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon yet. EVERYBODY needs Christ. Erabody.
He is the ONLY way. He LOVES us so much. A lot. :) Let us not wait to come unto him tomorrow, or in a week, or when we don't have stress and problems and school and kids and debt etc. Come unto Christ TODAY!! And you'll be happy you did. I guarantee it :) (hahah feel like a mr. mack commercial...lol)

I love you all so much!!! For reals. Love love love love love love love love love all of you!!!
Be good and remember that everybody around you is a child of God.
Remember, then treat them like one :)

Love,
Hna.Cook

Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv,
hermana cook..

2015-1-26 Because I have been given much...

Well...I don't have very much time...Today I went to Guyamas...it's the place we go to renew our visas...so we were there all day....
so yeah...I have like ...negative 10 minutes!!! aaahhh!!!

So...I think this week went pretty well. We had a lot of ups and downs....
But we definitely ended on an UP!!! 2 of our investigators came to church!!! Osmara y Belem.
It was a glorious day :)

And I had such a crazy experience. Crazy humbling...a lot actually...
On Saturday we had a sister that said she could accompany us all morning! So we were super duper happy. Before we left with her, we said a prayer and asked to see miracles.
Well we walked and walked and walked and all of the people we had planned to see weren't there. I was a little bit stressed!! A lot. But I tried to tell myself to stay calm and have faith. And our miracle was actually really sad. The sister remembered that a less active member lived in a house near by, so we went to go and checked it out. Well as we walked in the house, it was SUPER dirty, super cold, sad looking, lots of garbage, and this dear old lady laying on a bed with hardly any coverings. We started to talk to her...she is a little bit crazy...but her grandson told us that she has been on that bed for 4 years and can't walk and just lies there all day!! When we were there, she mentioned to us that she needed to be changed and nobody had helped her for a long time. I don't know how long she had been sitting there in her mess, but it really was just soooo heartbreaking to think that she is in this situation. She had a lot of family around but nobody there to help her. I honestly started crying...you can ask my companion.
So..this experience wasn't the miracle I was looking for or even wanting, but it taught me some things.
I HAVE EVERY REASON TO BE GRATEFUL!!!
There is nothing I have to complain about. Really. I don't even know why I complain. It really is so bad.  I have legs, arms, eyes, teeth, hair, a FAMILY!!! THE GOSPEL!!! I really have everything.
I am so grateful for all the things the Lord has given me. Sometimes I am sooo spoiled. A lot. But that is why those who have been given much should GIVE GIVE GIVE!!!
I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo extremely grateful for my time here!! I can't imagine my life without this experience. And I am so grateful I still have 5 months more to see the blessings of this Gospel in my life and in other's lives.
I LOVE this scripture... ''for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.'' Alma 29:3

Let us all be content and happy with the things, trials, talents, friends, family, companions, callings, blessings that the Lord has allotted us!!!

Thanks for your inspiration and love!!!!
Love you all so much!!!
XOOXxxxooOOoOooXXxxXXXxxOOoXOXO
(big hug little hug..little kiss big kiss...haha)

Hna. Cook

2014-1-19 HLJ...CTR...Choose The Right

Well hello there friends. How are you all??  How have you been enjoying these first 19 days of the new year??  Can't believe this month is half over!!!

Anywho, this week was super good.
We contacted the lady from the week before, Maria de los ángeles...the door we knocked on because we thought 'Ben' lived there but found her instead. SUPER SWEET!! She is definitely the most happy investigator I have ever taught. So sweet! And she is so receptive. She accepted everything, including a baptismal date :) And at the end of the lesson she was practicing the name of the church...because it is quite large...La Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Ultimos Dias.. :) So cute. We are both super excited to be teaching her and we have a lot of hope that she will progress :)

Okay...and for my favorite story...OSMARA MARTINEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remember a few weeks back when I was super dramatic and said we were going to be dropping her and her grandparents...Cidila y Jesus....haha...yeah...just a little bit over my head that day.
Osmara is the best. I love her. I want to cry when I talk to her because she is sooooooooooooo amazing.
So...the last last week she attended all 3 hours...but it was pulling teeth. Originally she told us just sacrament meeting...but then when we were trying to get her to stay for the classes, she looked down at her HLJ ring and said ''...uuhhh...I need to choose the right'' so we went to all 3 classes... :)
(Thanks mom for the HLJ rings...they the best!) So yeah...all good and fine.

Well...when we went back to visit her this past Monday, we were talking casually and out of the blue, she told us she prayed and promised God that she was going to go to church every Sunday. Then in her prayer she said ''I promise to go to church every Sunday and I’m sorry I was complaining this week I’ll do better.'' And she totally did!!! Such an angel!!

AND...another glorious story of my favorite jovencita...she has been reading the Book of Mormon...and she hates reading!! So this week she told us she brought her Book of Mormon to school, and her friends were asking her about it and asked her why she was reading it. She told them it didn't matter what they thought about it, but she knows it is true and it works (she is doing better in school and she is SO much happier!!) so cute. I almost died when she told us that. True story..haha.

THEN...if you remember..or if I told you...she is afraid to accept a baptismal date because she is nervous about a lot of things...so she still hasn't accepted one...but we are getting sooo close. The elders had a baptism this week and we got her to come. And after, she was asking us a ton about baptism...and things for HER baptism ''will the water be cold or warm'' ''who is going to baptize me'' ''do I have to have my own white clothes'' and other things. So cute!!

