Hello Argentina!! {8.25.15}

Love you!  I'm still going to ARGENTINA!!! THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS ABOUT MY VISA!! I have grown so close to my district.  They are my family now too.  I feel the EXACT same way leaving here as i did leaving you guys to come in the MTC.  I haven't really had an appetite, like when we ate at Cafe Rio haha... but its all good cause i know that the Lord is with me.  I just am so close to these people. They are my brothers and sisters.  It's sad to say goodbye.  The most bitter sweet all over again!!! Well I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!

-Elder Cook

Our favorite teacher, Hermana Lamb!  She has literally changed my life!

We were thrilled to be able to speak with Elder Cook yesterday from the airport. His flight left SLC yesterday afternoon, and he arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina this morning at around 9:00 am ART (they are 3 hours ahead of us).  It was great to hear from his mission president this morning letting us know he made it safely!! :) 

Dear Family and Friends of Elder Hunter Wayne Cook,

 We are writing to inform you that your missionary, Elder Cook, has arrived safely in the Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission. We have enjoyed becoming acquainted with him and are excited to be serving together.

 Thank you for the sacrifices you are making at home to have a missionary in the field. We know the Lord blesses and cares for the families of the missionaries.

 Warmest regards,         

President David P. Robertson and Hermana Julie Robertson

Buenos Aires, Argentina Temple

Last Week At The MTC!! {Week 5}

Argentina Bound!!

So crazy that this is my last week!!! It doesn't seem real!  Also, as of today I am going to Argentina on Monday!  So, I believe that means I GOT MY VISA!!!  But that could change.... So cross your fingers... this week has been really crazy! 

First of all today is super crazy cuz we are trying to wash all of our clothes, get haircuts, email, pack, and go do a session….I literally have no time so sorry if this is a little short...

   First off, I LOVE SUNDAYS!... I have found like my good friend Mckenna Kirby always told me, Sundays are the day that gives you the boost and the spiritual charge to get you thru the next week..  You have to rely on Sundays!  Never forget the importance of going to all 3 church meetings with a desire to learn and feel the Spirit... because when we do, we will get our spiritual charge that will allow us to get thru the next week!  GO TO CHURCH!!!!  I promise it will  benefit you tremendously!  

This is how the MTC makes us feel most of the time...Stressed haha

On Sunday, we get to go to movies.. this week we went and saw “The Character of Christ" for the second time.  They only show it here at the MTC because of promises meant only for missionaries... it was given by Elder Bednar.  It seriously is so good and talks about how we need to turn outward and not inward.  Because Christ ALWAYS turned outward!!

Also, on Sunday we had an awesome devotional!  We had a MISSIONARY CONCERT basically hahaha. The Nashville Tribute Band came and played for the devotional and the Spirit was so strong!  Look them up!  They are a really good mormon band.  

My district and where we're all going

One thing that I’ve learned here at the the MTC is how important LOVE is!  I truly believe that love is the most powerful motivating force in the entire universe!  Through a sincere love, which is a gift from God, we can literally change the world and do anything!  

On Monday, we gave a bunch of lessons again and we got to do another skype lesson.  This time it was a lady from Buenos Aires West!!  Her name was Jimena.  It was a really cool experience to talk with a native that is where I’m going!  But the bad part is Argentina Spanish is not the Spanish I learned here at the MTC!  They speak so fast with a "sha" and they talk in "vos”  I literally understood like 10% of what she was saying, so that really freaked me out.  Because here I got to the point where I could understand basically everything.  But I’m nervous for the Argentina Spanish!!  So pray for me haha.  

Argentina clan

I also came to the realization this week that this mission is going to go by so fast!  On Tuesday night I started crying because I realized how fast the time was going.  I CANNOT LET ONE SECOND of the Lord’s time go by unnoticed.  I only have less than 23 months left to live this way and to only focus on others and the gospel.  I cannot let one person go by without opening my mouth and talking to them.  The time is running out and I’m already getting anxiety about coming home.  I feel I don’t have enough time to preach the gospel.  In a devotional we learned about how the people who we teach are going to remember us for eternities!  They will never forget who introduced them to this glad message!  I want to help everyone I come into contact with Come Unto Christ.  I can’t put it in words the love, joy, and power I feel from this gospel and THE ATONEMENT!  Seriously use the atonement daily!  It is such a source of POWER AND STRENGTH!  Without it I wouldn't have been able to make it these past 6 weeks.  

