2014-8-18 Miracles of Miracles

Can you name that movie?? Well...if I were a rich man...I would give you money for guessing it right ;)

Anywho. This week was so much better than any week on my mission...'lemme esplain' ;)
I learned un bagillion things this week. I don't have time to write them all...but a few will do :)

So remember that one scripture that says that one thing about how we don't have miracles until after we have faith. Well it's like so true. I never doubted that it was...but I learned and relearned and still am learning it.

So in Predican me Evangelio (Preach My Gospel) and in about every district and zone meeting, they say that we should invite the people to be baptized in the first lesson...always. Well once upon a time I never have done that. My fears have always gotten the better of me. (I know I know...que verguenza! I'm not perfect... buuuuut slowly but surely I'm learning). Anywho...one of our goals this week was to ask all of our investigators in the first lesson. And guess what happened...
People said no. BUUUUUUT...they also said YES! (they might not all have accepted a date...but they didn't say no...lol)
It was amazing. We now know who has potential to progress and who doesn't. We don't have to teach them 20 times before we know if they'll be baptized or not. Wow wow wow. Who would have thought?? Pues...maybe the profeta...and his friends that wrote preach my gospel...but quien sabe ;)

So anywho...from those experiences...I (re re re re re)learned the very important lesson of faith...and how it's a principle of ACCIÓN y PODER!!! The action part is critical. A lot. So anyway...even though I'm beating myself up a little bit for not doing that sooner...I'm grateful that I finally learned that...now I just have 10 months to improve it :)

Other miracles. FACEBOOK!!! hahaha...facebook is such a miracle.
Not really...but the people that post things are the miracle. So once upon a time there was this man named Jose Luis.One day we were talking to his parents about the gospel and he decided to join in the conversation. As we were talking, he asked us if we were mormonas...pues sí :) He then went on to tell us about how he has tons and tons of friends that are Mormon and some of them like to post stuff on facebook about how great this religion is :)
Well one friend in particular, bless their wonderful wonderful hearts, told him 2 weeks ago that he should read the Book of Mormon because it was the best book ever. Well our dear Jose Luis wanted to, but didn't know where he could find this book.
Well what a stinkin' coincidence!!! (or tender mercy..I've heard it both ways). We just happen to have one with us...always.
So we talked to him about this wonderful wonderful book and he said he was very interested in reading it. So we told him he could have it. For free. (for meeeee?? lol) So he liked that. A lot. And he told us he was going to read it. So yeah...that was the greatest thing ever!!!!!!!! (he also told us he really wanted to come to church...but sadly didn't...but we're still grateful that he wanted to read the Book of Mormon!!!)

Other things I learned... Sometimes it's a good thing not to know Spanish very well...
Porque? Well...once upon another time...
I was in ward council meeting. For the past 8 months of my mission, they are stressing how important it is to involve the members and have members in your lessons. So me and my comp made these sign up sheets where the peeps could sign and put days, hours, etc they were available. It was beautiful and had a quote from our wonderful prophet about how now is the time for missionaries and members to work together to bring souls unto God.
Well as I am asking them if they can pass this around in preisthood and relief society, the bishop tells us (4 missionaries in my ward) that we are young. We have lots of energy. But we don't have jobs. Don't have families. Don't have to make dinner. Don't have to do anything. The members don't have time to come with us to our lessons just because we want them to. And so no...he won't pass around our lists. Ummm...I was a little speechless...a lot...and then I was a little bit much frustrated. A lot. And I wanted to tell him that it's not me that wants the members to help in this work....and a whole lot of other things.
But since I haven't quite mastered this wonderful language...I didn't have the opportunity to tell him that. But it's for the better. Probably. Anywho...the other lesson I learned in this is that I'm grateful for this experience. I'm grateful I know this side of the work, so that one day when I'm a mother and have a family and am super busy, I can look back on how hard it is when people don't want to help you...and help. I'm not mad at the bishop...I was...but I repented. I can't even imagine how hard his job is. My job is to help him and this ward. No importa if the feeling is mutual.