Okay...and one more story...I’m sorry..but she is just SO GREAT!!...
She has a lot of bad friends that want her to do bad things...so we had her read 1 Nephi 8. Last night we were talking over what she read and it is exactly what she is going through. One of her friends was trying to get her to smoke and she said no. Why not? She told us she looked down at her ring, and then told her friend she needed to choose the right!! They teased her and told her it was dumb, but she knows better!! And she is happy!!!

It is soooo humbling to work with this dear young woman!! I know God has a HUGE plan for her and I am sooo grateful to be working with her. And I am sooo humbled to see how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is working in her life. I love so much how she is seeing for herself how the gospel is blessing her life. She is happier, she is doing better in school, she is treating her crazy little sister better etc. I know that this church is true. This is the gospel of JESUS CHRIST!!! Sometimes we just get so used to saying and hearing that phrase that we don't always remember what it means. This is the gospel, the plan, the way, that our Savior--the person that loves us and died for us, our example, our friend, our leader-- showed and taught to us. This is how He was happy, and this is how we can be happy. The ONLY way we can be happy. I know that this amazing and glorious gospel has been restored in it's fullness through Joseph Smith!! A prophet!! Prophets are just the coolest!! And we have one today!! I know Thomas Spencer Monson is our prophet today and I am so grateful for his guidance.

DyC 128:19  Ahora, ¿qué oímos en el evangelio que hemos recibido? ¡Una voz de alegría! Una voz de misericordia del cielo, y una voz deverdad que brota de la tierra; gozosas nuevas para los muertos; una voz de alegría para los vivos y los muertos; buenas nuevas de gran gozo. ¡Cuán hermosos son sobre los montes los pies de los que traen alegres nuevas de cosas buenas, y que dicen a Sión: He aquí, tu Dios reina! ¡Como el rocío del Carmelo descenderá sobre ellos el conocimiento de Dios!
Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them!

I love you all so much and am so grateful for your prayers and thoughts!!!
Be good and CHOOSE THE  RIGHT!!! Don't wait for others to do it first, you be the one to set the example!! :)

Love love love love you!!

Love,
Hermana Cook

2015-1-12 LOVE the Spirit

My first sight of a Utah license plate

Six missionaries of Aeropuerto y Hermano Evans

Once upon a time I was trying not to think about how I only have 6 months left...but then I started thinking about it...and then I got to thinking of things that I haven't done or learned in my mission that I want to...and I thought a lot about how sometimes I still get nervous to talk to people and how I want to overcome that. I really really really don't want to come home from my mission and still have that fear.
Soooooo...this week...a miracle happened. 
I wanted to do better at contacting people in the street. So I tried talking to lots and lots more people so that we could have more references and have more people to contact...and then teach...and then baptize...and confirm...etc. Well as we were walking to one of our lessons, there was a guy of 23ish years sitting beneath a tree with headphones. ''I'm going to contact him'' I told myself. So I did. Well...he honestly didn't seem interested. And pretty sure he was laughing at me the whole time..(my Spanish is still no bueno...que triste)...but we gave him the restoration pamphlet and he gave us his address.
Well...on Saturday, we were walking to an appointment, and we passed the street where he lives...and I was like ''let's go contact Jose Angel'' and my comp was like ''no...he's not in our plans for this hour..'' but I was like...well...we are here...and we need more contacts for this week...and since I am the senior comp...hahaha...I made the executive decision to visit him. Well as we got to his house...I realized something...I had been to that house before but we had contacted a different person that was NOT interested. So I was like ''oh...well...maybe I don't want to contact this house again...did NOT want things to get super awkward and weird. So I was like...OK fine...let's go.''  But then I remembered that I want to conquer my nervousness of awkward situations. What's the worst that could happen? I share my message and they don't want to hear it?? Pues...si. hahaha. So I changed my mind AGAIN and knocked on the door.
LONG STORY SHORT...
Jose Angel had read the whole pamphlet, understood, and wanted to read the Book of Mormon so that he could learn more about Jesus Christ...
Ummmm....
WAHOOOOOO!!!!! That was the coolest thing ever. And a lesson filled with the Spirit!!! SOOOO great. He accepted a baptismal date and yeah. Wow wow wow. I felt SO grateful I had remembered my goal and listened to the Spirit.

Another quick experience of following the Spirit. 
Sunday night, it was 8:30 and we had 30 minutes...what do we do?  Well as we were walking down the street...getting closer to our house, I remembered that we had a reference we hadn't contacted on that street. ''Ben lives in that house...let's go talk to Ben and put an appointment.'' We knock on the fence...yeah. Not the house of Ben...oops.
BUT...although it wasn't Ben...It was Maria de los Angeles...who is a super happy lady that is super sweet that actually had taken the missionary discussions a couple of years ago and had a Book of Mormon. So we talked for a little bit and she accepted an appointment!!!!
Wahoo for the Spirit reminding me and prompting me to knock on that door!!!

I love the Spirit. He really knows how to do the work of salvation :) And really...it's the only way to do the work :)

But I think we all know that...but sometimes I think it's hard to know if we are feeling the Spirit if it's actually prompting our own thoughts.
Well...I can tell you that when I knocked on those 2 doors I didn't think to myself ''is this the Spirit...or is it just me?'' But I did think about how it would be a good idea and I did it.
In Alma 17:2-3 it says that Alma and the Sons of Mosiah fasted, prayed, and read the scriptures diligently to have the Spirit.
So really...if we are doing those things, we are going to have the Spirit with us. No questions asked. That is something I am still learning and trying to understand. But as I act, I am learning little by little and seeing the glorious outcomes of it!!!
And ...if you're still not sure, Moroni 7:13, 16-17 talks about how all good things are of God. So if you have a good idea to do something good, it's of God, and the Spirit is going to back you up!

