Dearly beloved family,

Joke: Que dijo el vaso a otro vaso? Punchline: Que vaso?!

It was good to talk to most of you on Sunday, with all the noise I felt right at home, and when it was over I had even more animo to get to work. It was fun to hear about Gage's new Spider Man watch and how Diana has started playing guitar again.

Just a more detailed explanation of what happened at mission conference:  Pres. Saylin figured that if the Brethen had allowed the showing of the movie "17 Miracles" in the MTC, then it would be okay for us to watch it so we watched that movie.  It made me more curious of my own family history.  Also, Sister Saylin gave to each missionary "The Miracle Book", a book she made filled with specific miracles that have happened to all the missionaries in the mission during their service. It was the coolest!  I'll send a picture so you can see how it is.  

Time is flying by!  It's unbelievable how fast these 15 months have gone by.  But I have loved every minute of it!  We finally were able to teach that really awesome family from Monterrey, Mexico that we found.  Turns out they've been sealed in the temple and just recently moved here about a month ago.  Also, they have a 9 year old son that hasn't been baptized due to a lot of moving around of the father and the family has wanted him to do it.  Anyways, things are going great; the gospel's true, learn it, live it, love it.

Con gran amor,

Elder Cooley

My Dear Family,

How's everything going?  Things have been great here in Houston.  I bet those temple lights were awesome as always.  This past Tuesday, as we were street contacting, we were approached by a 24 yr. old man.  He told us how he had been looking for the true church and how he'd recently been making changes in his life.  Seeing as how he didn't speak Spanish we referred him to the English elders who have since started visiting him and have helped him along his own personal path of discipleship.  Then, on Friday we had the ward Christmas party, the food was delicious, and there were plenty of tamales to go around.

As we were biking around last night in an apartment complex we passed a young man seated on some steps, not wanting to bother him we passed by, but as we passed I felt that we should turn back and talk to him.  As we talked he told us that he knew who we were and what we did, he told us how he had grown up in the church in Mexico, was baptized as an 8 year old and him and his family had come here a few months ago.  Come to find out, the reason he stopped going to church was because of work, but even now that he didn't have work on Sundays he wasn't coming.  It's amazing how little by little we can inch our way away from God.  I'm pretty stoked to go and see him and his family this week though.  I know that the Lord loves all of His children, and that he suffered all things that we might not suffer, if we would repent and come unto Him.

I hope you all have a great Christmas, full of gratitude towards Christ and all that he's done and continues to do for us. 

Con gran amor, Elder Cooley 

Dearly beloved family,

This past week has been quite amazing.  It's been getting chilly here every once in awhile, as always the weather is bipolar and so it varies from day to day.  

Thanks for sending the Christmas tree in a box; it is already up in the apartment, along with 2 other trees that we received in the meantime.  We have lights strung up around the apartment and we are constantly listening to Mo Tab Christmas music.  

There sure is a lot of growth in these wards, in November there were about 8 people who were baptized and confirmed, the majority of that being a family who continues to stay strong.  I am continually amazed at even though these members have very busy lives with work and family, they are always willing to come out with us to teach so that they can share their awesome testimonies.  

As for Lilian, we've had some great lessons with her and she was able to come to church with her boyfriend and daughters, along with some other kids she takes care of.  After church they told us how much they loved the testimonies of the members and how they felt loved and accepted, something not found too often.  As we taught the Word of Wisdom she knew that it was a commandment from God and was willing to live it.  I've seen her change so much in just the little time that we've been teaching her.  

I love missionary work, especially during the holidays.  I hope you all have a great week full of Christmas cheer.

Con un abrazo fuerte,

Elder Cooley

Como Estamos?

So this past Wednesday I arrived to my new area, Houston 1 West with my new companion, Elder Sheridan. He's from Roy, UT and went to Weber State before coming out. We are in the Houston West (Spanish) Stake and in the Houston 1 ward. There are a total of 6 companionships in this ward because there are so many people in the boundaries. It's one of the most downtown areas of the missions and so it's pretty easy to find people to talk to on the street and there are a bunch of apartment complexes also.

As for the people, we have an investigator, Lilian, from Uruguay. The way she came in contact with the missionaries was that she looked up her name on Facebook and only found 1 other person. As they became friends and started to talk, the other (Brazilian) Lilian began to share her testimony and asked if she would mind having missionaries over. She accepted and we received the referral. Well it turned out that the other Lilian is the wife of the Brazil Salvador South mission president. She came to the Christmas Devotional and felt the Spirit. She tells us about the inner peace that she sees in members of the church as she's come in contact with the church over the years. We also have a Brazilian family that we teach in Spanish and they respond to us in Portuguese. We were also able to teach some less active families and they made it to church this past week so that was cool. We have seen many instances in which the Lord has guided us to find those who are ready as we strive to follow the Spirit.

Anyways, hope all is well, have a great inspired week!