Anywho...yeah. One or two lessons of my week.
Love you all!!! Have a good week and remember to be like Jesus :)

Love,
hermana

2014-8-11 There is no fall, no pit, no hole, where His arm of mercy can't reach.

One day it rained...a lot. It's not a car we need to get to appointments...it's a boat!!!

The familia Aboyte!! Sooo great. We had dinner with them yesterday. Senai y Erandi!! So cute!! They did my hair...it was...great ;) So funny...Erandi was asking Hna. Nielson what language she spoke. She said English. I then told Erandi (she's the younger one) I spoke Chinese. REALLY?!! Si si...she told me to speak it. So I mumbled off some gibberish. She thought that was pretty neat ;)

Super hot and humid yesterday..so we took a 3 minute break and sat on the swings!! So great :)

So this week was MUCHÍSIMAS better than last week. Such a blessing. We actually found some great great people with great potential! We are praying like crazy. So great to know that Heavenly Father is always listening. He is so great!

Sad day. We had to drop Fabiola. Loved her. Loved her family. She has SO much potential. Just needs to have faith...not fear. But so do we all. I have faith that in the future she will accept and take the plunge. Just sad I won't be there to see it...

So found this awesome awesome sweet lady named Ana. Last Monday when I was lost looking for a internet place, she was outside and I asked her where we could find one. She was super super nice and told us where. Well later that night when we were food shopping, a lady stopped us and said hi. It was Ana again!! She came up to us and told us we could stop by any day! So we did!! The next day! She told us she we just had a light that not a lot of people have in this world. She has so much potential...but she made it clear that she's catholic...but no importa. Catholics make great great Mormons :)

Also, we've been visiting this super sweet older couple, Lupita y Carlos. They are menos activos..less actives. Super sweet. Have great testimonies. Carlos wants to come back to church so bad. He knows the importance of the sacrament and covenants...but his sweet stubborn wife has some grudges and hurt feelings that she doesn't think can be mended. But she is super duper wrong!!! The Savior's band-Aids have a 1000000% guarantee. We've had 3 super great lessons with them. And Friday we almost almost got her to say yes to coming to church...but last minute she gave in to her fear. 

But we have so much hope for them. Our first visit with them she told us she felt something different with us than any other missionaries. We asked if it was a good or bad different. She said it was a very very very very good different. aaahhh!!! So close. They've been inactive for  2 years. It's time to come back. The Savior always has his hands out, welcoming and beckoning us to come back. Only He can heal us. 

Love 3 Nephi 9:13-14

13 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

 14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

Return. There are many that have once felt of us great great matchless love. Many that have felt it but have stumbled and fallen. It's hard to pick ourselves up from a fall, but His arm of mercy is extended towards us. Just need to grab it. Forget about the pain of the fall, forget about what others may think about why we fell, and just have faith. Feel the love of His welcoming hands. His endless mercy. Come come come. 

Anywho...I know our Savior loves us. There is no fall, no pit, no hole, no dark pit where His arm of mercy can't reach. 

Love this Gospel! Love our Savior! Love his work!!

Love you all too!!

Love, Hna.Cook

2014-7-22 Here's my baby's birth story...

Here's my baby's birth story.
Friday I went to the doctors for a regular check up. (Zone conference)
Everything was normal, but later the Doctor wanted to talk to me and ask me how I felt. He told me I might be having a "baby" on Monday...but wasn't sure. He had to ask a specialist. He would inform me on Sunday. (Presidente told me we had 20 new missionaries coming on Monday and that I would be training...but he needed to confirm it with the Lord. District leaders would be calling Sunday)
All weekend I was super nervous. I'm not ready to be a parent!! A single parent!! There's so much I don't know!! So many things I still have to learn!!
Sunday came. One of the secretaries called. (District leader called.) I indeed would be having my baby on Monday!! (my companion was changed and I would be training)
I was so happy and nervous at the same time. Monday came and I got ready to bring my child into the world. (Went up to Obregon to pick up my new companion) As I was getting closer and closer to the Hospital, I started having really bad contractions. (I was SO NERVOUS!!! I felt so sick in my stomach. Seriously don't know how I’m going to do this...) But once I stepped into the hospital and saw my cute little baby girl, everything was okay. (Walked into the house of Presidente and yeah. Once I saw the 4 girls, I totally knew which one would be mine. And I was right).