So yeah...there's my 2 cents for you :)

I love you all so much and am SO grateful for all of your support, love, letter, prayers, jokes, pictures, and more love.
You all know how to be the greatest blessings ever!!!

until next week...
with love,
Hermana Cook

2015-1-5 Listen to the Spirit

Wow..2015!!!  How did that even happen?  No sé Jose!! hahaha

I spent the New Year writing a...talk thing...for the zone conference.
I don't like late nights...but I LOVE studying the scriptures and Preach My Gospel and the words of prophets. Que padre :) AND I had such a great experience with the spirit.
So all that night I was writing my talk. Went to bed...and then in the morning, as I was practicing what I was going to say in my head, I felt that I should change the focus of my talk....ay no!! It was hard enough getting what I was going to say out of my head in the first place, there is no way I can change it last minute!!! Nope nope nope....
okay...fine.  So as I am brushing my teeth and doing my hair I was frantically looking up scriptures and reading a super awesome talk. On the way to the church, I was trying to scramble through my crazy thoughts. No bueno.
Well....as the other 3 people are giving their talks, the Elder that spoke before me gave his presentation and all was good and great...but then...he started talking about what I had been assigned to talk about!!! Or better....he was talking about what I had originally planned to talk about! But....remember who felt impressed to change the subject at the last minute...me!!! This stressed out missionary!!! I felt SO relieved!!!  You have no idea. I gave my talk and yeah. It wasn't the same as what the Elder had just given!!! Wahoo for the spirit and trying to follow it!!!

What else came to pass this week...Oh...today we had transfers :(
My baby Siza fled to Mochis and I am here with my new companion, Hna. Rojas.
She is my 4th companion from Mexico City. Mexico city is the Utah of the United States. She is super great and I am looking forward to working with her and finding people to baptize and confirm!!

Hermana Rojas...my new companion

Oh...and some CRAZY AWESOME things....the new youth theme..."EMBARK"..is super cool.
The video is super cool too!! And what is SUPER DUPER COOL is that my dear Hna. Lindsley is in it!!!!  She is the super gorgeous hermana that receives her mission call!!!! https://www.lds.org/church/news/new-2015-mutual-theme-songs-videos-encourage-youth-to-serve?cid=HPMO122914592&lang=eng
so now you can all watch it and see the wonderful hna. Lindsley receive her mission call to the Mexico Ciudad Obregon Mission!!!! Wahoo!!!

The now famous Hermana Lindsley

Other than that...nothing much happened this week...there was nobody in the streets this week. All were drunk and sleeping. So that was fun...ish. Oh...and my heart got broken :(
As we were teaching Cerila and Osmara on Saturday...my companion and I both got a feeling that they aren't going to progress...right now...SO SAD!!! I really have never cried so hard for investigators :'( They are so great...I am hoping and praying that they will be able to make those covenants with our Father!!! .... :'(

BUT...faith in every footstep!! I have seen time and time again that God is preparing people everywhere! Just need to get the courage to find them.

DyC 128:19, 22!!!!

19 Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them!

  22 Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Happy New Year and make super great goals for this year!!!
Love,
Hna.Cook

Hna. Eva! We go to pick her up every Sunday in her wheelchair!! She is SO diligent in going to church!!! She has so many health problems, but she always always comes to church!!
Love her faith!!!

2014-12-29 "He is the Gift" & the Book of Mormon brings miracles

Me playing with a cute niña before the ward Christmas party.

Me &Hermana Siza with our investigador...Carlos Ozua...aka Santa Clause!!

Feliz navidad, feliz nuevo año, feliz vida, feliz cumpleaños, SEA FELIZ! :)bueno...where was I?
oh yeah...FELIZ!!!

I hope you are all having a happy wonderful time wherever you are!!
I received so many inspiring emails these past 2 weeks that I just feel super duper happy right now!! And they all had to do with the Gospel!! Coincidence? I think NOT!! hahaha

With the ''He is the Gift'' that we as missionaries were sharing all of this month, I got to bear my testimony so many times of how Jesus is the real Christmas. He is our happiness. He is the gift that NEVER stops giving. It was truly an amazing experience! I love our Savior Jesus Christ and I know he loves each and everyone of us!

Also, This past week, we have watched ''How to Find Faith in Christ'' with a lot of our investigadores and less active members. And the results were amazing. I LOVE that movie so much, but I really love the spirit that accompanies it! Our Savior Jesus Christ truly was a man of miracles. He truly went about healing the sick, causing the blind to see, raising the dead. And he did it all because He LOVES US!!! Love love love. I feel soooo grateful to be here and give....because I have been given much!! SO MUCH!!! I just want to cry..it's fine.

Anywho...skyping with the fam...greatest thing ever!!! I LOVE laughing with all of you! It is so great. And it was SUCH a surprise to see my dear darling Aubrey-pooh!! And Lizzie too!!! Wow wow wow, Christmas miracles :)

Well, because I didn't have time to write you the week before....I have a lot to tell ya'll...
but there is a catch...I don't remember diddly-squat!! Oops.
Sorry. But...I will try and relate a couple of things that are on my mind.