Love, Elder Cooley

November 29, 2011

Howdy!  Sounds like everyone had a good Thanksgiving full of food and good company. Mine was very similar and I have since recooperated from being sick.  After emailing last week I asked Elder Riley and some other elders to give me a blessing, then we went to work and I ended up throwing up in someone's yard while contacting them but he was nice enough to offer me some water (the man we talked to had been suffering from memory loss so hopefully he's forgotten about that incident).  I started feeling a little better and then we went to a member's house to eat and not to be rude I ate what I could, then when we got home that night I was feeling really cruddy and threw up again. Sadly, I had to stay in for the first time on Wednesday but we were finally able to go out and work by 6 pm.  It was no fun but now everythings great.  By the time Thanksgiving came I still wasn't feeling great but I was determined to eat.  So we ate with the Portillo's, that was pretty much a traditional thanksgiving dinner.  Then we went by the Guzman's, didn't eat with them but they gave us some fajita meat and salchichas.  Then we went to the Flia. Rodriguez, and they fed us some sandwiches from El Salvador (kinda like a torta) with turkey.

As for transfers, turns out my time here in Mo City has come to an end, at least for now. I love this ward and all the members and investigators I was able to work with.   I was finally able to take some pictures with Joaquin and Maria (recent converts) so I'll send those next week a lo mejor.

Anyways, love y'all, hope your week is full of peace and blessings.

Love, Elder Cooley

November 22, 2011

Dear family,

It's good to hear about the birth of Carson, I hope everything is going well with him and Alicia and I hope Dad is doing alright all by himself at home.

I'm not feeling too good, health wise, right now (probably due to something I ate) so I can't really think straight but we had a good week of work and we've found some pretty cool people. We went by to visit a member that was on the ward list that we had never met and it turned out they'd moved. But as we were at the apartment complex we saw a couple on the second floor and decided to talk to them. As we talked, we found out that the wife's brother is a member and is coming to stay with them for a month through the holidays. They told us how they'd seen the gospel completely change his life and how he quit smoking and drinking. We have an appointment to go by and visit them this Saturday.

Once again President Saylin has asked that we all strive for a "Weekend in White" on Dec. 17th and 18th by baptizing and confirming someone so that we can have a White Christmas. These past few weeks the chapel has been filling up and that's been really awesome to see, especially when about 20 of them are investigators. This past Friday we had the ward party for thanksgiving and the turkey was definitely cooked a little differently than usual, but it was really good. Last night we had a Noche de Hogar with a part-member family and they loved it. For thanksgiving we will be having dinner with the stake president and his family so hopefully I will be feeling better by then. That's awesome to hear about Sis. Sharp's baptism, I would imagine that being an epic event with much waiting. Well, I hope y'all have the rest of a great week!

Thanks to everyone for the prayers and support, hope y'all have a great thanksgiving full of thanksgivingfullness!

Love, Elder Cooley

Howdy!  This past week was great being able to hear from Elder Rasband, a lot of what he spoke about had things to do with "The Divine Call of a Missionary" talk that he gave in conference a few years ago.  He spoke of the love of the Savior for all those engaged in His work.  He also shared another tidbit of what happened in that experience with Elder Eyring.  He told how Elder Eyring asked the representative from the Missionary Department how many senior couples were needed and he said,"300".  Then he asked, "how many do we have to assign today?", to which the representative replied,"36".  The Lord needs a lot of senior missionaries too and they definitely help out a lot.  A senior couple in the mission that has been here for 2 years is going home at the end of this month and a new couple has come to replace them but it's great to have their awesome examples in this work and the Lord definitely needs more.

This past week we were biking down the road when a car pulled up beside us and the lady inside said she wanted to talk to us.  As she pulled over and got out she told us how she had been researching a lot about the Church and had many questions.  She was genuinely interested and we committed her to come to church to see for herself.  We then told the English elders and they have been teaching her.  Also, with our communications with the English elders I found out that a man I had first street contacted and referred to them had gotten baptized.  I had OYM'd him and during the process bore testimony to him of the Book of Mormon and left him a copy along with a reading assignment.  When the English elders went to teach him he said he had read and he is currently keeping up with the ward's Book of Mormon reading schedule by getting up every morning and reading from. Now to describe this man, Rodney, the best thing that comes to mind is Mosiah 14:2, he was definitely not a pleasing sight.  One thing I've seen that helps me approach random people and talk to them about Jesus has been when I imagine that they are a long lost sibling that had never heard about the gospel, and of course to always remember Christ and his atonement because that's when the Spirit comes and we are lead to know what to say.  

Well, I love y'all, hope all is well and have a great week!

Con gran amor,

Elder Cooley

Dear Family,

This past week was great!  The weather in Texas is pretty bi-polar, one day it'll be hot and the next it'll be cold.  That's pretty crazy what happened to Adam, that's great that he's alive and all.  I really need to repent for not taking as much pictures and I need to get better at writing in my journal; it's fun to read it sometimes and look back at how much the Lord has richly blessed me.  Ethan Jones is home!  I need his address, porfa, or if you could just have him write me that'd be great too.  Hace mucho que he escuchado de el!  

As for things this week, we had zone conference yesterday in which we received a lot of training on the Restoration and how to teach the first lesson better to investigators.  It was pretty awesome; my testimony of the restoration was increased as President Saylin taught it to us and then shared with us the First Vision.  This Friday, Elder Rasband is coming to speak to the 3 Houston missions.  

As for this past week, on Tuesday we decided to try some people on some old potential investigator forms we had in the Area Book from a few years back.  We knocked on the door of a family and after a little talking they let us in and we were able to teach them. We were also able to teach a family that we had been wanting to teach since about a month ago.  All in all, we found and taught some great people this past week.  I know this work is true and that we have been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to do this work, I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that since then God has continued to call prophets to instruct us.