Her name is Hermana Martinez.  She is 20 years old and from...Heaven ;) She's Mexican..but I can't remember how to spell the state she's from...Effy...or something like that. I am officially tanner than she is. She's super white...but not for long. hahaha. She probably weighs about 100 pounds. She is super shy but super sweet and great. She is always writing down what I say and yeah. She is just so great. Super ready to learn. I love my baby :)

But yeah...Super duper nervous. I still don't speak Spanish very well. Or teach. Or contact. Or lo que sea. But I am ready to learn with her. I'm ready to break free of my comfort zone and become the missionary that I've always wanted to be!!

Anywho...yeah. That was what happened yesterday :)

Also. Wednesday it rained like crazy and Hna. Lopez and I got soaked like crazy. Sooo funny. We were teaching in a part of our area that is far from the main area. To get back to the main area, we needed to walk through this huge field of garbage and dirt. But what happens when it rains here in Mexico? The dirt and garbage becomes a huge lake and you have to walk through it when it's almost knee deep...and it's really gross because you have seen all the nasty things that are in this field...like dead dogs and diapers and nasty nasty nasty stuff. So yeah. Super fun. Good times :)

Oh...but I got to give a talk on Sunday! That was fun.  I talked about Alma 17..and how we can be member missionaries
v.9--"and the fasted much and prayed much that the lord would grant unto them a portion of his spirit...that they might be an instrument in the hands of the lord."
Being a missionary and sharing the gospel can be hard work...but if we fast, pray for opportunities to share, the spirit will guide us. But we have to have a desire to be a missionary too!!
v.10...they were comforted. Entonces...they were nervous to share the gospel too!! It's natural to be scared and nervous...but don't let fear rob you of your faith! Pray for strength!
v.11--They were ejemplos through their patience in afflictions!
v.12--There were others that went with them...we are not alone!! Work together! Members and missionaries!!
v.13--They had faith that they would meet again after the harvest!!! Have confidence in God!! Have faith that you will find!

love ya lots!!!

Love, Hna.Cook

2014-7-7 The Atonement and Missionary Work

Seriously don't know where to start. uuummm...No sé. Oh yeah. Guess what today is.
7.7.14...entonces...7+7=14!! AAAHHH!!! Que suave :)

Ok..but for reals now.
There is this SUPER DUPER nice nice nice nice Hermano in my ward. Hermano Medina. He is SO AMAZING! He is always always always helping others. Always. And he is always asking what he can do to help the missionaries. Giving us and our investigadores rides in his very very old broken bocho...slug bug. He is just a blessing.

This week, he bought all of us hamburguesa! The 4 missionaries in my ward, plus the 2 in Macapule (hna. lindsley y hna. perez). Hno.Medina is not wealthy. Very much the opposite. But he is always always giving. Siempre. When we told him how super great he was he told us "por nada" and that all he wants is that when we go home we treat the missionaries the same way. Such a great example.

Wednesday, after our English classes, we were walking our niños home (our jóvenes (young) investigators) and it just started pouring!! We were soaked in seconds. It had only been pouring for about 3 or 4 minutes when we get a call from no one other than Hno. Medina asking where we were and that he would come and pick us up. There was 9 of us literally smashed in his old miracle slug bug. It was so great. Thanks Hno. Medina!!

FRIDAY!!! 4th of JULY!!! I seriously woke up singing the star spangled banner!! And for the Junta de Zona, Hna.Lindsley and I wore read white and blue!! We love AMERICA!!! Mexico is great...but yeah. Still love me red white and blue.

Oh, and HUGE blessing on Sunday. Well..first I was super sad and frustrated because Fabiola failed to come to church...even though she knows she needs to. Yeah. Super sad day for me. BUT Joel came too!(Joel is the brother of Octavio who is a recent convert...their parents and older brother are Jews). Joel had told us about 3 weeks ago that he wanted to be baptized. He was all happy and cute about it. And then the next week he wouldn't listen to a word we said. I don't know what happened (besides the many prayers and fasting we did) But he got his animo (encouragements) to be baptized back and he really really wants it this time. He asked us when we could. July 19th, if his aunt gives permission...which praying and fasting that she will. Anywho. Yeah. SO grateful for his decision!!

