Hello!

That's pretty cool to hear about Zeniff and Will. Send Quentin my love, and give him a big hug for me, and tell him to write me, thanks!  That's exciting all the stuff with Philmont; I can't wait to hear about it!

So this past week was my last full week with Elder Tonn.  We get the transfer calls Monday mornings (today), but we went to the mission office on Thursday and President pulled me in for an unexpected interview and asked me to serve as a zone leader.  So I don't know where I am going but I feel I might go to an English area, we'll see, either way I'll be preaching the gospel so I'm happy.  Time sure does fly on the mission; I try not to think about it much though.

Anywho, this past week as we were OYMing we ran into a less-active member who wasn't going to church because he simply "did not know where to find it".  Se llama Florentin y viene de Guatemala, el sirvio una mision en Honduras y ahora vive aqui con sus hermanos que no son miembros.  Well, we started teaching his brother, good stuff. Also, yesterday as we were trying to get an investigator to come see a baptism we went to his house and learned that he had moved. We didn't know where he moved to but we really wanted him to come and see it, so as we were out and about inviting people on the street to come and see it, we ran into the investigator that we were looking for!  That was no coincidence. Well, he was able to come and we were able to find a member to get him a ride. Many other miracles are happening and I'm sure gonna miss this area and all the people I've come to love.

Well, I love y'all very much also and I hope you have a great week!

Peace and blessings, Elder Cooley

P.S. Yes we went and used the Jamba Juice gift cards, thank you so much!! It had been a long time since I had had a Caribbean Passion smoothie. Love ya mom!

Monday June 18, 2012

Como Estamos?

"Que le dice un jaguar a otro jaguar?  Jaguar (How are) you?"  Un chiste que Adan me conto.

It sounds like this past week was an exciting one.  Keeley Sage eh?  I can't wait to see her.  Que suerte que tengan la oportunidad de ir a Philmont.  Espero que se disfruten y saquen muchas fotos para que vea yo como era.

Well, this past week was great.  Hno. Ramos came out with us a couple times and we walked around Guatville with him talking with people and teaching them the gospel.  He also shared with us some stories of his time in the army as a combat engineer.  I was on an exchange Wednesday in the North area and as we were biking around we were stopped by a member, Luis, who had recently moved from Chicago.  He and his wife were baptized about 2 years ago and he was really excited to see us and find out where the nearest church is.  We will be going by to see him and his family this Wednesday. Adan went to mutual and has been going with Hno. Ramos to play soccer and it's good to see him get more involved with the members.  

We found many prepared people this week and I'm excited to teach them.  This is the Lord's work and he knows his sheep and they are numbered.  Well, I hope y'all have a great week! Keep the faith.

Love, Elder Cooley

Howdy!

Congrats on the baby girl, Kera and Greg!  I hadn't heard the news about Al Fuller getting married and expecting, that's awesome!  I also got letters from Zach Carpenter and Craig Roberts; it was good to hear from them and all the crazy stuff going on back home.  As for things in Texas, I am still working hard and the mission is doing great.

 This past Monday we had district activity; we went to Memorial Park and barbecued some fajita meat that an investigator had graciously bought for us, along with playing some games.  We then went to an English member’s house and we helped him in his attempt to catch an alligator with his lasso, but the gator had already been caught before so it didn't work out.  I also interviewed a man for baptism and then on Wednesday he and his girlfriend got married, then he got baptized.  

On Thursday, we taught a sister who, after being in-active for 4 years, showed up at church and asked us to come by.  She then showed up to church again with her husband and is very excited to get back into the church.  She said the whole time during her inactivity she would try and do other things on Sunday to "fill" her, even go to different churches, but she always felt empty.  Also, Joseph Matuk came back from New York and he's doing great as always.

Yesterday, there was an investigator fireside in which recent converts share their testimonies. Well, Sofia Ramos shared her's; she has also been called to serve with the Young Women and is doing great!  I love this gospel!  I hope y'all have a great week with the baby-naming and all other delightful things.

Happy late birthday Diana & Josh.  Also, happy birthday Dad, Benton, Alicia, and nameless Cooley girl!