Cerila. 
I honestly can't remember what I have told you about her. So forgive me if I repeat erathang you know about her...(but..where's the harm in learning about one of our spirit sisters?)
Cerila is a fragile old woman of 70ish years. She has a TON of health problems and talks SO MUCH!!! When we first started teaching her and her husband, Jesus Antonio, they did not understand ANYTHING!! We tried teaching the restoration as basic as we could...like on a five year old level...and yeah. They didn't remember and understand nada. So frustrating. They said they liked to listen to our message, but Cerila said she wouldn't get baptized because she was scared... So we dropped them. It was super sad because they are super cute.
WELL...a couple of weeks later we dropped in to say "hi". LONG story short...she said she had been praying that we would come and visit them. And then she ended up telling us why she was scared to get baptized. Wow wow wow. What miracles. So then we started teaching them again. But the same old thing happened. They were still scared to commit to baptism and still didn't understand hardly anything.
So one day, as we were about to drop them again, we decided to leave them with a Book of Mormon. We didn't know if it was the right thing to do....they didn't even understand the pamphlets...so how could they ever understand the Book of Mormon??? Well...we left them one anyway.
and....MIRACLE!!!  Cerila understood E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.   EVERYTHING!!!!
She had all the power verses marked marked marked. She told us how it applied to her and her situation and in her prayer she thanked God for the Book of Mormon because she knows it's true.
WHHHHAAAAAAATTT?!?!?!
How can a woman that doesn't understand the simple pamphlets with pictures understand scripture language?!?!
The Holy Ghost and miracles. That's how.
And ever since then, she has understood everything we have been teaching her.
AND she accepted a date to be baptized!!! And her husband!!! (thanks 2 Nephi 31) If we have a hard time teaching a principle, if we give her a chapter in the Book of Mormon to read that teaches about the principle, she will read it and understand it. Amazing. It is truly so so  so wonderful and amazing and humbling.
This experience has truly humbled me and my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know that reading the Book of Mormon will bring miracles into our lives!!! It truly contains the fullness of the gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And I love what Nefi says:
1 Nephi. 6:4-6
For the fullness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved. Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the    world. Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men.

This book truly inspires us to come unto Christ and become perfect in Him, to do good like Him, and be saved through Him. Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever troubles and hardships you have had, no matter if you think you're smart or dumb, fast or slow, pretty or less pretty (there are no ugly people), popular or you seem invisible, active or less active, happy or heartbroken, this book is for you!!!  Read it and let it change your life. And then change the lives of others. 

I am so so so so so grateful for our Loving Heavenly Father. Grateful that He loves us and will ALWAYS love us. Because He loves us and wants us to return, He sent his Son!!! His baby, His pride and joy, His only begotten. His only begotten Son to show us the way, and then provide the way. The Book of Mormon, along with the Holy Bible, is how we can know more about our loving
Father in Heaven and Savior, Jesus Christ, and how we can live with them forever.

Read read read read read read read read read read read read read read read READ READ READ READ READ READ READ READ READ READ READ READ READ READ THIS BOOK!!!!

And then pray to know it's true :)
I know it is and I know that our Loving Heavenly Father will let you know too :)
Just do it...era day!!!

I love you all so much!!!
I know this Church is true :)
Know it, live it, LOVE IT!!

Until next time...and until I remember... :)

Love love love love love your,
Hermana Cook :)

2014-12-15 A week of milagros..miralces...and lots of almost miracles :)

A MIRACLE!!
One day we were in the church waiting for a member that was going to do visits with us.
Didn't show. We were super sad. So as we were waiting, the man that is replacing the tile in our church showed up to do some more fixing. So we started chatting with him. (Ain't got nothing better to do...jaja just kidding.)
So we got chatting away...and would you guess he had been working for the church for 15 years, taking the missionary lessons and has 4 times in the church? Yup. Jorge. And he lives in front of the church...at least will live there for the next month and a half. And would you guess who wants to be baptized?!?! SI!!! JORGE!!! So yeah....that's pretty legit!!

Almost miracle...Jorge didn't come to church on Sunday :( So his date fell...but we have a lot of hope for this next Monday. CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!! Please pray for this child of God!! He knows it's all true!!! Just needs to take the plunge!!

Miracle!!! Daniel. He's our atheist!!! I found an atheist!! But it's SUPER hard to teach him. His mind and questions are EVERYWHERE!!! And it's all in Spanish. Wow. Hard stuff. But with God all things are possible...and I KNOW there is a God :) Horrah for faith! Well one day, we were teaching him and we were having a very very very hard time getting a word in without interruptions...so what came into my mind...inspiration!! jajaja..it's super funny inspiration.
A pen. ''Hermano...okay..we are going to try something. See this pen? Okay...whoever has the pen can talk. If you don't have the pen...no talking. Okay?'' Miralce. It worked!!! Super duper funny!! Good times...

Other miracle with Daniel...
We had a lesson planned with him...but we forgot about the baptism for the elders and the same time...which I was doing the musical number...on a violin!!!!
So we decided we were going to invite Daniel to the baptism...my companion didn't think he would come...buuuuuuuut...once we told him I was going to be playing the violin...he said yes.

AND HE CAME!!! And he even dressed up in a nice shirt and pants!!!  I think he wants to believe in God. It's SUPER hard and tiring not to believe in God.

I LOVE MORONI 7!!
40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?
 41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
 42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.

We have hope because of the atonement of Jesus Christ!! I know he suffered for us and that his atonement is perfect!! It can cleanse and heal any wound, ALL WOUNDS or SCARS!!! But we first need faith. A life without hope is miserable!! So how can we have hope?? Through the atonement of Jesus Christ!!

Almost miracle...we almost had investigators in the church....but no...but the next week!!
CHRISTMAS MIRACLES!!!

Oh...and remembered one more miracle...scary miracle.
So yesterday we went to visit our dear Severo...he is an older recent convert...soooo cute! So childlike!! Well...as we were teaching him, he started to seizure!! We very hurriedly and very freaked out, got him onto his bed. If we had not been there...he could have been very badly injured. SUPER SCARY. He was out for only 1 or 2 minutes...but they were 2 minutes I don't want to relive again...with him or ANYONE!! But he was very grateful a Dios that we were there.