All the books I'm supposed to somehow pack...

Midnight snack 

I also learned something because I always feel like I need to be perfect, so to all the perfectionists out there listen up... Jesus Christ wasn't perfect because He strove to be, He wasn’t perfect because He was a perfectionist.  He was perfect because He was a God, and because He was the greatest example of LOVE!  So my challenge to all you out there this week, is to try to place others before yourself and try your best to show LOVE to EVERYONE!  

Sorry this has been short.. I have so much more I would love to say but I don’t have time!!!!!!

LOVE YOU ALL!  Remember Christ, remember His atonement and use it EVERY DAY.   It’s NOT JUST FOR SINS!  And have LOVE FOR EVERYONE!  

Love, 

Elder Cook

Week 5 According to the MTC!!! {Week 4}

So its so crazy!! This is our fifth week and on Monday we start our last week (the 6th week). They count the Wednesday when I got here until that Sunday 1 week.  Also WE GET OUR TRAVEL PLANS TOMORROW!!  I'm so excited!  I really hope that my visa has went through and I’ll be able to go to Argentina!  

This week was just like the other ones..  I just want to get into the field! jaja  So this week we committed two of our investigators, Sami, and Alan to baptism!  So that was pretty cool.  Even tho they are fake... jaja Elder Mercier and I were actually called as Zone Leaders also!  We are over 4 districts.  Today has been really crazy actually because while we were emailing home, we got a phone call(zone leaders have cell phones) informing us that one of the new elders that came in yesterday was admitted into the hospital last night.  So we have spent our whole day arranging for people to stay with his companion (who didn't get any sleep because he was at the hosptial all night) so he could get some rest today.  We were also instructed to go to the travel office to schedule us a bus over to the hospital so we could be with the Elder and so we had to meet with one of the counselors to the President of the MTC who had to call our branch president and say that we couldn't do that because he would be in surgery all day.... so we’ve had a crazy day.  I didn't realize all that the zone leaders are in charge of.  We are literally the eyes and ears for the branch presidency.  

This is us with our investigator Alan...Monday is our last lesson with him :(

Something that I learned this week is that just becauase we are set apart as missionaries, doesn’t mean that we will always have the Spirit with us.  We have to be constantly working for it!  We have been set apart and serioulsy this is one of the only opportunities in our life that we could seriously ALWAYS have the Spirit guiding us and directing us because of the lifestyle which we now live.  We can literally leave babylon (the world) behind completely and focus on Christ and God for the next two years.  But it is our choice.  We HAVE TO take advantage of the precious time that we have as missionaries to be representatives of Jesus Christ at ALL TIMES!  Also it is super important that we have the Spirit always with us always guiding what we say for our investigators  We don't know all the needs of our investigators, we dont know what they have went through in their lives, BUT GOD DOES!  This is why it is so crucial.  God knows his children PERFECTLY and knows exactly what they need to hear.  This is why we need to be constantly in tune with the Spirit so God can let us know what our investigators need to hear.

I had another eye opening experience this week.  On one of the nights I had a dream about home and about my mom (love you mom!) and I woke up feeling superrrr home sick.  I felt super trunky the whole first part of the day.  Then, as I bore my testimony in a district meeting, something came to my mind.  I realized that the way that I missed my family right at that moment was nothing compared to what pepole might feel when one of their family members die.  I felt like I really wanted to see my family but I realized that those who don't have a knowledge of this gospel would have that exact feeling only 100X worse, because they think that they will never see them again!  This really opened my eyes and made me realize that whenever I miss my family, I need to think of those who REALLY MISS their family and think that they will never see them again.

