Week 3 in Argentina? {Week 8}

Hello family and friends.  Okay so this week was soooooooooo cold!!! Like I felt like I was in Utah in the winter time!!  It’s still offically winter here until the end of the month I think.  But on Wednesday there was a huge rain storm and it rained allllllll day!!!  No bueno!  Wednesday was just a hard day in general.  All of our citas (planned visits) fell thru.  Every house that we went to either forgot and couldn’t meet with us anymore or weren’t there!  Argentines don’t like to go out in the rain, so everyone was in their houses, but no one would let us in because that would mean they would have to come out in the rain and open their gate.  Haha so we basically wandered around in the freezing rain all day soaked, clapping houses that wouldn’t take us.  One recent convert finally let us in to teach and after I walked out I remember feeling like I have never been so cold in my entire life!!  I was soaked and FREEZING!  Out of all the times I’ve been freezing in the mountains in Utah in the snow, this definitely topped it haha.  It was horrible!!  So we decided to stop by the pench to get more layers.  I took off all of my wet stuff and put on 6 layers.  I looked in the mirror and looked like I was a missionary in Russia.  haha I had my giant military boots on too!  But after that I didnt freeze!! 

When I was freezing in our Pench in the morning...Yes those are sweatpants haha

This is the day it was super rainy!!

Thursday was almost just as bad.  Actually it’s probably the worst day I’ve had yet.  Not because it was cold, but because I was sick.  I felt like I was going to puke the whole day and I had a migraine!  It was also cold, but luckily it wasn’t raining.  Thursday I also got to give my first blessing in Spanish!  It was actually just the anointing part, but it was hard for me.  Spanish is so difficult for me right now haha.  

This family was just baptized in August!!  I love them so much!  They are amazing!  Sorry it's blurry

Basically, the first of our week was super tough, and we were tired a lot.  But it all payed off for all the miracles that happened over the weekend.  So Thursday was super hard for me, but Friday we went out and the first house we went to, a man came out crying.  He was very upset because his wife just died a week earlier.  It was super sad.  Me and my comp made it a goal to look at every person as God would.  Before we clap the door, we look at each other and say “How would God see this person?"  This has made us have so much more love for the people that we come into contact with.  Because we did this, when the man came out, we were able to have a huge amount of love and understanding for him.  We shared our testimonies and talked to him a little about the plan of salvation.  He was bawling and so was I.  The spirit was SO STRONG!!  When we left he said thanks a 1000 chicos, I feel at peace now.  We made a cita to come back to visit him and he was super excited.  He just kept thanking us.  At that point I told myself that all the stuggles that I just had at the first of the week, all of them were worth it to be able to help that one man.  I know that we have to experience the bad so that we can experience the good.  I have a strong testimony of that.  The Lord tested and tried us, but since we kept persevering, he blessed us to be able to help one of his children.  

Our chains ALWAYS fall off!!

Okay, so everyone has been asking me about Argentina.  Well where do I start? haha It is cold, smelly, dirty, and flat (there are no mountains anywhere, not even hills) but it’s starting to grow on me.  Oh and there are dogs EVERYWHERE!!!  I can’t even explain it and they are all dirty and homeless dogs too.  I haven’t had any bite me yet but they always chase us on our bikes haha.  The food is good, but it’s seriously sooooooo bland!!  Last Monday I kinda had a break down in the grocery store because there’s no food here!!  haha Nothing that I know how to make!!  haha So me and my comp usually starve or eat ramen, noodles, or rice.  That’s all that they have here that we know how to make haha and all the food is SUPER BLAND!  They don’t really have sauces here.  Only Mayo and I hate mayo.  But there’s nothing gross that I’ve eaten here.  It’s all good, just super plain.

Just some houses...if you can see, there are fences around everyone's house..that's why we have to clap 

Their so called PIZZA...just tastes like bread haha

Well I dont have much time, I’ll try and send pics this week! 

Love you all!

Elder Cook

Week 2 In Argentina {Week 7}

Well, wow days are flying!!!  I don’t have much time again.. haha and the computer that I’m using is soooooooo slow, so I might not be able to send pictures… I’m sorry!!

This week was great!  I’ll tell you about an investigator that we have.. So we clapped this door (you clap, not knock cuz there is fences around everyone’s house) and this lady came out named Micalea.  She let us in and we started teaching her.  Her mom was also there and she was super anti!  Like hard core atheist.  She just kept interrupting our lessons by challenging our beliefs.. and they were dumb questions too, like the first one was,”How do you know Joseph Smith even existed?” haha.  We were like well... he has a grave with a head stone.. like he was a real person haha.  But anyways she was just sucking the Spirit out of the room and the lesson.  We came back 2 days later and she was there again.  Oh and I forgot to say we called her Satan lady haha.  But anyways we walked in and we were like, "Oh great!”  But we started teaching and she started to actually listen.  We thought that it was a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT person!!  My companion asked her if she had a twin.  Like she was actually interested!  We had a great lesson!  Then we came back for a thrid lesson and Micalea had to get ready for work so we just taught her mom.  She was like the best investigator!  The Spirit was so strong and she had such a desire to learn and to know!!!  Like her heart was softened within 3 times of visiting with her!! I’m super excited for her!  She went from being Satan lady to one of our top investigators!  It’s a huge testimony that anyone can change and God can soften peoples hearts.