This coming Wednesday, we have the opportunity to hear from Elder Valenzuela, of the 1st quorum of the 70. Super excited. Super nervous. It'd be really great if he didn't call on me to say anything in my more than broken Spanish. But whatever. This is going to be fun :)

Oh...and una cosa mas (one more thing)... During our zone meeting, Elder Sauceda showed us this video that is SO AMAZING!!! Like super duper.  The Atonement and Missionary Work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6FKiNVbw3Y
Watch it.  And then remember that His work is not just for missionaries.
It's for erabody!

Love  Him. Love His work. Love his children.
Love,
Hna.Cook

2014-6-30 The Sacrament is BIEN IMPORTANTE

So México lost. Tons of people were waaaaaaaay upset. Not tons of members in church on Sunday. hahaha even my companion joked that she was going home because they lost. Futbal...lol
lol. Lots of people drinking away their sorrows. Pobrecitos. Vamos a ensenar la palabra de sabiduría...haha  (we will teach the principles of the Word of Wisdom)

So we had a TON of investigators that said, 100% positive, that they were going to come to church. Our amazing Relief Society president was SUPER helpful. We gave her the list of people that were planning on coming and she went and visited them and found rides for them! So great!! She is so amazing!

But...none of them showed. Well...casi nada. I was a little bit close to tears when our dear investigador, Fabiola, didn't come. This week she accepted her baptismal date. It was such a great lesson! She is very good at recognizing the Spirit. She understands the difference between the power of the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and she really really really wants the gift!! She read 2 Nefi 31 and just ate it up!! She picked out all the power verses in that chapter! I was sooooo proud of her. So happy for her. But she didn't come to church :( Even though she promised and understands why it's important. I seriously almost started crying when the RS president said that she wouldn't come.) But the menos activo familia (with 5 kids and one on the way) that we've been teaching came! So happy for that!! Thanks to the members!! Blessed blessed members!

Also after church, we were talking to a family when one of the members of the bishopric came and told us we had an investigador there. "say what?" So we looked out in the hall and saw Sylvia.

Sylvia is a tender spirit. My comp and her previous comp had visited her before, but yeah. Not interested. We had visited her on Saturday for literally 5 minutes. Sang a hymn, talked about the hymn, said a prayer an ya. Vamos. But last second as we were walking out the door, I invited her to church. She said she would come. But everybody says that...so ya. No pasa nada.

But she actually came!! Late, but no importa!! So we assisted with sacrament meeting again! It was sooo great. She told us she felt really peaceful and happy. I told her that was the spirit. She liked it a lot. Yup...sweet sweet spirit. (But satan is a poop head. She had a job where she wasn't working on sundays. But when we visited her today, she told us she had a new job and works every day. So yeah. What a bum Satan. We'll be having a lesson on faith and keeping the sabbath day holy very soon...)

Anywho...that's all the news I can remember for right now. Les quiero MUCHO!!!

Love,
Hna.Cook

P.s...I just realized that this email wasn't very uplifting...So real quick...I studied about the Sabbath a ton this week. In a nut shell...taking the sacrament is a HUGE BLESSING!! It's seriously the greatest thing ever!

"The sacrament provides an opportunity for you to remember with gratitude the life, ministry, and Atonement of the Son of God. With broken bread, you remember His body. You can be mindful of His physical suffering—especially His suffering on the cross. You can remember that through His mercy and grace, all people will be resurrected and given the opportunity for eternal life with God."

"You receive great blessings when you keep the baptismal covenant. As you renew it, the Lord renews the promised remission of your sins. Cleansed from sin, you are able to “always have his Spirit to be with [you]” (D&C 20:77). The Spirit’s constant companionship is one of the greatest gifts you can receive in mortality. The Spirit will guide you in the paths of righteousness and peace, leading you to eternal life with your Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ."