District photo

Oh also, so I might have already told you, but Monday is usually our busiest day!  We usually teach 4 different people.  This time the member that we got to teach was over skype!  We got to skype a native lady that was living in Panama!  It was cool to see how much I could actually understand and how much I was able to speak to her!  It was an awesome experience.  Some people in my district were able to skype people in Argentina and I was jealous.  jaja

It’s crazy how close that I have grown with my district!  We all feel like we have all known each other our whole entire lives!  Since our premortal lives!(we actually probalby did jaja)  But anyways I’m just super grateful for all of the friendships that I have been able to make.  We always talk about how we are all going to be friends forever and how were going to have many district reunions when we all get back..  I guess what do you expect when you are with the same people for almost 16 hours a day for 6 weeks! jaja On Tueday night we got to go to our apartments a little early so we all brought our food out and there are tables outside our buildings and had a little fiesta!  Thanks mom for the chips and queso and doughnuts. They were the highlight! jaja

Our fiesta

Yesterday I had a really cool experience.  During class, Hermana Lamb, our teacher, asked us to all get out our Spanish BOM and start reading together as a class.  Usually we get to have our English ones out too, to figure out what it’s saying, but this time she said Spanish solomente!  So for the first 4 verses I was confused.  Then I really tried hard and prayed that I would be able to understand.  WOWWW the spirit was so strong!  I was able to understand what we were reading and the whole time my heart was on FIRE!!   I got the strongest feeling that God really does want me to learn this language and I know that the gift of tounges is real!  It was such an amazing experience and I thanked Hermana Lamb after.   The only time that I struggle is when I doubt in myself.  I learned that faith and doubt CANNOT COEXIST!  God cannot work thru our doubt, the gift of tounges won’t come if we are doubting in ourselves. 

Just doing laundry again!!

Well I’m running out of time... we have been running around all day and now it’s nice to know that we get to go to the temple and relax a little.  Well I hope you all have an awesome week! 

Love you all!

Elder Cook

Halfway Done!! {Week 3}

Wow... where have the days went?  Literally the days have flown by!!!!   I feel like I just barely got here!  Now my distirct is the second oldest in our zone!  On Tuesday we will be the senior district!  So weird!!!  So much happened this week.  Being a missionary especially in the MTC is kinda an emotional, spiritual, and physical roller coaster haha. One day you feel so amazing and feel like you can do anything, then the next you feel like garbage and dont have any energy.  Its kinda rough but I just have to remember that “I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me."  Our P-days end at 6pm so last Thursday mi companero y yo taught our investigator Sami who is our teacher Hermana Lamb..  It went so well!  That day in the temple we were praying to know her needs and how we could apapt our lesson to meet her needs.  We went into the lesson with the strongest spirit!  We taught about Christ's atonement and our dependance on him. The spirit was the strongest it has ever been in any of our lessons and we litterally teach about twice a day and sometimes 4 times.  We connected really well and I truly felt a love for Sami and wanted to help her!  Afterwards she came up to me and my companion and said that it was the best lesson that she has ever had taught to her in all the time that she has worked at the MTC!  She said in some points she was forgetting that she was acting as an investigator because the things that we were saying were applying directly to her as herself and what she needed in her life!  This boosted our confidence a lot.  Of course it wasn't because of us.  The spirit was the teacher.  We were just the mouth pieces!  

Mi favorito distrito, minus Elder Schwartz who couldn't make it on the walk.

Here at the MTC I see miracles daily.  There have been so many experiences that have positively impacted my life!  Sometimes I struggle with doubt in my ability to teach and to speak the language and I usually get really nervous before we go and teach but there have been SO MANY tender mercies!  This is truly sacred ground.  I have felt the power of angels around me helping me.  There are unseen forces constantly with those who are seeking to do the Lord’s work.  I know that my ancestors are here with me helping me through all the difficult times.  Don't think the MTC is all fun and games.. Like I said it is a huge roller coaster haha, and I wouldn't be able to stay on the roller coaster if it wasn't for the help of my Savior, and those guardian angels, and all of your guys’ prayers, so thank you so much!  I want you all to realize the deep love that Heavenly Father has for each one of you personally.  There are not even words to describe.  I testify that when we ask God SINCERELY, and DILIGENTLY seek Him, He WILL come to us.  It’s a promise.  God always keeps His promises.  Also, please read the BOM every day!  You will be amazed by the power that you get from it.  I have seen that here at the MTC and with the investigators that we have taught.  