That's all for now...

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!
Share the ''He is the gift''...oh ''el es la dadiva'' on facebook...era day!!!!
LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!
Merry CHRIST-MAS!!!!

I'll see you (..some of you) NEXT WEEK!!!!

Love,
Hermana Cook

Ho, ho, ho!  Merry CHRISTmas (mas=more CHRIST)

La actividad de navidad

2014-12-8 Obedience matters

Hola hola hola wonderful family and wonderful friends!!!
How was your week?  Did you love the Christmas devotional or did you love love love the devotional??

So this week was fun.
I got to go up to Obregon on Tuesday for a leadership thing. Wow. I met like a bunch of future apostles!!  I know everyone says this...but I'm no liar...My mission is the BEST mission ever!!! Mexico Cuidad Obregon!!

On Friday, I got to give a....capacitacion...um...a talk thing...for the zone meeting. SUPER SCARY!! And I talked way longer than I thought I would. I don't know if anyone of those missionaries understood what I was saying...but I got a lot out of studying it :)  Obedience :)  AND of how our faithfulness effects others...
Alma 4:9-11 compared with Helaman
9 And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God. 
10 And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the wickedness of the church was a great stumbling-block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress. 
11 And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people.

Now compared with Helaman 13:12-14
12 Yea, wo unto this great city of Zarahemla; for behold, it is because of those who are righteous that it is saved; yea, wo unto this great city, for I perceive, saith the Lord, that there are many, yea, even the more part of this great city, that will harden their hearts against me, saith the Lord.
13 But blessed are they who will repent, for them will I spare. But behold, if it were not for the righteous who are in this great city, behold, I would cause that fire should come down out of heaven and destroy it. 
14 But behold, it is for the righteous’ sake that it is spared. But behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that when ye shall cast out the righteous from among you, then shall ye be ripe for destruction; yea, wo be unto this great city, because of the wickedness and abominations which are in her.

Entonces....does our obedience matter? You better believe it!!!
So...the moral of this story is...
BE OBEDIENT AND LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY SO THAT WE DON'T GET DESTROYED!! And so that you can receive blessings and really...it's the only way to live happily :)

Anywho, so this week was still not very productive...my comp was still recovering from Dengue...but now she is back to normal and we are ready ready ready to find those golden nuggets!

Yesterday we found one!! She is the granddaughter of this lady we are teaching! She is soooo cute!! She only has 13 years but she is sooo mature!! We shared the ''He is the Gift" video and she loved it! And she told us that she felt ''an energy'' when she was praying with us...SO CUTE!!! Se llama Osmara Martinez! She's the best!

Oh, and one of less active members that we've only taught once came to church again!!! She is soooo great and her baby is THE CUTEST baby every...imma totally taking her home with me...or at least a picture of her. SO CUTE!!

Anyway. Got to go, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE you all!!
Thanks for your prayers, emails, examples, and good deeds!!
Can't wait to talk to you at Christmas!!!!!!
I love our Savior and I am so grateful for Him and his love for us!
Accept His love...and then SHARE

2014-12-1 Él es la DÁDIVA? He is the Gift...“Open my mouth”

Christmas time is here and our wonderful true church is making time count!!!
I LOVE OUR CHURCH!!! navidad.mormon.org o christmas.mormon.org
Pretty sure the second coming is getting closer because...''because I know that'' (I know Emmy will get that reference :) But yeah. I LOVE how the church is doing all they can to get this wonderful message out there!! My favorite part of the video is that is says ''accept the gift.'' How do we accept the gift? THE RESTORED GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!!! If we want to have the fullness of the Gift our Padre Celestial has given us, we need to accept the fullness of His gospel!!!! Wow...our Heavenly Father loves us!! SO MUCH!!

One of his beloved sons, Salvador Flores Hernandez, accepted this amazing gift on Saturday! Our golden investigador, Salvador (what a wonderful name) got baptized!!! It was sooo beautiful!! He is so great. He shared his testimony about how before we started teaching him, he didn't want to live anymore. So he called us his ''angels'' that were sent to save him. SO SWEET!!! He is going to be such a strong strong member! So so so so grateful for the opportunity to teach him! His faith and desire to change was incredible. Wow! I have a testimony that God is preparing the hearts and minds of his children!!

Salvador Flores Hernandez accepted the 'gift'.

He is the coolest. He bought a white shirt and tie but hasn't worn it to church because he is waiting until after his baptism!! It's so great. He is going to be such a great great member!!! He really is a blessing and an example in my life.

AND other good news!!! My investigador in Centro, Pablo, got himself baptized!!!!! Wahoo!!!
What a great great great reminder to me of the importance to open my mouth!! I remember contacting him, super nervous, afraid to ask for his address, then when we contacted him, I was nervous to invite him to baptism etc. BUT he accepted!!! Wow!! What a great feeling. I LOVE this gospel, our Savior, this priceless gift that our Loving Heavenly Father has given us!! Wow wow wow!

And other news.....this Thanksgiving I got to spend 3 hours in the hospital with my companion!
I CUT MY HAND OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  bahaha...not.
And my companion tampoco (not either).
BUUUT...it was because my companion has DENGUE!!!  It's a sickness that you get from those triste mosquitos!! I think it's similar to west nile...but not sure. So yeah...it was super sad. She was in a lot of pain. And her red blood cells are super low...pobrecita. I hate it when I can't help people with their pain. She's actually still sick...we went to the hospital today and her blood levels are still dropping...so I guess we'll see what happens.