We had a lot of stuggles this week!  Our bikes broke down a bunch so we took them to get fixed, paid 800 pesos and the next day they broke again!!!!  We had a rough day of trying to figure out our bike situation and get to our appointments on time because our area is huge!!  But they got fixed again so I hope all is well now!

The members here are so awesome!!  I love them so much!!  And the food is super good!!  Except here in Argentina they dont have flavor!!  Everything is soooooo blanddddd!!  Even salt.  Like in the scripture that talks about the salt that loses it’s savor.  Yep! That’s the salt here! 

The hardest thing about this is Spanish!!!  It's super frustrating not to be able to talk... I feel like I'm sloooooowwwly progressing...

We see miracles everday.  This week was probably the hardest week for me since I left and I felt like I wasn’t even making a difference.  I felt like I wasn’t helping anyone.  Mostly because I can’t speak or understand, so I can’t share my feelings with our investigators.  Then I was sitting in church and I remembered why I came here.  I remembered my favorite scripture, “ The worth of souls is great in the sight of God."  I knew that my efforts may produce small results but I knew that no matter if my whole mission I could only help one soul, that all would be well because I know that EVERY soul is GREAT in the sight of God!! 

Something that I’ve learned is that we need to be relying upon the Savior DAILY!!  There are 3 things that if we will do them we are promised blessings.  We call it OLA, orar leer y ir a la iglesia.  Pray, Read and Go to Church!   When we do theses things we can be fortified and strengthened to meet any challenge we may face!!! 

Well I have so much more to say but I don’t have time!!!  Sorry!  Love you!  I hope the pictures will work, if not sorry!

Questions:

1.  Did you get your visa?  I got a tourist visa right now,  but I have to go to the capital in the next couple of weeks to get my regular one…

2.  What is your typical day like?  So we wake up, exercise, eat, get ready, one hour of personal study, one hour of comp study, one hour of 12 weeks (which is like training), one hour of language, then we go and have l lunch at a member’s house, then we go out proselyting until 9, which we always have visits, so we are just teaching basically, then we come home and do it again.

3.  Does this area make you nervous at all? Are you liking your companion? Is he obedient? No it’s like the safest in the mission.  But we ride our bikes on the scary street and I feel like I’m gonna die every time haha.    There are crazy drivers here and we are on bikes haha.  Yes and Yes,

4.  What do you cook for breakfast and dinner? Do you meet in a church house then? Are there very many members?  I STARVE!  rice and ramen.. hahaaha I need simple recipes because they don’t have American food  and I don’t know what to make!!  In a meeting house, you can look it up on lds.org.  It’s Castelar stake, Parque Leloir ward.  There’s a lot of members.

5.  So do you ride a bike all the time? Yes if they aren’t broken.

6.  What do you eat most of the time? Are you liking the food?   Meat!!!  I haven’t gotten anything I didn’t like yet, but nothing has flavor!!!  Oh and I’m nervous because guess what? Their favorite thing to put on anything  IS!!???  MAYO!! haha

7.  What is your Sabbath day like?  Church starts at 9 and we have priesthood, then we go to the inv. class (basic doctrines), then sacrament last.. 

8.  What has been one of your happiest moments this week? I was struggling this week a lot, but on Sunday I felt the Spirit really strong and I remembered why I came here.   “The worth of souls is great in the sight of  God."  I just started bawling because this whole time I felt like I wasn’t doing anything, but I realized as I looked around and we had 6 investigators in church that I was making a difference.  Even if it was only one  soul my whole mission.

9.  What’s the hardest thing you have done this week?  SPANISH!!!! ITS SO DIFFICULT!!!!!!

Till next week

Sorry the pics didn’t work!

      Love you

 Elder Cook

Here is the mission home address if you would like to send Elder Cook a letter:

Elder Hunter Wayne Cook

Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission

C.C. No. 92

1702 Ciudadela

Buenos Aires

Argentina 

Primera Semana en Argentina‏ {Week 6}

Hola Familia! 

Wowwza this week has been so crazy!!!  To start out.. thanks so much for upgrading our seats to Buenos Aires.. literally we were the only missionaries that were able to sleep!!!  There was so much room!  I’ll send you pictures of how much room we had!!! I could serioulsy just lay almost flat!  Perfect for an 11 hour flight!!!  Anyways, so yeah that was great because we got to Buenos Aires and everyone was super tired and we felt fine... we were still tired but not as much.. So we went through customs and everything without any problems with anything, except it was kinda stressing me out because the people only spoke Spanish and they kept asking me what the address of the place I was staying at and I just had to keep saying "voy a la CCM de la iglesia de Jesuscristo de los santos de los ultimos dias."  The CCM is “MTC.”  They have a Buenos Aires CCM.  But I got through eventually hahaha.  She looked at my name plaque and was like okay whatever hahaha.