I love y'all and hope you have a great week!

Con gran amor, Elder Cooley

Que hay de nuevo?

Alicia's baby is coming pretty soon, crazy!  This past week was great! We did have a Halloween party; it was a 3-ward trunk or treat event. We were able to get some investigators to attend and they really seemed to enjoy it. 

  

On Tuesday night we were able to teach the nephews of a less active couple that we have been reactivating, they were baptized about 4 years ago and sealed soon thereafter but had fallen away due to the hardships of life. We were also able to teach the mother of the husband. She had come to church a lot about 20 years ago and loved it but had never felt ready for baptism so we're excited to help her resolve her concerns. Our bishop has asked us to go visit all the less actives and see how they're doing so we've been doing a lot of that recently. I've been reading a lot from the General Conference talks, and they are really good, there were a lot who spoke of opening our mouth and sharing what we know. We also had the primary program in our ward and it was pretty impressive how these little kids memorized their parts and how funny it was to watch the younger ones wave at their families and try to keep still.

Here are some pictures from the temple trip and some other things. Anyways, hope you all have a great week.

Love, Elder Cooley



This past week was great!  Last Monday we had gotten the call (me and another elder in the district, Elder Clark) that we should pack our bags but not bring them to transfer meeting.  From that it was pretty sure that we were both leaving but staying in the district but we figured we’d end up companions.  What happened was my old area, Mo City South, was split in half.  Elder Clark went to the southern part with Elder Heidt while I ended up with the northern part with a new companion, Elder Riley.  He is from Payson, UT and this is his 3rd transfer, the previous 2 being in Kemah (an old area of mine).  We had the privilege of moving into an apartment that hasn't had missionaries in it for awhile so it's pretty barren.

Anyways, we've seen lots of miracles this week.  We've had some great lessons with less active members and were able to see them at church this week.  And we've been finding a lot of people to teach.  This morning was our temple trip, it was an amazing experience and we had a short meeting with a member of the temple presidency afterwards.  That's awesome to hear about Jordan's mission, could I get his address, por favor?  What else is new in the family?  Time is going by way too fast but there's a lot of work to be done in the vineyard and I love it.  Anyways, I hope y'all have a good week... and this library that I'm in is full of Halloween decorations so have a happy Halloween too.  "The gospel is true, if ya learn it, live it, and love it you'll be happy"-Bro. Bingham.  (probably the only thing I remember from 9th grade seminary)

Con gran amor, Elder Cooley

How is everyone doing?

This past week has been great!  We were able to get back in touch with Moses, taught him Friday and Saturday and then he came to a baptism we had in the ward for, Agustin, an investigator of the other elders.  He and his mom are growing a lot closer and he will start working with her after school, so we won't teach him as much but I know the Lord has great things in store for Moises.  

We taught a young man again, Jesus, who doesn't believe in God but rather believes in science.  He read a little bit of the Book of Mormon and when we stopped by he told us that his grandma was reading it.  Jose, the brother of Maria (recent convert), is preparing for his mission!  When I first got here he hardly ever came to church but now he's a cub scout leader and blesses the sacrament regularly!  We've started to work on his cousin who hasn't come to church in years and this past week he came.  There have been some great things happening in the ward recently especially pertaining to the Rescue.  

So I'm getting transferred, my guess is that I'll stay in the same ward though, which would be awesome.  Anyways, I love you all, hope you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Cooley

Como estamos?

This past week has been great.  That's funny what you said about Benton not saying he hates things but rather  "I don't like that thing, or it's not my favorite thing".  I've seen the same among a lot of Hispanics.  They never say "Odio tal cosa" sino "casi no me gusta tal cosa", it's something small I've noticed but it definitely helps.

Anyways, this past Tuesday we did a Church tour with the youth for mutual and had committed them to bring any non member friends they had.  It was very spiritual as the youth shared some of their personal experiences and testimonies of the gospel.  There was one non member who came and we were able to talk to him after.  He told us that he had a dream the night before that basically cleared up all doubt that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  We testified that God had prepared him and we encouraged him to read the Book of Mormon, committed him to baptism, and he did the closing prayer full of real intent.  He lives in the other elders’ area so we've given him over to them to teach.

This past weekend was pretty crazy, one of our investigators said his mom didn't want us coming by any more so we were pretty bummed but we felt that we should talk with her so we went by after church on Sunday and had a good talk with the mom and she said we could still teach him, it was pretty intense. Joaquin was able to share his testimony at an investigator fireside, and he also came out with us this past Friday.  He's sharing the gospel like none other and already preparing for his mission.  Yesterday, we were able to find some great new investigators.  This week is going to be great, I love the gospel.  I've been studying lately about hope and how the Lord commands us to doubt not and fear not, but look forward with a perfect brightness of hope.  This past Sunday could have been pretty discouraging, especially with some stuff that happened with investigators, not to add it was pouring rain.  But as the rain cleared up the sunset shone brightly, asi es con el conocimiento del evangelio. Hay que tener fe y echarle ganas. Anyways, I hope y'all have a great week, keep on keeping on,

Love, Elder Cooley

My dear family,

Wasn't conference just amazing?!  I know I loved it.  As for the past week, on Wednesday I went on an exchange with one of the Zone Leaders, aka Elder Jensen (my trainer).  We had a good time working and teaching together again and talking about the good ol' days in Galveston.  We spent a lot of P-day helping some other Elders move apartments, and then when we got home we decided to move our furniture around just to mix things up.