But it was such a blessing to see how many members helped us!!! We have enough fruit to last us a year!! These members are so great!!! Sooooo grateful to be apart of a church that we call each other brother and sister. What a great family we have!!!

Um....well I think that sums up my week....not. But that is all I have time for :)
I love you guys so much!!!

Oh, and I was reading Ether this week and I just LOVED all of it.
And especially Ether 2
22 And he cried again unto the Lord saying: O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold,O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness? (and the lord said) 
24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

Umm...pretty sure that this is a simile for our lives!!! We are like a whale...the waves dashing upon us,  BUT like the Jaredites, God will bring us up out of the depths of the sea!! And what will be our light???
John.8:12  ¶Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!
XxooxxxXXoooOOOXoXOOXxxx (big kiss little kiss, little hug little hug little hug, kiss kiss kiss...hahahaha)

Love,
Hermana Cook

The sweet members that took us to the hospital today!! They took us, waited with us, then waited for us!! LOVE THE FAMILIA CAMACHO TRUJILLO!!

2014-11-24 Commandments are from a Loving Heavenly Father

Last junta de distrito 

Druuuum roll....I`M STAYING!!!! ...but my comp... ..BUT NOTHING!!!  She's staying with me!!!
#bestdayofmylife!!!

Anywho...that was pretty much the most exciting thing that happened to me this week :)

But very quickly...
SALVADOR!!! His baptism is this Saturday and he is just getting ready as ever!! He is the coolest. He bought a white shirt and tie but hasn't worn it to church because he is waiting until after his baptism!! It's so great. He is going to be such a great great member!!! He really is a blessing and an example in my life!

Elizabeth...she is a person that we contacted one of our first days together but couldn't find her house. But one day we found her walking and asked for her address again! She is super sweet. 22, has a cute baby girl and is married...but her husband is...well...bless his heart. She deserves better. This gospel is what she needs!!! She is NOT happy and I know this is what she needs to be happy!! I know that when we live the commandments, we have every reason to be happy.

And I am so grateful we have commandments!! I know they are from a LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER para protect us and help us live up to our potential (Mosiah 2:41)! We are sad when we break those commandments (Alma 41:10) and only through Jesus Christ and his Atonement can we be whole and perfected!!! (Moroni 10:32-33)

And random stuff...Our water is SUPER DUPER COLD every day. So cold. I scream every morning...but then I remember when I was in Obregon and didn't have any water for 3 days...asco...and then I remember that cold water is better than no water...:)

Oh...and kind of funny...kind of not..story..
the other week, my comp and I were walking home in the night.. We were in front of our house about to turn the corner to our door when this dude in a mask (one of those skull masks that Bryson has...) passed us on his bike. Then next thing we know he is back in front of us and pointing at my watch. My heart literally stopped for like 10 seconds. I LOVE my watch. It was a gift from one of the members in Centro and yeah...I didn't want to give it to him. (My watch...my own...my precious...) I tried offering him a folleto (pamphlet)...but yeah...just kept pointing at my watch...but like..I really didn't want to give it to him. In my head I was like...''don't fight with robbers...don't fight with robbers...'' but then i was like...well...where's is knife or gun?"   I don't want to get robbed for nothin'.
Well...long story short. Took of his mask...found out he was mute, and just wanted to know the time...oops. That awkward moment... he just wanted to know the time. Poor guy. Bless his heart.
We laughed SUPER hard after that.

Anywho...that's all for today folks.
Remember...those commandments are super duper great and are there to keep us super duper happy :)

Love you all!!
Love,
Hna.Cook

Who knew that I could play the accordion? 

"I love cats...I love every kind of cat..''

2014-11-17 GLORIOUS...this church is true!

This week...GLORIOUS!! (by the way...that song for the Meet the Mormons movie is my new favorite thing...sad I can only listen to it on Monday)

Okay...where to start...SALVADOR!!!!!!!! He is our investigador that is progressing like a champ!! I feel like crying just thinking about him and his progress!! He is 50, kinda lonely, has a car business, and wants to change! He gave up coffee like that!! He was a tiny bit shocked, but yup yup yup. Just gave it up. And he is inviting his friends to church. He looooves church. AND...his baptismal date was for the 2nd Saturday in December, but we bumped it up to 29 of this month, so when we told him about what he thought about that, he was so happy! He told us he had been thinking about asking us to change it because he felt that it was so far away! It was so so so so amazing! We are SO SO SO excited for our spirit brother!!

Lilian. She is an old investigator that other sisters were teaching. But the other week, our superman member bumped into her and she told him that she wanted us to visit her. So we did. It was a short lesson but she told us she wanted to change. So we gave her 2 Ne 31 to read. We had a super busy week the next week and didn't have time to visit her. Well this last week we went and loooong story short...she had read the chapter and understood. And we did a church tour with her...thanks to her son!! God works through simple things. Her little boy wanted to play a piano...so we told him we could go over to the church and practice. He was beyond thrilled...and so his mom couldn't say no...ahaha sneaky kids ;)

Later that week, we went over with our super member, we got talking, she told us she had a dream where she was with a husband, her little boy, and another baby and she was happy. LONG STORY SHORT...my comp invited her to baptism...she told us "still no." So then we talked about goals and how we had a goal set for her. And then the spirit just took over me and I started saying thinks that I didn't even know. It was soooo amazing. And...she accepted her baptismal date!!!! I wanted to cry I was so happy. She is sooooo precious to our Heavenly Father and I really felt so much love for her. I love love love this gospel :')

Oh, really fast...Had divisions this week with...HNA. LINDSLEY!!!!!!!!!!! My dear dear sweet friend. Missed her so much. And our time together was just so great. Lots of spirit and lots of fun. She definitely got me out of my mid life mission crisis. lol. God really does love me and always puts friends in my life to raise me up!