We walk by this statue every time we go do our laundry and feel a special bond, because we are always carrying our clothes like him....hahaha

On Sunday, we had mission conference, which is a huge conference with everyone in the MTC where the MTC presidency speak.  There were over 2,700 in attendance!  So crazy!  It was one of the best meetings I have been to.  There were so many things that were said that answered my prayers and applied directly to me!  I love Sundays!!  It’s the one day of the week that I don't feel stressed.  Even P-days are stressful but Sundays are the best!  We have a MTC wide devotional every Sunday night and then we get to go to a movie.. This week my district went to the Joseph Smith movie.  This Sunday was really awesome tho cuz we had mission conference in the morning, then church, then a devotion from Sheri Dew at night.  She is the lady that you see on the Deseret Book commercials who is like the CEO or something.  Anyways, her address was AMAZING!  We also get the chance to get devotionals on every Tuesday night too!  This tuesday was very special!  President Russell M. Nelson came to speak to us.  ME and my district joined the MTC choir so we could sing for him.. It was also broadcasted to all of the other MTC's around the world!  I’ve never sang for that many people before! haha.  It was a really awesome experience!  The spirit in the whole entire meeting was completey different from all of the other devotionals that I have been too.  Even the opening prayer was so powerful I was almost in tears haha.  It was cool to think that he could be the next prophet because he is now the President of the Quorum of the Twelve.  

Here's my zone.  I love my branch presidency.  All of them have a special place in my heart

So the past week I had noticed that my language speaking skills were dropping.  I realized that I wasn't qualifying for the gift of tounges because I wasn't putting in enough effort to learn the language as I should have been doing.  I made new goals and I have already seen such a drastic change.  This is another witness to me of the gift of tounges.  I made it a goal to SYL (speak your language) so only speak Spanish as much as I can.  Then when I’m trying to say something and I don’t know how, to write it down and look it up.. It’s not too fun to carry a dictionary everywhere you go, but it is worth it!  I had a language assessment yesterday and the guy told me that I was at a 4.  The scores are 1-7  1: knowing little to none and 7: native speaker... so I guess I’m half fluent? haha.  He said that if I committed to speak only Spanish for the next 3 weeks that I could be at a 6!  I know I can only do this with the Lord.  With the Lord everthing is possible!  There is no limit to how high you can succeed.  The only limits that exist are the ones that you place for yourself because of doubt and undedication.  I’m getting really good at understanding what people are saying and teaching the lessons in Spanish.  I don't have to have planned out phrases anymore of what I want to say.  They just come.  And when I dont know how to say something I can usually work around it by saying what I do know how to say.

I have seen so many people from PG here!  It's so awesome to be able to see familiar faces!  Quaid told me that he got reassigned to Mesa, AZ because his visa didnt get approved... That made me really nervous about mine! haha So please pray that I will get my visa!  I just want to get to Argentina!  I’m soooooooooooooo EXCITED! I just want to go out there right now!  

Elder Cook and Elder Freeman- Elder Freeman is in my same building...we talk usually every day

Thanks for your prayers and for your support!

Love you tons!

Elder Cook

P.S.  Thanks to all those who have sent me letters or dear elders.. It really means a lot.  I love hearing from you and about whats going on.  I’ll try and reply to you asap.  

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

JULY 23, 2015 "I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!"

