Dear Family,

How are things?  Hopefully Dad continues to get better!  That's awesome about all the missionary experiences you've been having, keep it up!  Sadly in Texas there are no such things as Navajo tacos, or Indian fry bread.  Maybe if you send me a recipe I could teach them and let them enjoy of such blessings also.

So this past Saturday, Elder Christofferson came to our mission and spoke.  We got to shake his hand and he invoked some apostolic blessings upon the missionaries through their faithfulness. President Saylin said, “What a remarkable experience we had together with Elder D. Todd Christofferson at the missionary devotional!  I was particularly moved by the blessings he bestowed upon us as missionaries.  Did you catch those at the end?  I wrote as fast as I could in attempt to record them.  He blessed us with greater light and understanding -- revelation -- as we study the scriptures in personal study and companion study.  He promised us that the gospel will be "unfolded" unto us.  He also blessed us with a solemn witness of the Savior, along with a true knowledge that we have been forgiven of our sins and sanctified from the stains of sins.  Wow!  If we had just been there to receive those blessings from the hand of an apostle it would have been worth all of the effort to be there.  Let us not forget the things the Spirit whispered to us as we sat at the feet of one of the prophets. Remember -- the fulfillment of these blessings comes through our faith and doing those things we have been asked to do." It was a day never to be forgotten.

So we will be having a baptism this weekend for Melba Romero.  She's already been baptized back in El Salvador, but her records were lost and so she gets another chance so that it'll be recorded on earth, and in heaven :)  Tonight we are having a Noche de Hogar con la familia del Obispo y la familia Ramos.  We have planned to teach about the Atonement, one of my favorite things to teach.  They are reading together from the Book of Mormon nightly and have come to church for the past month and a half.  Also, this next week is stake conference and Elder Flukeger is coming!  We found a family from Cuba that we were able to teach yesterday and they were really interested in the Book of Mormon.  We got to do a lot of biking around in the rain this past week, I love the gospel. Y'all are great!

Love, Elder Cooley

P.S. Thanks Dad for everything, I was able to fix the shower in our apartment due to one time that you did it for someone else and you made me come along with you, haha. And also every time I'm walking in front of my companion I think of the advice you gave me to always walk side by side and I quickly correct it.

Dear Family,

What a wonderful week to be a servant of the Lord. For P-day we went to Williams Tower and went up to the 64th floor. It's the closest thing to a mountain they have around so we got a nice view of Houston.

We are going to start teaching one of the sisters' investigator. The reason we get to teach him is because he proposed to one of the sisters... We also had some cool experiences of talking to everyone. We found a part member family that recently moved from Georgia and we were able to teach them. Yesterday we had an awesome investigator fireside to which Sofia attended, and at the same time there was a baptism going on for Leoncia Guzman (one of my investigators back in Mo City) and I was able to see many of the members from that ward that I miss so dearly.

There were several opportunities this past week to give unplanned service - we helped an older couple with their yard, helped an old lady take out the trash, and helped a man with a bad back move into his new apartment upstairs.

I know that the Lord is so very close to this work and as we pay attention to the spirit we are led to do what he would want us do. I know that the more we strive for a consecrated life the more companionship of the Holy Ghost we'll have.  I hope Dad gets feeling better soon and that the family continues doing well.

Love, Elder Cooley

Dear Family,

It sure was good to hear from y'all. Things are going great in the area, we are teaching the wife of a member and she is just super legit. For the first time I can remember in my mission (I think it might have happened before but I've forgotten), when we came back for the 2nd visit she had answered all the questions that were at the back of the Restoration pamphlet that we had left with her. She also signed up during Relief Society to do Visiting Teaching and is doing awesome. We gave them a Houston Temple picture to hang up in their apartment and they are excited to go there someday to be sealed for time and all eternity.

I sure love being a missionary and all the things I have learned, I am reminded of Mosiah 5:13 which says,"For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" We come to know the Master as we serve Him with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, and as we keep Him close to the thoughts and intents of our hearts. Keep being awesome and living the gospel!

Love, Elder Cooley