Hermana Lindsley & I doing weird service...but it's service!!!

And...one more story!
So this Sunday, we got asked to go pick up a super sweet old lady in our ward that is in a wheel chair. She has soooo much pain in her tiny body but she NEVER misses church. Never. I love going to get her..but I always feel so bad because every time we go over a rock (which is every second) she cries out in pain...and it is sooooo sad. Well in our prayer before we left to go pick her up, I asked that she would not feel the pain, or that she wouldn't focus on it.
Well as we were going, she was crying out in pain! NOO!!! Why didn't God bless this sweet woman? Well...I decided to tell her a joke that I remembered. After the joke, she started laughing so hard, and then she told us a joke and we were all just laughing, telling more jokes, and then BAM! We were at the church!! And she had only cried out that once!! So then I remembered "Pray like it depends on God, and then work like it depends on you." So grateful to learn that lesson...again...and again.

Love you all so much!! Thanks for your prayer and examples!! This church is true.
Live like you believe!

Love,
Hermana Cook

2014-11-10 Miracles

The CUTEST couple ever!! He is the patriarch and she is just so cute! LOVE THEM!!! Famila Cordoba.

Hola hola hola! How is everyone??

Well this week went super fast!!! Wow. So fast. But full of miracles and great great great things!!
First of all..
Salvador came to church yesterday!!! He is progressing so so so so fast and we are hoping to bump up his baptism to 29 of this month!! But it's going to take a ton of prayers, faith, and righteousness!! Wahoo.

So, you know that scripture about how success is given??
Well that is us right now. I feel like I am working just as hard as I did in my other areas, but we are having so much more success right now!! It's such a blessing.

I don't have time right now to expound on all of our adventures this week...but I do have time for one near miracle :)..

So one of our investigators, Alejandra, has promised us so many times that she would come to church, but Satan is a real beast and is really putting those obstacles in her way. Well yesterday we were very very hopeful that she would be able to make it. She didn't show! We were so heartbroken.
So later that day when we visited her, we were like ''hna, que pasò?'' and she was like, ''I went to church today! but because I woke up late I went to the other one in centro!''
We were floored!!! She went to church!! Miracles of miracles.
She started talking about how it was very beautiful and how she felt so good. Good, right?
Well our member that was asking her questions about everything and long story short...
She went to a Baptist church!!!! It was the wrong church!  NO!!!  hahaha..but it was funny. And she gets a few brownie points for trying to go...haha. Next we'll make sure she comes with us!

Well I got to run....literally. We have an appointment in 10 minutes and it's bien lejos! jajaja

Love you all!!!
Sorry I didn't add a scripture...but know that I LOVE the scriptures and I know they are true!!
Read them!!

Love,
Hna.Cook

An hermano in our ward has a violin.  It was glorious to play it for 5 minutes!

2014-11-3 obedience brings blessings!

 Investigators...
Alejandra y Leticia.  Ale is the daugher, Leticia la mama.
They are super duper great and are progressing mucho mucho!
They had their baptismal date for 22...but they didn't come to church...again!!
So that was SUPER sad.
But faith. Faith that they can progress and faith that we can find more investigadores!!

Fransisco...
He's a poor guy that we contacted and he's super nice...and we started teaching him and his parents (80 years) and the mom is SUPER sweet and nice...but she loves to talk about her problems...and so it's like 40 minute lessons with 5 minutes of lesson lesson...but poco a poco. Even though she is super old, she remembered her baptismal date!!! Super great. Love love love when people remember their baptismal dates!!!

Oh...and great miracle! First lesson...we're supposed to invite them to be baptized. No matter what. Super hard. But I have experienced the miracle of this commandment so I know I need to do it.
BUT trying to get my companion to do it is another story.
She, like me, doesn't like to do it because it’s a little awkward sometimes...but after talking a little to her, she agreed to do it with the next new investigator. AND...she did!! AND...they accepted!!!!
It was the coolest thing ever. She was like ''wow...what just happened?!''
I was grateful for that tender mercy!!

Um....que mas...well...don't really have time for more...sorry, but there was my week...ish...

okay. Love you all!!!

oh..pps...completed 9 months here in Mexico!! Viva Mexico! love you all!!!
obey and you will get blessings!!
Mosiah 2:22-23

Love,
Hna.Cook!

2014-10-27 I know that He loveth his children

A kind member bought us hot dogs. I LOVE these hot dogs!!

Recent convert family... Perez Martinez
THEY ARE THE BEST!!

Pues....Not much happened this week. None of our investigators came to church yesterday.
It was SUPER sad.

BUT crazy story. Super duper crazy. So remember how I have a lot of random dreams that have no importance to anything in life but they come true a lot. Well it happened again!!
Thursday or Friday night I had a dream about an investigator in Centro, Pablo.  He was the golden one that read all of the principles of the gospel book twice and came to conference and loved it and has a testimony and loves it and wants to go on a mission...etc. That Pablo. Well I had a dream about him and in my dream he didn't want to get baptized and wanted me to be there when he did. It was super sad and weird.

Yesterday. We're in church. We stand up to sing a hymn. I look back to see if any of our investigators were there...and yeah. My heart stopped and my stomach dropped. Pablo was there in the back!!!! In the flesh!!! I didn't know what to think!! It was so crazy.