Love,

Elder Cooley

Monday, June 4, 2012

Hola,

I don't have much time to email but this past week was really good!

We had a lot of lessons fall through, but we are planning on a baptism this Sunday so hopefully all goes well with that.  Also, the meeting with Paul V. Johnson was really good!  They created a new stake in Houston!  Good stuff!  

Well, I love ya bunches!

Elder Cooley

Dear Family,

That's crazy that all those kids in the ward just graduated.  Thanks for sending those shoes!

This past week was awesome!  A week full of OYM's and lessons.  This Saturday all 3 Houston missions will get together to hear from Elder Paul V. Johnson along with another Seventy and then on Sunday there is a multi-stake conference.  There is speculation of some changes in stake/mission boundaries.  

We had the confirmation of Jose Moncado; he just loves being a member and feels very blessed to have fallen into our hands.  I've really noticed this past week the importance of trusting in the Lord's timing.  Sometimes when things don't work out the way we had hoped, if we just put our trust in him then his purposes will be realized and we'll know that everything is in His hands.

 I hope you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Cooley

Dear Family,

This past week was great!

So on Sunday Jose Moncado got baptized, the man who stopped us a couple months ago and asked us to teach him; it was a very sweet experience and Elder Tonn was able to perform the ordinance.  Also, transfers happened.  All 5 companionships are now in 1 district (before it was 2).  Hna. Martinez, a native Mexican, is training Hna. Moreno Cordero, a native Spaniard.  They add a little bit of culture to the district.

Joseph Matuk just left for a couple weeks to visit his daughter in New York.  I definitely have to say that of all the tamales I've tried, Guatemalans make the best.  They make tamales de masa, de arroz, y de papa and they're all amazing.  We taught lessons and talked to people on the street, there's nothing better.  Well, I hope all is well back home!

Love, Elder Cooley

Hello!

How's it going?  It was crazy to see all those little kids and how they've grown!

Well, it is the start of a new transfer and Elder Tonn and I are staying together!  So this past week was amazing.  We got to teach a man named Jorge; he is from Cuba and has been searching for the truth for about 6 years.  At that time he lived in Cuba and saw about 7 different churches, all claiming to have the truth but one night he raised his Bible to heaven pleading to God that He would show him the truth.  Well, just recently he touched down here in the US and is a doctor at a clinic that a member works at.  He preaches in front of a congregation of another church and he told us about how his leaders gave him the topic for his sermon in 2 months - the topic being to preach against the Mormon Church.  He thought in his mind and later asked his leaders, "How can I preach against something of which I know nothing about?"  Their answer was simply, just do what we tell you, but he wanted to know more fully.  Well, that's where the member comes into play.  He found out that this member with whom he worked was Mormon and they began talking.  Well, he's been reading the Book of Mormon and believes it to be the Word of God.  He feels very strongly about personal revelation and is a very sensitive to spiritual things.  And we will be teaching him again tonight so we're pretty stoked.

Also this past week I had the opportunity to exchange with Elder Soutas (an old companion in Galveston) so that was fun to work with him again.  An investigator of ours, Denis, was able to come to Sofia Ramos' baptism and also to the Mother's Day party we had.  He loved both of course.  There are just so many things going on but time is short.

I love you all!

Love, Elder Cooley

Why Hello!

How's everything going?  I haven't gotten the shoes yet but I'll probably get them this Thursday.

You mentioned how everyone is growing up and I was thinking of how crazy the concept of time is.  Just yesterday we had ward conference and the bishop talked about how 2 of the great gifts we have from God are time and agency.  It's up to us how we use that time and God will hold us accountable at the last day for what we did with it.

Gonzalo, the man from Guatemala whose wife is a member, made it to church yesterday. It was good to see all the fellowship he received from the members.  I love how as we follow those little promptings of the Holy Ghost then the Lord will bless us with that testimony that it was from Him, but only after the trial of our faith.

As for writing in my journal I try to do it at least once a week.  This past week was great and we saw many small miracles, just how little things worked out and came together so well; being a missionary is good stuff.

Well, I love you all! Have a great week! See ya Sunday!

Love, Elder Cooley

Como estamos?