On Tuesday we OYM'd a young man on the street who was skateboarding and then while I was with Elder Jensen, Elder Heidt and Elder Bullock were able to teach him and he's pretty legit.  I love working with the youth.  In between the Sunday sessions, Joaquin (recent convert of a month) was able to teach Maria (recent convert of 2 months) a new member lesson about the Gospel along with Moises being there.  It was great to see one recent convert teach another and even an investigator about the Gospel. As we've been working with them I've seen their lives change tremendously.  As for the fiesta, it was amazing.  A lot of members were able to invite their non-member friends and I was able to talk to all of them.  So many are looking for the truth (whether they know it or not) but they don't know where to find it.  That's why it's up to us to invite. Obviously they have their agency but it never hurts to invite, Sin Verguenza, Con Confianza.

I noticed a lot of conference was focused on missionary work and the Book of Mormon.  I was reminded of the great example of Abraham Perez from Galveston –a  member who basically all he thought about was "how can I do missionary work?"  His whole life was missionary work and he was probably one of the happiest people I've met.  If we feel we're lacking spirituality, do missionary work.  The gospel is true.  I love you all.  Happy birthday Mae!

Love, Elder Cooley

Como estamos?

So this past week the Gladys Knight devotionals were amazing.  First of all, in order for members to have gotten tickets they had to invite non-member friends and it turned out that about 2/3 of all the tickets went to nonmembers.  There were 16 missionaries asked to help out and our assignment was to hand out programs and encourage the visitors to fill out a request form on the back to get a sample CD of the SUV choir, a Book of Mormon, and a Restoration DVD which the missionaries would later bring by their house.  President just sent the mission a letter saying," Our little team of missionaries collected a record-breaking 1,941 request cards!   The majority of these requests were within the Texas Houston South Mission."

As I sat in on the first session and several others the spirit testified to me how the gospel is for everyone and how many lives were being blessed and opened up to receive the gospel.  It was great to hear her conversion story and another speaker in between the music taught the Restoration, point by point accordingly with Preach my Gospel.  There were many "Amens!" and even felt like we were in the midst of a baptism choir.  Gladys Knight has been set apart as a missionary and her testimony was very powerful as she invited others to find out more.  Because of her service and those in the choir many people’s lives will be changed.  We were told of one experience where 600 people were baptized due to just 4 sessions, and we had a total of 9, from 2 sessions on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, and 3 on Saturday, with the Chapel and Cultural hall being pretty much full every time.  There were many preachers and pastors from other churches in attendance as well, with them filling out request cards also.  They go around and visit missions and stakes upon request and apparently the waiting line is several years in advance but due to President Saylin and the excitement of Gladys to come here to Houston we were able to cut in line.  Although probably no one in my area will be baptized because of this since it was only in English, it was great to be a part of it and on the front lines.  I know many lives will be changed because of the diligence of members to get their friends there.

Now, this weekend we are having a ward party and we are working on having members invite their friends, since Hispanics love parties and food is an easy way to introduce people to the church.  I am also stoked for conference and to hear from living prophets and apostles.  Gladys told of her mom and how she (her mother) would always call the kids in to the living room to watch general conference, without being members, and her mom would say, "pay attention, these are some wise men".  Now she knows that they're not only wise men but men called of God, prophets and apostles, special witnesses of Jesus Christ.  For the first time I heard President Saylin pray this past week in behalf of all the missionaries that were helping out with the firesides.  It was Friday night and we were really tired, and he offered an amazing prayer asking that we wake up the next morning refreshed and lo and behold, we went to bed after midnight and woke up at 5:30 and I wasn't tired.  This entire experience has definitely been one of my favorites on the mission.  Anyways, wish I had time to tell more.

Hope you all have a great week and continue to invite others to come unto Christ.

Love, Elder Cooley

Howdy,

Things are going great!  To answer some questions, the Gladys Knight devotional is this weekend and me and Elder Kump have been asked to help out with some of it.  So we'll be going to all 9 sessions, basically no p-day and we'll be getting home late every night, but it'll be a great experience for all those who are attending.  65% of those planning on going are nonmembers and Gladys Knight will be sharing her testimony and inviting others to learn more.

Those sound like some great boundary changes. I was able to get my camera charger back; now the problem is that I keep forgetting to bring it to the library, but soon enough I'll probably just send a disc home.  Oh and about Sis. Saylin's baby - he was born a little premature but after a while in the hospital he's home and his name is Samuel Houston Saylin (President Saylin wanted to name him Houston South).  Kelson Rogers is engaged?! Crazy.  I got an invitation this last Thursday that made me freak out for about an hour, the invitation to Brian Robert's wedding... That's good that they're registered at Target.

Anyways, things are going great here in Mo City.  Moses is doing good; Joaquin is pretty much ready to go on a mission. Maria Llanas is taking a lot of non-member friends to the Gladys Knight devotional, the same with other members.  A lot of good things happening here in Houston with even greater things to come.  It's amazing to see the work of the Lord unfold and be a part of it.