Soooo after sacrament meeting, my comp and I go and chat with this dear investigator of mine.
This is the story....He is visiting a friend here in Navojoa. Because it's Sunday he knows he needs to go to church. So he did! And he was sitting there, enjoying the opening song when my comp and I walked in late (went to get 3 of our investigators that ''weren't home''...anywho.) So yeah. He said he had NO idea that I was in this specific ward. Quien sabe. But he told everyone in principios del evangelio that he is getting bapitized this week!! He already had his interview and everything!! So that was pretty exciting!! And crazy, just like in my dream, he told me that he wanted me to be there...but knows I can't. But still...super crazy that he said what he did in my dream. Crazy.

Anywho...what else happened...
My comp is still the coolest person ever. Seriously. I love Peruvians!! She is so funny!! But it's bad too. One time, we were singing a hymn in a lesson with a less active. My companion said something to me that was SUPER funny and we both started dying!! We were almost crying. In the middle of the song. It was SO embarrassing. But we just couldn't get serious.
So yeah...there's that. But this is the best. And I’m learning a lesson. The better you get along with your companion, the more spirit you have...and in the more lessons too!! We are both super hard workers and we are just pumping out those lessons!! It's so so so so so great and such a great blessing to have a comp that has the same drive and we work side by side!! Such a relief.  I KNOW that Heavenly Father loves me and knows me so well!! He knows what I was going through, my struggles, my worries, my frustrations, and knew exactly how to help me!! SO grateful for our LOVING Heavenly Father!!!

A scripture that we shared a lot this week came from 1 Ne.11:16-17...
And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
Like Nephi, we might not know everything about the Gospel. Might not know everything in school. Maybe we don't have a lot of friends, or maybe we can't speak Spanish very well...
but we can be like Nephi he know that God loveth his children. Period.
We have a LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER!!! LOVING!!!
Seriously. We don't have to know everything. Just start with knowing that God loves us. Always. And forever.

I know that God loves each and everyone of us. NO importa on color, weight, ACT score, how many baptisms we have, how many dates we've been on, how many As, Bs, Cs, Ds, or Fs we've had. No importa how many sins we've commited, how manys times we've talked to a bishop, nor our callings, clothes, or nada.

God loves us. We are his children.  He is our Father.  Our Loving Heavenly Father.

Love you guys!!!

Love,
Hna.Cook

2014-10-20 The Great Faith of Julio & Marissa

So I know I say that ''so much has happened'' every week...but this time it's even more true!!
First...my companion, Hna. Siza...is the coolest. I decided Peruvians are my favorite people. Ever. She is so so so os so so so so funny!!!! And she works super hard and she is just an amazing missionary!!! WAAAAYYY better than me!!! In every way. And I'm finishing her training? NO. She is training me. So I'm learning humility right now...but it's fun because she is awesome!!!

Okay...and the crazy story for the week...
Julio and Marissa. They are investigadores of my companion and her previous companion. SUPER duper golden investigators. So once upon a time, they have been taking the lessons for 5 weeks, have assisted the church 5 times (the minimum for baptismos in Mexico), have accepted EVERYTHING and are just super duper great. Well last Monday we were talking to them, and since they are all ready for the font, we asked them about how they felt about this past Saturday. Long story short, but they wanted to wait because they want the other missionary that taught them to be there... and because of their living conditions (they are living in a church because they have free rent if they attend the church...desperate much? lol anywho...they want to save money so they can live in a house house...so yeah.) we told them to pray about it.
Wednesday came around. Did you pray about what we asked? uuuhh...no.  So we ask them to do it do it and we would check with them the next day. Next day comes around and they cancel on us. What? Who does that? (the correct answer would be everybody) So they told us to come back on Friday.

Friday...1:30 in the morning. We get a text message.
Julio tells us that they want to talk to the Elders for the interview so that they can be baptized on Saturday!!!
My companion and I were both super shocked. A lot. We honestly didn't know what to think. Like, it's super great and all...but we were nervous that they had committed some error and yeah...who knows what. BUUUUT we decided to have faith that all was good and that their desires were sincere.

.....And it's really great that we did because they were!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!So long story short....Julio and Marissa got baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!It was such a crazy crazy week, but really great!!!!

And it was touching. Julio and Marissa are very poor. hence why they were living in a church...and they showed SO much faith!! They left the church, found an apartment, and even more, Julio quit his job so he wouldn't have to work on Sundays!! And guess what...he found a new job!!! It was soooooo amazing to see this gospel working in the lives of others!! #SOBLESSED!!!

Oh...and we learned an important lesson. Never trust elders!!! Why? Well once upon a time it takes 4 hours to fill the baptisimal font. So here's a little math problem. If the baptism of Julio and Marissa is at 10, what hour do we need to start filling the font?

The answer...at 6 in the morning. So as we are telling this to the Elders, they were like ''hermanas, don't worry about it, we will go over there and do it. Get your sleep, do your studies, and leave it up to us.'' Aaahhh...how kind are they?!

We get a call at 8:20...''hermanas....we don't have keys to the font.. ''uuummm...AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
So long story short...everyone was there at 10...but they didn't get baptized until 12:30 pm...and because there still wasn't very much agua...they both got dunked 3 times!! hahahaha...good times. So yeah.

To help fill the font quicker...we filled buckets from outside and dumped them into the font.

Anywho...there's is an astronomical amount of things that came to pass this week...but there was only time for that great miracle :)

I love you all so much!!! Like so so so so so much!!!
Please take care and REMEMBER and DO what Jesus says!!! (3 Ne 15:1)

Loooooooooooove,
Hna.Cook (or Coo coo, as my comp calls me) :)