Anywho...I know that the sacrament is BIEN IMPORTANTE!! We should always always always look forward to this special special opportunity and blessing. Being clean is the most fantastic feeling! The blessings that come with it are super duper great too. Just kind of like the greatest gift ever..living with our Father and Brother again :)

Hna. Cook

Hna. Lidsley (Lone Peak...lol) and I were TOTES matching...well...pretty close. Navy blue skirts and tan shirts.
 Love her so much!! (Oh crazy..her brother just married a girl I graduated with. Tatiana Boyle! Cray cray!)

2014-6-24 "Miracles" Gracias a Dios

What!?!?!
Not only is the year half over...but I just hit my 6 months!!! How is this possible??
Pretty sure it's not. I have 1 year minus 1 day left. Cray cray.

This week had it's ups and down...like every week..but it ended with an up. "Gracias a Dios"

Let us begin.
P-day was P-day. Gracias for the emails!!! LOVE love love to read about life and spiritual things. It's amazing how perfect God is. He has a bagillion niños and can keep track of all of them at the same time.

Tuesday!
Wow, had such a great surprise! During our district meeting, while my comp and I were sharing our datas of the week, who else would walk in but my long lost friend and zone leader, E.Gutierrez!! But...pobrecito (poor). He was really really sick the past week and was in the hospital for 3 days. Since the hospital is in our area, he decided to join our district meeting! So great. He gave everyone SUCH great advice and yeah. I feel muchas ganas (looking forward) all over again! Gracias a Dios.

But then our day went a little bit down. Remember Graciela from last week? Yeah...she unaccepted her fecha :P And since she is kinda old...she is really really hard to reason with. So even though she accepted once...she decided to wait. But still wants to hear more. Satanás...such a big bully.

So we left her house and I was not happy, bob. Not happy. But the Lord loves me and wanted me to be happy again :)After the lesson with Graciela, we went to visit Octavio (15) who is a recent convert of 2 weeks :) He was not there...but his younger brother, Joel (12) was.
We had talked about teaching Joel, but Hna. Lopez said that he wasn't really interested.
So as we are sitting there, chatting with Joel, out of the blue he says "I want you guys to teach me so that I can be baptized." ...Say whaaaaattt!?!?  Uuummm...yeah. He is an angel. So so so so cute. He looks like he's 10..or 9..or 8..but yeah. Angel Angel Angel.
The only problem with this angel is his aunt. She thinks he is too young to decide for himself...but she's wrong. He is sooo ready. Yup. Love that kid. Gracias a Dios.

Octavio and Joel his brother

(little side note. Octavio and Joel are/were Jewish!!! Crazy crazy. They know Hebrew and everything. Super cool. That's actually why they're living with their grandma and aunt. Their parents were SUPER mad that Octavio got baptized..but Octavio knows it's true. He is an amazing kid!!)

Wednesday...6 months...wow. Comp was super sweet and made me a poster :)

Thursday.
Hospital day. 3 of 4 companionships of hermanas in the zone were at the hospital..at the same time. Crazy crazy. My comp had a lot of pain in her back. Turns out she has minor scoliosis, Hna. Lindsley just was sick...but Hna. Skeen...something`s wrong with her blood...so yeah. We'll find out soon what is wrong. But yeah. Not our most productive day. But super fun to see my buddies!! Gracias a Dios.

Friday...hospital again.
Turns out as long as Hna. Lopez exercies and drinks lots of water she'll be fine...or so says the doc and Hna. Munive..hahaha (Hna.Munive...if you have a problem or sickness of any kind, 99/100, she'll tell you it can be fixed with drinking more water...)

Saturday. Even though it was a late start...it was our most productive day! 6 lessons!! (yeah..maybe that is not very high..but for us it was a lot! Baby steps).

SUNDAY!!!
Lots and lots of good things about Sunday. It was ward conference! So so so perfect for my soul. My spirits were not very high. At all. But once again, God gave me all the things I needed to renew my spirits. A friendly face from Guasave, an investigator at church, a menos activo at church, and EVERY single talk about missionary work!! Seriously. I was in tears. It was everything I needed.
GRACIAS A DIOS!!!