Hola Familia!!  WOWWWWWWW! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY SOOOOO MUCH! Thank you all so much for sending me the packages and dear elders!  Please send more!  Also, let my friends know about the dear elder thing.   Its nice to get letters the same day you send them!  So I have soooo much to tell you guys but we only get an hour for email and we are trying to be 100% obedient!  I might be sending you all hand written letters if I don’t have enough time.  So my first day was CRAZY! When the elder whisked me away the first thing we did was go get my name tags.  Then, there was like 500 different tables with different papers and keys and access cards etc.  Then they took me to the bookstore where I got a giant 15 pound bag with supplies and books in spanish and english!  I felt bad cause the elder helping me was carrying all my heavy luggage, and I live on the top floor and there is no elevators so I felt really bad haha.  Then we went to the classroom that I will be spending basically all my time in for the next 6 weeks.  The hermana teacher only spoke in spanish and it was really hard to understand!  Everyone in the classroom was the people who are in my district for the next 6 weeks.  I met my companion, Elder Mercier(Mercy-A) he's awesome!  I don't think I could’ve gotten a better companero!  

The teacher only spoke in spanish for the next 5 hours.  Yeah so side note, I found out that they put me in the intermediate spanish class???!!! So hard!  I'm the most behind out of everyone in my district with spanish.  Almost all of them took AP spanish this year!  I didn't have time to open any of the letters in the "open now" packet the first night but I was able to open them throughout the week cause we were literally busy the whole day.  I only had about 10 minutes to get ready for bed and write in my journal before "lights out". The spirit here is seriously SOOO STRONG!!  The first two days I struggled with spanish and understanding but now I'm to the point where I understand almost all of what someone is saying to me!  It's just hard for me to speak back.  

Last Thursday we had interviews with our branch presidency and then after he called me to be the District Leader!!  I was really nervous and didn't really want to be because I felt like I had soo much stuff to do and didn't have time.  We had to prepare to teach a lesson on Thursday and Friday completely in spanish, prepare a talk for sacrament meeting, and me and Elder Mercier were assigned to teach priesthood on Sunday too!  I felt like I had so much stuff on my plate and I couldn't handle the responsibility of being in charge of everyone.  District Leaders are responsible for the whole district, conduct interviews with the senior companions, conducts meetings, make sure everyone is doing okay, reports to branch presidency, etc.  I accepted tho of course.  I'm soo glad that I did!  It has been the best experience!  Thursday night one of the Hermanas, in our district, Hermana Beidler, was struggling and asked me if I could give her a blessing, I did and I was really nervous cause the branch presidency was there listening.  The spirit was SOOO STRONG!

The priesthood is REAL! She told me later that she has felt 100 X better. I love my district! I seriously feel like we have been best friends with each other for our whole lives! On Friday I told the district that we should set goals together so we set goals.  I challenged everyone to be 100% obedient and everyone accepted the invitation!  We have been doing all that we can do to be 100% obedient!  On our temple walk on Sunday we even walked the long way cause the sign said "please don’t walk on the grass”  haha all of the other missionaries probably think we are crazy but I know that we are being blessed with miracles because of it!  I have learned more spanish in the past week than I have in 3 years in school.  

Left to right:  Elder Bates, Elder Malovich, Elder Mercier, Elder Cook, Elder Smith, Elder Rasmussen
Hermana Rounsville, Hermana Beidler, Hermana Peck

By Friday I could pray completely in spanish and it’s cool cause all of our prayers everyday, which is a lot, (waking up, gym, breakfast, class, ending class, lunch, class, ending class, dinner, study time, nighttime, companionship prayer etc.) are ALL 100% in spanish! I can basically say anything I want in my prayers because of what I've learned so far!  THE GIFT OF TOUNGES IS REAL!  My roommates are Elder Mercier, of course, who is from Oceanside, CA, he is AWESOME! He is going to Cordoba, Argentina.  I seriously couldn’t have asked for a better comp.  He has the same mindset as me and strives to please the Lord.  He was actually an ordinance worker at the San Diego Temple before he came on his mission.  He graduated in 2014.  He's becoming to be one of my best friends!  Also in my room is Elder Rasmussen from Draper, who is going to Santiago Chile, and Elder Smith, from Virginia who is going to Sydney Australia!  WE all leave the same day!  I know that we were all meant to be here together.  All of us had crazy circumstances which led us to entering the MTC at this time.  My companion was supposed to be in the advanced 2 week course that started on July 1 but they rescheduled him for July 15 intermediate randomly.  For me my mission call took forever and I didn't get into BYU summer term.  The others had similar circumstances but I can’t remember exactly.  They are really cool and everyone in our district is here for the right reasons.  