So this past week was pretty much amazing.  I got all those pictures of the family and they blew my mind!  The kids are getting so big!  I'm excited to Skype and be able to see the family again.  

Last Monday for P-day, the elders in the district ate lunch with Joseph Matuk and he fed us some amazing chicken and of course, bobaganoosh.  Then later on in the week we went by and he wanted to feed us but all he had was sardines and 6 month old eggplant that had been fermenting in a jar with nuts and olive oil.  It was the first time I've tried either... Apparently the eggplant deal is what they do in the Middle East whenever they run out of food, like their year supply.  

We were able to teach a Muslim man who was very interested in the idea of a modern prophet and another book of scripture and he'll begin being taught by the English missionaries.  Also, as we were out contacting on the street I approached a man sitting down looking at his cell phone.  Without looking up he began to talk to us as if he knew us and he asked for our telephone number.  He said he was waiting for a call from his wife in Guatemala and then he stood up and presented himself to us.  His name is Gonzalo and he just got here a couple weeks ago.  His wife and all her family are members and he has been attending church with them as of late.  As we were talking with him his wife called and he almost immediately passed the phone to me.  She asked my name and thanked me for finding and talking to her husband and told us to get him baptized.  She started crying and saying that God is a God of miracles and I felt to promise that her family would be sealed in the temple someday.   I got a little teary-eyed as I thought of how the Lord knows His sheep and will do all he can to bring the lost ones to the fold.  I love this gospel and can't wait to talk to y'all in a couple weeks!

Love, Elder Cooley

My Dearly Beloved Family,

Como Estais?  Sounds like all the fun stuff of summer is coming up, who all is going to Philmont?  Who in the ward is graduating?  Tell Zeniff congrats on his mission call.

As for this past week it was full of good stuff.  On Friday Elder Tonn got his first dose of Houston rain and we got to bike around in it without jackets.  We also went to the temple on Thursday, it was AMAZING!  Also, yesterday at church we saw many tender mercies of the Lord as a few random people showed up who we weren't expecting.  One is a man who was being taught before he went out of town and has been attending church wherever he went and just recently returned so we'll start teaching him.  

I love the gospel and each and every one of you tambien.  Have a great week, sorry for the short email!

Love, Elder Cooley

P.S. Both pairs of my shoes are wearing through and I'm not sure they can endure to the end, if you could send me either the Propels or Dr. Martins that would be much appreciated :)

Also, how are all those primary kids doing like Nathaniel, Jared, Sam, etc. They are probably pretty closing to being deacons, right? Crazy!

Howdy!

How's it going?  Joseph's baptism was probably the smoothest baptism of my mission. He is the man.  When he came up out of the water he put his fist through a gap between the glass and the floor and 'fist bumped' 2 of the little girls kneeling down.  He then reached up and fist bumped Elder Tonn, he's a big fan of the fist bump.  And then after his confirmation he gave Elder Tonn and me a kiss; he says it's normal but, cada quien.

As for the rest of the week it was full of talking to people as always and an unusual amount of appointments fell through but things are going great, Elder Tonn is a champ. The gospel is true and it's the best.  We gotta share it with others.  I've noticed that when I'm feeling out of it (don't want to talk to people) the best thing to do is just go and get into it and then by doing so the Spirit comes.

Well, I hope you all remember this piece of sage advice, "Entre gustos y colores no discuten los doctores".

Love, Elder Cooley

Dear Family,

How is it going?! This past week was great!

I too was sick since Tuesday and I'm just getting over it. My new companion is Elder Devin Tonn from Queen Creek, AZ. We are in the 'Houston 1 Central' Area, and the 'Houston 1 South' District (there are 2 districts in the ward).  It's pretty much guaranteed that I'll be here another 2 transfers to finish training so feel free to send anything.

I bet the Easter pageant was great as always! Elder Tonn is just super excited for the work and his Spanish is getting better and better every day. I'll send y'all some pictures next week.

As for this week, Joseph Matuk will be getting baptized (he was going to get baptized this past week but he had to go out of town). He had his interview this past week and afterwards he fed us some homemade bobaganoosh (you'll have to try it). Well, the church is true and the gospel is perfect! I hope y'all have a great week!

Love, Elder Cooley