Hey! This past week has been great. The mission conference was good and learned a lot from it. That is amazing to hear about the support to the Miles family and all the stuff in the stake. I got the package of CD's with the talks, thanks so much! It was cool to hear Elder Andersen and Christofferson translate their own talks, I noticed that even some Apostles have problems some time with the language. As for the baptisms, none seemed to work out this week. Jesus changed the date because a friend who introduced him to the church was in Mexico and wouldn’t get back til March 11 so we'll be having his baptism on the 12th. Amazingly, even without the baptisms I felt amazing peace and happiness this week in sacrament meeting. I am coming to appreciate and understand the sacrament more and that has helped me come closer to Christ.

As for Ike and Galveston, I would now like to relate to you the history of the church on Galveston Island. Apparently back when the saints had settled in Utah they sent missionaries all over the world and one of the places they sent them was to Galveston. The work was kinda slow and there was a small group of members by the 1900's. At this time there were 8 missionaries on the island (like there are now). Around this time there was the 1900 storm which was very devastating to the island. Just before it hit the island, 6 missionaries left the island and 2 were left to gather the saints, they all gathered in the top floor of a member’s house and blessed it, all the while waiting for the storm to pass. When it had passed they came out and everything around was destroyed while they were safe and sound. Shortly after the missionaries were taken off the island and weren't put back until after World War 2. All the while the members went to a church in La Marque, on the mainland. In the 70's there was a man who came to Galveston and became bishop of the ward. He had prayed before he came and he felt the Lord wanted him here in Galveston for some reason. He was a spiritual giant. He had prayed and fasted fervently as bishop to understand why the Lord had sent him here. Then one night he had a very vivid dream. In this dream he saw another great storm that would hit Galveston; he saw that after this storm a lot of bad people would leave the island. He also saw that the missionary work began to blossom. He then saw that a stake was formed here on Galveston Island.

So there's the story, I have seen a lot of the effects of Hurricane Ike still, buildings that were destroyed and haven't been rebuilt. But just a few weeks ago President Saylin told our district leader that Galveston district is the strongest in the mission and also our branch president told us that the Lehi Branch is growing more than any other unit in the stake. I feel so blessed to be here in this marvelous time and help the work move along. Also, a few years ago they were thinking of combining the Spanish branch and English ward; they almost did it too but then a general authority told the leaders here that they needed to remain separate. This island has some intense history. Anyway, this past week we stayed for Mardi Gras, some tighter rules but this next weekend we're actually going to be staying with some other elders in Pasadena, for Friday and Saturday. I think the whole time we'll just be on bike OYMing (Open Your Mouth, aka street contacting) which will be fun. We're not really taking a P'day today so that we can get all the work on the island that we can before we leave for a few days. Anyways, hope you all have a great week and que Dios les bendigas!

Elder Cooley

 P.S. Abraham gave me and Elder Jensen suits, his boss gave them to him but they didn't fit so he passed them on, I got a brown one and it is awesome :)

Galveston, Haunted Ghetto Paradise Island

How's everyone doing?  Sounds like an awesome stake conference, wish I could have heard all the talks and such.  Anywho, this past week has been quite intense.  We had a mission conference on Thursday and have 2 more this Thursday and the next.  We learned about Revelation through prayer, the Book of Mormon, and church and how to teach them more powerfully to our investigators.

Also this past Saturday and Sunday we saved a very active member from personal apostasy. Saturday morning he was on his way to the temple for the first time and got offended so he had them drop him off, then told us he was never coming back to church and after much intense discussion we were able to get him to come to church and as of now he is back to his normal self.  It was pretty scary to see someone so strong almost fall away.

Other than that, we are praying to have 3 baptisms this week.  It seems to me that every baptism has something that always gets in the way to try to postpone it and this week we get to work through some of those.  Also since this week and the next are Mardi Gras, we almost got kicked off the island, but due to the momentum of the Galveston District and the trust that President has in all the missionaries here, he is letting us stay this week, although with some added restrictions in order to not slow down the work.  Other than that our investigators are doing good and progressing.

Also our Branch President told the branch council that the Lehi branch (smallest unit in the stake) is leading the stake in many areas and the area is seeing many blessings from the Lord.  I feel so very blessed to be on a mission and see so many miracles day to day.  I hope the Lord continues to bless all of you with many miracles in your lives!

Con gran amor, Elder Cooley

14 February 2011

Que me cuenta de bueno?

Thanks for the Valentines package!  That is awesome that everyone is recovering!  And Quentin Begay is back!  I need to talk to that man to see how he is.  So if I could get his address or have him write me that'd be good. 

So this past week, somehow I found time to figure out how to solve a Rubik's Cube in under 2 mins. I left my planner at the apartment so I'm kind of lost without it...

Oh, President Saylin called me and Elder Jensen on Tuesday. When we answered he said, "I think I have a golden referral for you”.   So he told us about a man (Ricardo) who called the main number of the church and talked to someone for 2 hours in Spanish about the church. Then they called the mission department, who then called Pres. Saylin, who then called us.  Ricardo lives up in Texas City and is dating a member of the Spanish branch; we haven't taught him too much but he is pretty awesome.  Also we taught Jesus again.   Whenever we teach him it’s in the chapel; those are always the most spiritual lessons.  Last week for district lunch we went to Rainforest Cafe and got half off because some members work there.  Other than that, I can't really remember much, but I love serving the Lord, speaking Spanish, and all the other good stuff that is involved with serving a mission.  Hope you all have a great week and continue to be awesome!

Con gran amor,

Elder Cooley

Hello all!

So we received transfer calls this morning, and amazingly me and Elder Jensen are staying together!  We were 95% sure that one of us was leaving.  Apparently in Elder Jensen’s interview with President he said he had done all he could with me.

Anyways, this past week has been way cold, to the point where we were expecting snow.  From about Tuesday-Friday it was pretty cold and then on Thursday we received word from president that there was to be no mission vehicles driven or even bikes ridden, so we bundled up nice and walked to most of our appointments.  We were able to find some rides with members.  But all turned out well and we were able to teach a lot of lessons this week since a lot of people were home trying to avoid the cold.

Hna. Orellana has taught us how to make Gorditas, Tres Leches, flautas, frijoles rancheros, enchiladas, y arroz.  Then we went home and made some on our own, especially Tres Leches, soo good.  I encourage you to make one.  Also she fed us something called Capirotada, it was alright.  We have bought a bag of Maseca and make our own corn tortillas, good stuff.

We were able to help Hno. Aguirre give a blessing to his son who was in the hospital and we got to know them some more.  They are in our area, but clear up in Texas City. We were also able to teach Jesus again, the first lesson and he committed to baptism.  Then he came to church this week, which was stake conference. 

Well, moreso regional conference and Pres. Monson, Elder Ballard, and Sis. Dibb spoke. They focused a lot on the gospel and then The Rescue of less active members.  Al rescate!  It was good to see also that the Ensign of this month has a lot to do with that and I've noticed that's a big focus of Pres. Monson too.

Anyways, Love y'all and happy birthday to Emmie (late), Greg (later), and Adam (early)!  Hope all goes well this next week and I'll continue to keep everyone in my prayers!

con gran amor,

Elder Cooley