It's sad to see other missionaries in our zone (floor) who aren't obedient.  They all stay up past bedtime and are playing games and stuff in the hall.  One night they were being so loud during (quiet time 10:15-10:30) my companion asked them if they could be quieter so that we could feel the spirit.  Guess who was the ones being loud?  THE ZONE LEADERS! AHHH hahaha  The other Elders in our distrito are Elder Schwartz (going to Orlando, FL) and Elder Malovich (going to Southern Argentina I forgot the name) who are both from SLC.  They are awesome too.  Our district is the only ones that are obedient and I'm grateful that I was blessed to be in it.  The hermanas in our district are Hermana Beidler from Virginia (going to California somewhere) Hermana Peck from Arizona (who is going to Cordoba, Argentina) and Hermana Rounsville from New Mexico (who is going to Cordoba, Argentina). They are amazing and always have the spirit.  Seriously tho I LOVE THE MTC!  The spirit here is so strong!  One of the Elders in our room was telling us about a talk one of the general authorities gave about how special the MTC is and how he said something about angels who are constantly on the rooftops of the buildings guarding us!!!  When I get in bed I hate taking off my name tag cuz I love seeing my name next to Christ’s.  I love knowing that I am a representative of him!  I seriously can't go to sleep sometimes because I'm so happy!  I just can't stop smiling!  

Where we spend 9 hours of our day

It's funny because since we are in class so much only speaking spanish (9 hours a day) we forget how to speak English sometimes! hahah We also usually teach 2 lessons a day.  100% spanish!  The first one was pretty rough but we have gotten a lot better!  Our investigators are Antonio, and Alan.  Antonio is a fake investigator, but we think Alan is real cause people have told us that and he doesn't wear garments....  So kinda intimidating.  We learned that as missionaries we need to be fluent in 3 languages, english, spanish, and the language of the spirit!  The language of the spirit is the MOST IMPORTANT!  We had a very humbling experience and lesson when we were teaching Antonio.  We were teaching about baptism but were having a hard time speaking. There was silence and I felt like I needed to ask him if he would pray for us, to know if the church was true right there!  He did!  The spirit immediately flooded the room!  We realized it didn't matter what we were saying or what we were trying to say in spanish, but that the only language we need to be fluent in is in the spirit!  Even tho are spanish was horrible it was the most powerful feeling!  On Tuesday, Hermana Peck y Hermana Rounsville were getting a cold.  They asked us to give them blessings.  I was able to anoint the oil for Hermana Rounsville and mi companero gave the blessing.  Then with Hermana Peck we switched roles.  SERIOUSLY I CANNOT DESCRIBE THE POWER THAT WE FELT!  Almost all of us were in tears after the blessings. I didn't even know what I said but I know that God put all the words into my mouth!  I can't describe it!  I LOVE THIS GOSPEL SO MUCH!  I LOVE BEING A MISIONERO!  Sorry I have no time! I will send you guys all personalized letters in the mail!  Sorry!  LOVE YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH!  I couldn’t be in a better place.  Its funny we all say that we are not in Provo, but in a whole different world.  On our temple walk we saw a family and we were like oh yeah I forgot that there are children in the world! hahaha I get to go to the temple today @ 2! I got to go!  

P.S. The food here sucks!  Me and Elder Mercier eat either cereal, PBJ sandwiches, or starve haha.  We have only gotten like 2 decent meals.  But it’s all good!

Thanks for the real food, please send more!!

-Elder Cook

It's Official!!!

On Wednesday, July 15, 2015 we dropped Elder Hunter Cook off at the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC).  That morning he was extremely anxious and excited to get there and get started. On our way, we were able to stop at the Provo Temple to say our goodbyes and take some pictures.   At 12:40 pm we left the temple and all piled into the car to drop him off.  We were able to give him some hugs and say our goodbyes as he was whisked away, to begin his two year journey as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!!