July 30, 2015 {Week 2}

Hola!  So this week was kinda rough. jaja  So our whole district was SOOOOOOO EXHAUSTED!  Probably from being our first week or something. But it was all good.  During some of our Spanish lessons I was seriously fighting so hard not to fall asleep!  Whenever I closed my eyes even for like just the prayer or something I would have to hurry and catch myself or pull my arm hairs because I was falling asleep!  They gave us this whole lesson on anxiety and stress and what to do when we are experiencing it and how to limit it.  haha It was really funny because they said the two biggest things were SLEEP and I cant remember the other one, but they just kept talking about if we get enough sleep we'll be fine.  Everyone thought that was really ironic cause they don't let us sleep! haha  Our days are seriously so jammed pack that we are doing something every minute of every day from 6:30 to the moment the lights are turned off!  Everyone in my room is always rushing to finish writing in their journal and we never finish before we have to turn the lights out, so I never get to write all that I want haha.  Even P-day is stressful.. we have a certain time we are supposed to do laundry and we can write letters or do whatever we want for the rest of the time.  Me and my companion plan out our P-days tho because time is SO PRECIOUS! haha I have to allot the amount of time that I will spend writing each letter! haha It's not too fun.

This is where I spend 9 hours of my day!..haha

Sundays are the best tho!  This Sunday we had a huge spiritual experience in our District meeting when we were talking about the power of the Atonement.  Our branch president, President Shallenburger and his wife were also in our meeting and every single person in the room including them were in tears!  We realized how important the atonement actually is in our life and how much reliance we need to have on the Savior.  In 1 Nephi 3:7 it says that God will provide "a way" for us to accomplish all that we need to do and all that he commands us.  The way is the Savior.  (John 14:6).   But we have to rely soley upon the Savior in what we do or we will fail!  Think about how many times Nephi and this brothers tried to get the plates.. Every time they tried to do it with their own strength they FAILED!  I think the Lord was teaching them a lesson on how important it is to rely on Him.. Because the only way that they were able to succeed and get the plates were when the Lord helped Nephi and placed Laban into his hands.  WE CAN DO NOTHING WITHOUT CHRIST!  HE IS THE WAY!  

(Hunter's mission is not able to receive packages once he is in Argentina. We have [my mother has] been working very hard to send him enough packages in these next few weeks to make up for the lack of packages he can receive for two years once he leaves the MTC haha) 

Thanks for all the food and packages! Everyone is jealous! haha I have more than everyone in my district combined!

I was getting really stressed on Sunday and Monday because we had to teach 4 people on Monday.  2 member lessons, and 2 investigator lessons.  Of course all in Spanish.  Seriously I am so jealous of anyone who is going English speaking cause it would be SO MUCH EASIER!   I have so much to say but I can’t cause I dont know how! haha  Anyways I was really nervous cause I didn't know what we should teach about and my companion is really funny.... he just goes with the flow and doesn’t need a plan.  I am completely opposite.  I need to know actually what I’m going to teach and how I'm going to teach it.  I found out that this is NOT THE WAY!  We need to have a lesson plan and what we want to get across to our investigators, but we need to be more focused on weaving our lessons around the needs of that exact investigator.  The biggest things that we can do as missionaries is LISTEN!  We need to be like those dumb Ken Garff signs on the freeway with the huge ears and no mouth!  Listening and truly caring is the KEY! Cause when we listen we understand the needs of that person and the spirit can lead us to what we need to tell them and how.  Our very best lesson yet has been when we prayed to know how we could help our investigator and how we could meet his needs.. Instead of thinking what we were going to teach we studied doctrince and principles that we thought he needed in his life.  Then we went in and just LISTENED to him.  By listening to him we were able to know exactly how to help him and exactly what he needed to hear.  Not thru us but thru the spirit!  The SPIRIT is so crucial.  In this lesson I felt like the spirit taught... I dont even remember what I said but we could feel the spirit so powerful!  We invited the investigator, Julio to pray and the spirit flooded the room!  I realized the scripture is true... this is just a paraphrase "think ye not before hand what ye should say but treasure up in your minds the words of life, and it will be given you in the very moment what you should say!"  This is so true!  I have also been able to have Spanish just flow out of my mouth without realizing what I was saying.  The gift of tounges is so real!  By now I feel like I can understand 80-90% of what people speak.  I can also basically say what I need to say by working around the words I dont know.

Yes..missionaries can fly

I love Mi Distrito!  Seriously we are like one big family! There were some companionships that were struggling and Elder Mercier and I were able to counsel them and they have been doing a lot better.  They are super funny too!  I have found that the Lord has blessed my eyes to be open to know the needs of every member of my district.  I have been able to know what to say and how to help them with their struggles.  

Lastly, I love my roommates!  Elder Smith, Rasmussen and Mercier are the best!  We have became such close friends!  Elder Rasmussen and I are kind of the same... we are super organized and have to have our beds tucked in tight and have everything in order with a schedule.  hahaha Thanks mom for teaching me to be organized.  I really didn't noticed how much I cared until I started living with others and taking care of myself haha. I need my room to be clean! haha

My favorite roommates-Left to Right:  Elder Smith, Elder Rasmussen, Elder Mercier, Elder Cook

Well I have to go!  We are going to the temple today at 2:00!  I love the temple!  I challenge all of you who are reading this to go to the temple more often!  The temple is the place and source of power and strength, thru going to the temple I promise that life will be easier and you will be happier!  

Don't let the looks deceive you...the only good thing is the caffeine free coke! (Which I drink everyday! haha)

Love you all!

Adios!

Elder Cook