Leg room on the flight

Then we met our mission president. So everyone who was going to any Argentina mission was on our flight so there were probably like 30 of us.  Only 2 of us for Buenos Aires West.  So my mission president met us and he was directing all the other people to the buses they needed to get on and the planes they had to take to get to different parts of Argentina... So me and Elder Trent met Presidente Robertson and su esposa Hermana Robertson! They are incredible!! 

Flight companion Elder Trent

It was cool because they said that we are seriously the smallest group of missionaries they have seen.  They usually have like 10 at the least.... so we got to actually ride in their car with them to the temple and the CCM where there was a missionary from Peru who was leaving for our mission too.  We then went to the mission home and they just gave us this huge presentation on all that we needed to do and know.  We got our bedding and everything and money instructions etc.. Then president took us out to lunch!!!! We were super lucky because since there were only 3 of us, we got to go to a restaurant with president and his wife and the AP’s.  Everyone was super jealous haha.  The food here is seriously AMAZING!!!  Wow! I love it! 

First Argentine meal

Then we went back to the mission home and they told us we were going to go do contacts in the streets!!  I was super nervous, especially because of my Spanish, but we set a goal to get 12 contacts, just the 3 of us and the AP’s in an hour.  We said a prayer and then parted off and Argentines are serioulsy so nice!!!  I realized that there truly is a power in the name of Jesus Christ.  That’s why people listen to us because we wear His name on our hearts.  So that was so fun that I didn’t want to go back to the mission home!!!  I met so many amazing people who wanted to learn more about the gospel.  We got 15 contacts!!!!!!  President said that that was super good for just 3 of us in an hour.

After we had interviews with the president.. that was awesome!  I love him!  He told us that we were super lucky that there were only 3 of us because he was able to pick the 3 best trainers in the mission.  He said sometimes when there’s like 20 missionaries it’s hard to get 20 good trainers.  So we were all able to get the president's favorites!!!  So awesome..

With my trainer Elder Paskett

We spent the night across the street of the mission home in the pench that the AP sleep in.  In serioulsy like a closet.  I’ll send you pictures!  It was a little room with a bunk bed and a mattress on the floor for the 3 of us. Seriously so small, but it was good because it was only for one night.  

Tiny little room on the first night 

The next day we woke up and had transfer meeting!  Wow, it was so awesome!!!  We started out by singing a song as a mission called “I’ll find you friend.”  Of course in Spanish tho and it’s all about finding the people who we promised in the pre-existence that we could come and help.  It was so STRONG!!  I’ll send you the lyrics next week.  And then they had us, the "refuersos" stand up and they all cheered.  Holy cow 200 people cheering and screaming for you!  It was so cool.  Then they played a video of all the baptisms that everyone had this month and seriously the Spirit was so strong.  You would think that cheering would make it less spiritual, but I felt such a strong spirit.  Like everyone was so happy and excited that all these people were able to come to Cristo and they were just cheering them on!  Wow I almost started crying haha.

Then we got our comps.  Mine is Elder Paskett.  He’s from Farmington and he has 12 weeks left.  He’s so funny!  Literally one of the goofiest persons that I know! He makes everything a joke.  We then took a taxi to our pench.  It is soooooo big!!  Only we are in it.  Oh our area is called Castelar-Parque Leloir A.  When I got assigned there, all of the other missionaries were like.. "Oh that's the best area in the mission.”   WE HAVE A WASHING MACHING IN OUR PENCH and WE GET BIKES!! hahah so lucky! I think that it is the only pench in the mission with a washing machine.. so that’s super nice.  I’ll send pics of the pench.

Our Pench

Our living area

Our kitchen..it is huge!

Sorry about all the mistakes right now I'm typing on a computer that says every word is an error because it’s a Spanish computer.  Everything is underlined red.  Super annoying!!!  Speaking of Spanish, holy cow.  I am struggling so bad.  Here they don’t speak Spanish, they speak Castellano.  It’s so difficult to understand.  I feel super bad because in all of our lessons I can only testify and talk a little and don’t know what anyone is saying!  It's super frustrating!!! 

I love the people here!  They are so nice!!!!  We take so much for granted in the states.  Here it’s like when we went to Puerto Rico family.. but a little worse.  All of the roads are dirt with giant potholes.  You think PG ROADS  are bad.... wait til you come here. haha 

My companion on his bike

Oh and we don’t have dinner appointments here.. its lunch!!!  They eat such big lunches and like snacks for dinner!I

I have so much more to write but I don't have time...

We teach so many amazing people.. we have a couple people committed to baptism for next month!!!  I’m super excited!

Love you all!   Tell you more next week!

Love Elder Cook

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.