Falling Down, Then Getting Right Back Up

Family and Friends,

Every day seems to get better and better. I feel like I have been saying that since the beginning of my mission, but it is still true, even today. I think I have been learning the same lessons over and over again, but yet they still seem new and inspiring every time I hear them.

Sister Ott and I went on an exchange this past Saturday with two amazing sisters. I learned way more that day than I ever taught the sister I was with and I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to exchange every week and learn so much.  Sister Ott and I have been struggling finding people to teach and we had been really getting down about it. During our planning on Friday we both felt very discouraged because we did not have much to plan for. I went into the exchange that night in not one of the best moods I had ever been in. It was a miracle though to spend a day, still in the same area, but with different eyes having a different companion. Sister Pollard was able to show me that it all depends on your attitude and your willingness and capacity to love and serve. She was telling me about how she looks for opportunities every day to serve her companion as much as possible and she hasn't yet found something negative about her. I know I have learned this lesson about a million times - it is all about your attitude- but learning it one more time was definitely needed this past week.

Sister Li made it to church on Sunday and Mike taught Gospel Principles all on his own. We also had the amazing privilege of having President and Sister Hobbs at church. It was definitely a great Sunday. The funny thing is, the title of this e-mail is not just figurative. Sunday morning while going down to get breakfast I slipped and fell on the stairs pretty hard, I sat on the steps for awhile before getting up and getting my breakfast. Falling down is really just a part of life, sometimes we can't really avoid it. But getting back up and starting again is where we gain the strength we need to continue. I could have just sat on the stairs all day, but I would have missed so much! I think it is good that the Lord reminds us sometimes that we really are nothing, He is in control and we just need to be patient in waiting for the things He has in store.

Well, I love you all and I am so grateful for all your love and support!!!

Love,
Sister Cook

Quick Week

Family and Friends,

Nothing too exciting has happened since Friday, but we did have a lesson with Sebastian and Joey Friday night, which went really well. I love being able to teach people about the Gospel! We talked to Joey about Repentance and you told us that he has really felt a difference since receiving the Holy Ghost. He has had promptings and felt guilt for things he has done wrong. It was really cool to hear his experiences with the Holy Ghost and realize how much I take for granted His presence in my life. It is just amazing.

We went on exchanges on Saturday and I was able to spend the day in Upland with Sister Richardson. It was fun to reunite for the day.  She says she hasn't been tracting in awhile and wanted to do that so we went to some Less actives and potential investigators and met some of their neighbors. I think one of the funnest things about serving a mission is all the wonderful people you get to meet. For anyone without a name tag on it would just be socially unacceptable to be knocking on strangers doors just to talk to them about religion, but for us it is okay. It is cool. We also went to the park and drew in sidewalk chalk the Plan of Happiness. It was really fun. We had a great day on that exchange.

Church was good yesterday. We have church at 12:30 now so our day seems to fly by. It is always nice to attend church and have the opportunity to renew our covenants with God.

I have been studying Jacob recently and have realized what a marvelous blessing it is in our lives to have a living prophet on the Earth today. President Monson is a living miracle. I am so grateful for him!

Remember I love you!

Thanks for all your prayers and support!
Love,
Sister Cook

Pictures

Spanish Transfer

Family and Friends,

This week has been different. It seems like not much has happened, but I was just looking through my planner and we did a lot this week. The highlight of the week was probably my exchange on Wednesday. I was with Sister Bushman in the Spanish Branch in Rancho and I went into it pretty confident in my Spanish. It was really funny, because the Lord really humbled me in showing me how little Spanish I really know and how blessed I am to be serving in my native language. I never realized how difficult it is to be called to a foreign language within the states. These sisters have such a difficult time learning the language because they only speak Spanish with the members, and then they contact and find new investigators in exactly the same way we do, but can only teach those who are Spanish speaking. The Lord really does work miracles in our lives though, because Sister Bushman said that whenever they do find someone interested they usually do speak Spanish - those are definitely miracles that I wouldn't have even considered before this exchange. 

We also had a miracle in our area on that exchange as well. Sister Ott and Sister Baez received a text referral of a mother and son who are interested in taking the lessons. We have our return lesson scheduled with them tonight and I am really excited.

Good things are happening every day and it has been wonderful being able to count my blessings and see the miracles God is giving us each day.

I love you all and I am so grateful for all of your support. I have been so blessed throughout my life to have so many wonderful examples of Christlike service to model my own life after. Thank you for the sacrifices you each make every day for the Lord. I can testify that He is there, God love you and will help you with whatever struggles or challenges you may be going through.

As always, let me know if there is ever anything I can do for any of you!

I love you all,

Sister Cook

PS Transfer calls are this week. Sister Ott has been here for 6 months, so I will most likely have a new companion when I e-mail next week. 

Change is in the Air...or not

Family and Friends,

 

So here is the big news first. Transfer calls were on Saturday. Sister Ott and I have both been transfered. We stayed together and we have moved back in with the Kilburns! I am back in Diamond Bar! I never thought the day would come until I came back to visit, but I am super excited to be back. I figure I just have more work to do here. Sister Ott and I have decided we are going to have 5 baptisms by the end of the transfer :D.