We've received the October Liahona, the special Book of Mormon issue.  It's really gooood.  I encourage all to read it and strengthen their testimony of the Book of Mormon and then go and share it.  I hope y'all have a great week and continue to prepare for General Conference, good stuff.

Love, Elder Cooley



Howdy!

That is pretty cool to hear about all the changes that have happened.  What are the stake boundaries now?

Anyways, this past week was great.  We got a new district leader this past week, Elder Adam Kump from Gilbert.  He shared with us his conversion story and how he knew this was the true church because of the Spirit that he felt.  Also, Joaquin was confirmed on Sunday and has already started sharing the gospel with his friends; he is on fire!  We've seen many miracles as we strive for exact obedience.  We've put up an "altar of sacrifice" for all the disobedient things that we are doing and as such strive to change that, something I really need to improve on is nightly journal writing.

We have this Gladys Knight devotional coming up next weekend and we were able to get a lot of tickets out to our members and their non-member friends so we're hoping to see some good fruits from this experience.  Today we had district meeting and interviews with President Saylin; he told me how he went to the Mesa Temple this past weekend and said how much he enjoyed it.

The work is going great; I love the gospel.  I've been studying lately about the faith that the brother of Jared had and especially how to emulate that faith.  There's a talk by Elder Gene R. Cook that talks about Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and how faith is what "makes things happen".  It has reminded me of the power of true faith, nothing wavering and the miracles that come when we are fully committed.  I hope you all have a great week and continue to see the blessings of the Lord.

Les quiero y aprecio mucho,

Elder Cooley

Como estamos?

Sounds like some good stuff has happened this past week and that there'll be some good stuff happening this next week.

This past week has been great here also.  President Saylin called for a special meeting for all Spanish missionaries and we talked about how to better embrace the culture and how to better help out those we teach.  A lot of the native missionaries gave talks and also Presidente Del Aguila, a counselor to President Saylin, who's been in Houston for a long time and has seen the church grow.  He related us the story of how a little branch grew into 2 stakes in less than 30 years and he attributed the success to the Lord and also to the amount of activities that they had.  I feel very blessed to serve here in Houston among the Hispanic people, from a lot of other countries.  For the past week we have been "fasting" from English, o sea, we only speak English when it's completely necesario. I have seen my Spanish improve a lot this past week and I'll definitely continue fasting.

This past week an investigator fed us pulpo chiquito, and it wasn't calamari, it was straight up baby octopus, good stuff if I might say so myself.  Then of course, Joaquin's baptism was amazing.  It was the smoothest baptism I've had on the mission and because of that the Spirit was unrestrained.  He was planning on his mom and family not being able to come, but then the member family that fellowshipped him were able to surprise him and they showed up right on time.  There were a lot of people who showed up from the ward to support him also, which showed to his family how much we truly cared about him and the decision he was making.  We will shortly begin to teach the mom and family because of his awesome ejemplo.

The work continues to roll on and it sure is good stuff.  As for transfers, me and Elder Heidt are staying!  So nothing new besides the awesome opportunity I have to continue to serve in this great ward and with such great missionaries.  I hope you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Cooley



Howdy,

Sounds like it's been pretty Hot in Arizona. Today I'm actually on an exchange and the other elder's bike is out of commission so we've been privileged to walk.

This past week was great! So Friday came and we drove to a chapel in downtown Houston and we were able to Hear from Elders Flukeager? (Seventy), Elder Neilson (Area Seventy), and Elder Holland.  First order of business was that he wanted to shake all of the missionaries’ hands, almost 500 from the 3 Houston Missions.  Elder Holland first talked about the fruits of missionary work and mentioned that his father was a convert.  Then he encouraged us to not waste a minute, he said his mission meant everything to him and he can't think of one day in the last 49 years that he's been back from his mission that he hasn't thought of his mission.  He spoke very powerfully and lovingly.  He said we are "engaged in the salvation of a human soul", the most important work that can be done.  His words definitely inspired me to not waste a moment and to get everything I possibly could from my mission seeing as how 2 years is a short period of time and it seems that every day goes by faster than the last.

As for the work, we should be having a baptism this Sunday for Joaquin.  He's 18 and the friend of a young man in the ward, he's legit.  It's amazing what the gospel can do to change people.  Moses is doing great and progressing towards baptism, just need to get his mom on board now.  Everything is going great and we are seeing more and more blessings each week as we strive for exact obedience.  I hope all is well at home and with the fam.  "I know the Book of Mormon and the Church that espouses it to be true"; there is a joy that comes from missionary work that doesn't come from anything else.

Love, Elder Cooley

Howdy!

That's too bad to hear about Daisy, I had thought about her recently and wondered how she was doing, but all is well, all dogs go to heaven.

Happy 33rd anniversary mom and dad!  Thanks so much for the birthday package; it was everything I wanted and more.

As for this past week it was good stuff.  We taught Moses a couple times and he is beginning to pray on his own and recognize the Spirit he feels when he prays.  Then on Sunday he came to church and loved it.  In a month, Gladys Knight will be coming to Houston with her Saints Unified Voices Choir; it'll be an awesome concert/devotional deal that we are getting all of the members to invite their friends to.  Apparently whenever and wherever she does it the missionary work increases tenfold.  So it'll be good stuff.