This is one thing I love about Mexico. "Gracias a Dios"  They say that every time you ask them a question. No matter if they are happy or sad, sick or healthy, rich or poor. Siempre gracias a Dios.

Anywho...yeah. I am blessed. I wish I didn't have so many ups and downs, but it's amazing how loving Heavenly Father always always always is there. Always. Don't forget him. And even if you do, He won't forget you. Never.

Love ya'll!!
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIPS ON WORKING WITH MEMBERS AND GETTING INVESTIGATORS IN THE CAPILLA!!!! IF YOU HAVE MORE TIPS, SENDUM MY WAY!!!) LOVE YA AND GRACIAS A DIOS!!

Love,
Hna.Cook

2014-6-16 Graciela's Prayer

First things first...
Crazy fact that maybe I new before...but yeah...Did you know that Nevada is spanish for Snowfall...or Snowed...?? Whhhaaatt??? The verb to snow is nevar. the ending -ada, or ado, is the past participle. Like...it has snowed. Yeah...anywho. Crazy. Spanish is everywhere.

So my companion, Sis.Lopez, is the sweetest ever. She is super quite and a little shy...and doesn't talk very much...but she is just SUPER sweet. Her voice is like..super suave and beautiful... I don't know how to describe it. But yeah. LOVE LOVE LOVE her. She is super great at teaching. Yeah. Just super duper great. Love her.

Hermana Lopez. Love, love, love her!

We have some super great investigadores. Graciela--before I met her, Hna. Lopez told me that she had a lot of the lessons, loved listening, reading her Libro de Mormon...but she doesn't want to be baptized. NOOOO. Fake gold!!! Investigators that look like gold, act like gold, but are indeed fake. So sad....
BUUUUTTT...we had a super great lesson with her about the plan of salvation. Like the sweet old lady she is, she read the folleto. As we were explaining the first few principios, she loved learning about Adam and Eve and how they were innocent and if they had not eaten, we wouldn't be here. She was sooo cute. I had her read the verses in 2 Nefi 2:23 "And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin." and she was just like "wow, I am learning so much! I never knew they were innocent!" Yeah. She was super great.

Well as the time started getting slim, I kept thinking about how we had a goal to extend a date for baptism...but hadn't extended. So yeah...I decided to go for it. Nope. She reminded us that she loved learning and all that jazz, but she wanted to learn more. My comp was ready to call it quits with that...but I was determined. So I kept asking quesitons. Read some scriptures, asked again. Nope. Not willing to commit. Then my amazing comp stepped in and shared more scriptures. Still said no. But she said she wanted to know more. So then I remembered the scripture in 2 Ne.9..."to be learned is good IF we hearken unto the counsels of God." She read the scripture. I asked her if she was willing to ask God what He wanted her to do. She said she would pray about it. Baby steps.

BUUUUTTT...the miracle comes when we were getting ready to leave she asked if she could pray there and then about it. Claro que si. She started praying and yeah. Started crying and crying and asking. And I was like sitting there...not understanding, but praying and praying and praying that God would answer and she would feel it. She did. She accepted her fecha!!!
Blessed day!!! The fake gold is actually real gold!! Blessed day!!
(she needs a new fecha now because she wasn't able to come to church...but yeah..that's a long and crazy story...she's still super good!!)

Anywho..that story took me WAAAY longer to write than I thought...so I don't have much time left.

What I need from ustedes is... help...or ideas!!! in a nut shell...
-investigators want to come to chuch.
-Investigators are poor and don't have money or cars
-Not very many members have cars
-the memebers that have cars live far away and don't always like sharing
entonces..investigators don't come to church= can¡t progress= no can make covenants with the Papa.

So yeah...two problems...what to do with investigators?
AND...how do you work with members?!?!? I need ideas on how to get them invovled and get them to want to help. Or ideas on how to serve them. Please please please!!! What are good ways to serve the members!! We need to be their friends and visa versa. This work is seriously not going to move very fast if we don't work together...and Mexico needs a lot of help!! So por favor..help me help them!!

anyways..gots to go!! Love ya much!!!
HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO THE PADREIEST PADRE EVER!!!
LOVE YA PAPA!!!!

con MUCHO amor,
Hermana Cook