 

Sister Anderson (Sister Price's companion when I was with Sister Orr) is training someone new and taking over Upland 5th. She will be great there. We have a lot planned for her this week, so it will be good.

 

I can't believe it, but I hit my 9 month mark on Saturday. It feels like just yesterday I was back in Provo, time has flown. But I have also grown and changed a lot over the past 9 months. I feel like I have such a deeper understanding of how to love. I have felt the Spirit more than I have ever before in my life. I have also realized in a very real sense my own nothingness and the amazing power of God. He is real, and He loves us.

 

We had a great week this past week in finding two new investigators and one of the less actives we have been working with came to church on Sunday. It has really been a great week!

 

Well I will let you know how Diamond Bar is holding up again next week. I am so excited to be back.

 

I love you all and I am so grateful for all your love and support.

 

Love,
Sister Cook

Miracles

Family and Friends,

I want to start today by just listing some of the miracles I have seen this past week. We had a region wide fast yesterday concerning the drought here in Southern California and as we were leaving our Relief Society President's house last night it was raining! I wanted to just run up and down the streets singing for joy, we were really excited :D.  We have also had the wonderful miracle of meeting with basically every investigator I ever worked with here in Diamond Bar within the past week, it has been really cool. Mike was called as a co teacher with Brother Arnold for the Gospel Principles class and taught yesterday! We have been extremely blessed in finding some cool potentials in our goal to talk with everyone. Sister Ott and I set the goal to meet with all the sisters we are over within these first two weeks and we have plans to do so. We have been able to stay extremely busy over the past week. I feel more exhausted after this week than I have any other week of my mission - I would definitely count the fact that I haven't crashed yet as a huge miracle!  I am sure there are so many more, but I will stop there. I feel so blessed to be back here with Sister Ott. President, in his e-mail to me today mentioned how he didn't even realize that he was sending me back to an area I had served in, he just knew that Sister Ott and I would do well here in Diamond Bar and he wanted us to be a strength to the zone. I have felt over and over again the past couple days how much the Lord trusts me. It is a wonderful feeling to know that the Lord has given me a responsibility that He knows I can accomplish. Although I sometimes lack in faith in myself I can always turn back to remembering that the Lord trusts in me. It is inspiring to think that although we are weak, the Lord does trust us, as His children, to help each other return to live with Him again. We have so many different ways to accomplish that work - Temple Work, Missionary Work, even everyday kindness and service. I can just see over and over again the wonderful example God gives to us of being the master Teacher. He gives us a hands on opportunity to help Him accomplish His work. We are so blessed to have such a marvelous and loving Heavenly Father.

I love you all and I am so grateful for the wonderful examples that you are. I appreciate so much all your prayers and can really feel your support every day.

Love,
Sister Cook

Baptism, Temple, New Investigator, Great week!

Family and Friends,

Well I hope you all have had as wonderful a past week and a half as I have. As you can tell from the title of this e-mail a lot has happened! Joey was baptized last Saturday. There were so many people there that we had to move everyone into the chapel, it was wonderful. His dad gave a talk and did a great job comparing the Holy Ghost to a GPS on a phone, when we are connected it can tell us where to go, but we don't necessarily always have to listen. We can take our own path, we just won't get to our destination as quickly and easily.  Sister Ott and Sister Haas sang Baptism while I accompanied them, it was fun to be a part of the program. Joey is such a great example to his family and the ward, we were so excited he was finally able to be baptized.

We went to the Redlands Temple this morning. It has been a beautiful day and it was so nice to be able to feel the Spirit there. I saw the Kilburns (from Diamond Bar) and Sister Farris (from Apple Valley) while I was there which was so nice. 

We had an adventure this past week when on Wednesday we got a call from some elders in Ontario who wanted us to attend a lesson with them for a new investigator they found at the park who lives in our area. We were really excited and scheduled to go with them the next day, then a little while later we got another call from them saying the lesson the next day wouldn't work so could we come right then to the library for this lesson. We dropped what we were doing (weekly planning, which we could do later) and headed down to the library. We had a great lesson teaching the Restoration of the Gospel and were setting up a return appointment when we learned she doesn't actually live in our area. It was pretty funny to then realize we would have to pass her off yet again to another set of sisters, but she is a golden investigator and really excited to learn so we think it will all turn out alright.

I realized I haven't told you much about the investigators we are working with, so here is a little update:

Joey was baptized this past week! He is great and we are excited for him to receive the Priesthood soon.

Ali received her answer that the church is true but is really struggling since her dad is not very supportive. She just turned 15 and is being faced with a lot of opposition from her family, but she can see that this can really help her, so she wants to keep learning and coming to church. She is wonderful!

Beth is doing well. She is the daughter in law of one of the couples in our ward and has 4 kids. She is so sweet and has been coming to church almost every week since I have been here. She should be baptized, but she just doesn't know it yet :D

Sebastian is the 10 year old son of a less active family in the ward. We are teaching the family together and trying to help them all come back to the church. He is super fun and excited to learn.

Well those are our investigators right now. Any and all prayers for them would be appreciated. They are all wonderful!

I love you and will write again on Monday!

Love,

Sister Cook