This Friday Elder Holland is coming to speak to the 3 Houston missions which everyone is excited about.  We have a lot of great investigators now; the only hold up is getting them to church so we're trying to get more members out with us so that they can fellowship them.  When member missionary work is combined with that of the full-time missionaries the work moves a lot faster.  Anyways, things are going great here in Houston.  I ate a lot of pupusas this past week, they're delicious, and I would encourage you to make them.  The gospel is perfect, God loves His children, that's why I'm out here - to help people feel of His love and come to know of the fullness of His blessings.  

I hope you all have a great week!  I love you all very much,

Elder Cooley 

Howdy! That sounds like a great stake conference.  Also, Happy 33rd anniversary Mom and Dad!  Thanks for being such awesome parents!

Benton started kindergarten?  That's ridiculous; all these kids are growing up too fast.

As for this past week we have made it a focus to implement a lot of the trainings that we have received, mainly with working with the members more.  We have a lot of great members in the ward who need the blessings of missionary work.  The work is moving forward.  We have an investigator who's been having some problems with an evil spirit so we were able to give her a blessing and bless her house.  Moses is still reading and praying and we were able to somewhat give him a tour of the church yesterday.

I've definitely learned a lot from Elder Heidt, he's a great missionary.  Both of us got a little sick this past week and all we've been able to eat has been bananas, rice, apple sauce, and toast so that's been fun but thankfully it didn't hinder us from working. Anyways, all is going great, there's nothing better than sharing the gospel.  I've realized that my missionary purpose begins with "Inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them...", it's the little things that go a long way, the things that we have covenanted to do as members of the church, to help others and stand as witnesses of God at all times.  

Well, hope all is going well and that y'all have a great week!

Con gran amor,

Elder Cooley

Howdy! Sounds like everything is going well at home, Diana and Josh getting settled into their new place, new bishop for Heritage Park ward.

So this past Friday we were biking around in Fresno and we stopped on the side of the road to give someone a call.  While we were stopped a car drove past us and then turned around and stopped behind us.  The driver then got out of the car and walked up to us and we began to talk.  He asked us what we did because he had seen others like us in his pais (country).  We got to talking and he said he didn't really believe in God but he wanted to know if He existed so he asked if we had time to talk right then... so we followed him home on our bikes.  We found out his name was Moises, he's 15 years old, and he's from Nicaragua.  The first person I've met from Nicaragua; I think I've met people from all of Central and South America now.  Anyways, we gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to Maria's baptism on Saturday.

Then Saturday, we had the baptism, the smoothest running baptism of my mission.  Moises came along with 3 other investigators.  Sadly, Maria's parents weren't able to make it, but she has a very strong testimony nonetheless.

Yesterday we had Zone Conference; it was legit and basically everything I needed.  Elder Heidt and I have committed anew to be exactly obedient, even in the little things, and we have definitely seen the blessings flow.

Moises read Moroni 10 twice to make sure he understood it well and then prayed about it and he said he felt good, and then he got scared because he had never felt that way before.

Today we heard from an investigator about how he wasn't going to let us in because we were church people and he doesn't like church people; but he said that God told him that we were good and would help his family out, so we've been teaching them and they are awesome.

Those are just a few of the great experiences I've had this past week.  I know the gospel's true and that this is what life is all about, inviting others to come unto Christ.  I feel privileged to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord and to serve among the people of Texas.

Love, Elder Cooley

Hey Family!

Sounds like everything is going good with y'all. As for having any storms, there hasn't been anything unusual here in Houston. There was a tropical storm in Corpus Cristi supuestamente this past weekend but not sure. As for the weather, it changes a lot here, the clouds are always moving. In the morning we'll go out and it'll be clear skies and by the afternoon it'll be overcast and then it'll pour rain for about 10 mins and then stop. It's a lot different than Arizona for sure.

I was able to house 3 new missionaries on Tuesday night in my apartment before they met their trainers on Wednesday. It was a great experience to talk with them, they seemed very nervous but anxious to get to work. One of the Elders was Elder Paz, he was born in Honduras, moved to Louisiana 5 years ago, and baptized 4 years ago with his family, he's awesome. As for my new companions, I have Elder Kobayashi and Elder Heidt. Their area that was adjacent to mine just combined so now we have a big area. But Elder Kobayashi finishes his mission this next week so once he is gone it'll just be me and Elder Heidt.

As for Maria Llanas, her parents support her in her baptism now (at least the dad) and she will be getting baptized this Saturday! Last Sunday she took 2 friends to the English ward and invited all of the youth there to come to the baptism.

The work of the Lord is going great in this part of the vineyard. I love y'all and hope this next week is full of tender mercies and the Spirit.

Con amor, Elder Cooley

Como estamos?

This past week was good. There are a lot of good missionaries going home and a lot of new missionaries coming in so we'll see what happens. I was able to house some departing missionaries last night and will be housing the new missionaries tonight; it'll be fun to see the differences. The departing missionaries were excited/nervous about heading home and I'm sure the new ones will feel the same way towards the mission field.

That's awesome to hear how our house is the neighborhood hangout for kids. That's one thing I love about being in a ward now is that there are a lot more youth to work with and encourage to do missionary work. Speaking of wards, this past week the Fresno branch combined with the Missouri City Ward. It was a wonderful occasion to see everyone mix together so well since mostly everyone already knew each other. Also Elder Scavo loved to be there and die with Fresno seeing as how he was born there. We gave a church tour to an investigator family and Maria is still doing good.

This morning we got transfer calls, I'm staying and it seems that we might be getting even more area. How's the family doing? How's Lyndie? (hopefully that's spelled right) I was wondering if you could send me a talk by Bruce R. McConkie called "Household of Faith" I think, if so that'd be awesome! Other than that things are going great.

Anyways, the gospel's great. God loves all His children, dondequiera que esten. It's crazy to think that once upon a time I didn't understand Spanish at all. Pero Dios me ha dado el poder para aprenderlo. Yo se sin ningun duda de mi corazon que si vivamos dignos, El nos preparara' un lugar consigo en el reino celestial; donde podremos vivir con nuestras familias eternamente. A mi me encanta el poder expiatorio que yo he sentido del sufrimiento de nuestro Salvador y por eso estoy aqui en Texas, para compartirlo con los demas. Les amo muchisimo y Que Dios les bendiga!

Con gran amor, Elder Cooley

Hey!

Sounds like a lot of family stuff going on along with love in the air. Brian better send me an announcement.

I don't have much to say, but this is Elder Scavo's last week here in Texas and he's doing pretty good at keeping his sadness under control.  We're still teaching awesome people with a possibility of Maria Llanas getting baptized this weekend.  It has been pretty humid and hot here most days, along with rain every once in awhile.   Sorry about the short email; I’ll be sending some pictures soon.

Well, the gospel's true, and I love it.

Love, Elder Cooley

Hey!

How's it going?  I heard about the big dust storm on Sunday when we were talking about signs of the second coming in Gospel Principles; it was funny to hear them throw that into the lesson.  I am so glad I am not cleaning pools anymore; also, I don't worry about it raining or being windy as much as I did.  That is awesome to hear about the new niece, Lyndie June; now they have a Mae and a June.  I hope to see some pictures soon. I've realized that it's been a while since I've sent pictures home... I left my camera charger in the Galveston apartment so my camera has since died and I'm waiting for those elders to send it on over, but soon enough I'll get some and send 'em.  As for Houston it's definitely getting hotter and more humid, but I'm used to sweating.  Thankfully, people offer us water a lot so we stay hydrated.

Anyways, this past Wednesday I went on an exchange with Elder Bullock in Houston 2 and while I was up there with him, Elder Robertson was here with Elder Scavo in Fresno.  It was really special for them because they came out together and are going home in a couple weeks and they both started their missions in Fresno so they were just living it all over again.  But as they were riding around in the rain, they got struck by lightning.  They said they saw a bright light, Elder Scavo screamed, and then they turned around and the street was smoking.  Elder Scavo said that all the joints on his left side hurt but all is well right now, it's amazing how the Lord protected them.

On Sunday we had an investigator fireside which me and Elder B. Smith got to sing at.  I love those firesides and being able to hear converts and how the gospel has changed their life.  It makes this all worth it.  So this past Friday we went and taught Maria Llanas; turns out that she's being reading, a lot.  She told us how she had already started 2 Nefi and so we quizzed her about what she remembered and helped her apply it to her life.  She had remembered a lot; she's awesome.  Then she came to church this past Sunday and also to a Noche de Hogar last night that we had as a branch.  Another investigator kicked her boyfriend out of the house and is ready to make some changes. Anyways, the work is going great!  If there's anything you need from me just ask.  I love you very much.  Hope you have a great week.  The gospel is true and changes lives.  Let's live it with a smile.

Love, Elder Cooley

Howdy,

This past week was really good.  I've been expecting some news about Jessie and the baby so it was good to hear that.  I haven't heard much of what's new with everyone but hopefully all is well.  So I don't know if I've told ya before but Elder Zach Carpenter's cousin is in my zone now (Elder Bryan Smith) and I think we'll be singing this Sunday at an investigator devotional.  

This past p-day we went to a Holocaust museum in Houston, it was kinda depressing.  Then we went to the Museum of Fine Arts, that was pretty interesting.  Anyways, we had an awesome lesson with Maria Llanas.  She has continued to live the Word of Wisdom and has been reading the scriptures every day.  Her parents are against her getting baptized but we've committed her to live the gospel and share it with them so they can see how it blesses her life.  I'm really excited for this next week and hope all continues to go well with everyone else!  One of the big focuses that President Saylin has had is that Obedience Precedes Miracles.  I've really noticed this past week how much our Faith and Obedience have in common.  I know as we're willing to submit to the will of the Lord we show our faith through obedience and in turn he blesses us with more faith and with miracles.

I love you all, peace and blessings.

Elder Cooley

This past week was amazing.  Yes, I am a lot closer to the mission home now.  Correction to address, we live in Stafford instead of Missouri City but you probably already figured that out.  In our apartment complex there are 3 other companionships, English elders and sisters and then a senior couple.  Because it is so close to the mission home all the departing missionaries and arriving missionaries come and stay the night in our apartment every transfer so that'll be cool to see.  Sounds like Girls Camp was a huge success and I'm sure the food was delicious as always, Mom.

So, as for this past week we were able to find a lot of good new investigators.  One is Adrian, an 11 year old boy who's family is less active; but he told his mom how he wanted to learn more about God and Christ and we weren't ever able to find them home, but this past week we did and he is a way cool kid. He plays soccer so it was fun being able to teach The Restoration in a way that he could understand by using a lot of soccer analogies.  We also were biking around in the little town of Fresno when we OYM'd (Open Your Mouth) a young man named Omar who was about to leave and play soccer but he was willing to sit down and we shared the Restoration with him and his family.  His little sister is really good at reading and loved reading from the Book of Mormon and they all understood really well.  We are teaching a pair of 22 year old twins, Yanis and Myra.  When they were younger their family investigated and they ended up going to Utah on a trip.  They said that they felt the spirit there and really wanted to get baptized but their dad wouldn't let them.  Later on the dad, Hno. Reyes (who is now a councilor in the branch presidency) got baptized and by that time they didn't want to get baptized.  They had a lot of questions about authority and how to recognize the truth, but as we taught them all of their questions were answered.  We also started teaching a 22 year old guy, Edwin, who investigated back when Elder Scavo was here his first time, but we taught him and he came to church on Sunday!  As for this past Sunday, we had Stake Conference; it was cool to go to a complete Spanish stake.  The temple president, President Bradshaw, talked and was very enthusiastic.  He told us how he served his mission in Argentina and how recently at the temple he performed a sealing for some people from Argentina. They told him how they knew an Elder Bradshaw who always talked about Texas and turned out he had written his testimony in their scriptures.  The stake president, Presidente Portillo, spoke a lot about how we need to show more love in the home and to work towards a celestial family.  He is a somewhat short man but a spiritual giant.

I did this really awesome thing on Sunday.  I ran into a pole.  There was a light pole in the middle of the side walk and I was going pretty fast.  I had planned on going to the left side but as I approached it I noticed there was a bunch of broken glass so last minute I decided to go to the right side and turns out it didn't work out and wasn't as cool as I had hoped.  But nothing too bad happened.  Also for P-day we went to a Mandir, aka Hindu temple.  It was really weird, but there were a lot of intricate carvings and such.  Anyways, the Lord is preparing people to accept the gospel.  Maria Llanas is working towards baptism.  She hasn't drank coffee in a few weeks and although it is hard she knows that it's a commandment and is willing to live it and thereby is blessed.  So it is with our own lives, when we know the commandments and keep them, then we are blessed.  Hope you all have a great week, peace and blessings.

Love, Elder Cooley

Sounds like you had a great Fathers Day!  That's crazy to hear that Max Webb is back already.  Time flies.  As for the new area and companion, I am with Elder Scavo from Palmdale, California (He went to the same high school as Afroman) and this is his last transfer.  He's an awesome missionary; he was previously a zone leader and is a very funny guy.  Our area is the Missouri City South/Fresno area (2 areas combined for now, both of which Elder Scavo has served in previously).  We cover a big part of the Missouri City Ward (there are 3 companionships in the ward) and also the Fresno branch (just us).  The Ward is pretty big and runs well and the Branch has about 15-20 members and we meet in a rented spot at a strip mall.  All the members are awesome and we have some great investigators. Because this is Elder Scavo's last transfer I'll be here for a few transfers so I'm excited to get to stay in an area for awhile again.  

I am loving this new area and there is a lot of work to be done in the vineyard.  In district meeting we talked about faith and how they are related to miracles and I was reminded of all the sweet experiences I've had in seeing miracles come to pass in the lives of people I've had the privilege to work with.  This truly is the work of the Lord and he desires to bless his children.  Anyways, hope you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Cooley

This past week has been awesome.  I can't believe that I've been here in League City for 6 weeks; neither can I believe that I am being transferred again tomorrow.  Well actually, I didn't feel like I would be staying and that feeling seemed to be true.  But either way, I will be where the Lord needs me.

So this past week we found some good new investigators and saw many tender mercies. We were finally able to teach a family that we had talked to.  The mom had worked with members before and was really impressed by their "forma de ser" and she wanted to read the Book of Mormon to know and was really willing to listen and follow through with commitments.

On Sunday we had a great day at church.  Some less actives came who we've been working with, an investigator, and also a friend of a member who had just moved to Texas about 8 days ago so we'll start teaching him.  Then yesterday we had 2 really good lessons.  The first was an investigator who Elder Jones and the missionary before me had taught once but we had never taught her; we had stopped by but they were never home.  But we saw them outside a few days ago and she said she had read and wanted us to come over so we set up an appointment and they were there this time.  She had a lot of great questions which we did our best to answer and we had her say the last prayer. As she was praying to Heavenly Father she said "I'm sorry for doubting you, Joseph Smith, please help me to have more faith in you"... It's one thing to pray About Joseph Smith and another to pray To Joseph Smith.  That was definitely a first in my life, and after the prayer we let her know that we only pray to God.

Another awesome lesson we had right after was with Jesus Rodriguez.  We have been working with him the entire transfer but haven't been able to get him to church. However we brought up the idea of a church tour and we convinced him to do one.  So, we called up Hno. Cervantez, a really awesome member, and he came and picked us up and drove us to the church.  As we showed him around the church and explained what happens and why, he felt the spirit really strong and told us how he wanted to come and see it on Sunday.  So a lo mejor el va a venir este domingo que viene.

Anyways, the work is growing in this area and I love being a missionary.  Hope everyone has a great week.  Happy Birthday Dad!

Con gran amor, Elder Cooley