Howdy!

Wasn't conference the best?  I was able to write out all the questions/concerns I had before the conference and then as I listened I did so with an ear ready to receive council; without a doubt every question/concern was addressed.  

Joseph is continuing to prepare for his baptism this Saturday and is very excited.  We reviewed the baptismal questions with him yesterday and he is stoked.  He told us of how, the night before, him and his wife invited friends over for dinner (apparently a weekly thing) and how while everyone else was drinking wine 'til 1 o'clock am, he drank water the whole time.  He truly understands the blessings that come from obedience.

We have several other investigators which are continuing to read and progress in the gospel.  One of such is Edgar, from Uruguay.  He cooked us "pollo a la italiana" (they eat a lot of Italian food in Uruguay and Argentina) and afterwards we taught about the Plan of Salvation and how he'll be able to see his family members who have passed on. Another investigator is Jose, from El Salvador; we have been able to teach him a lot more recently and he started reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning.  Jose's grandpa back in El Salvador is the only member of the church in their family and they've been talking a lot more because of it.  Jose told us about how his grandpa is excited that he's no longer going to be the only member in the family.

Yesterday, we were able to teach a less-active family and it was a very sweet lesson.  We expressed our love for them and encouraged them to start with something simple, family prayer.  The daughter who goes to church with her grandma had asked her that day, "Grandma, why don't mom and dad come to church?"  She was able to testify of how she felt at church and we gave the grandma a blessing of health before leaving.  Also, last night I received a very unexpected call from President Saylin.  He started off by saying how he had a couple assignments for me - the first of which is to train an incoming missionary, and the other to be a district leader.  So Elder Claunch is being transferred and on Wednesday I will meet my "son".  It will be nice to learn from him and help him get a good start to his mission.

Well, I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

Con gran amor, Elder Cooley

March 26, 2012

Dear Family,

Great things are happening in the vineyard of the Lord. This past week we were able to teach the friend of a member, Joseph. He is 82 years old and although his parents are from Lebanon and Damascus he was born in Columbia and so Spanish is his preferred language. He has already read the entire Gospel Principles manual but is still very excited to learn more. Our first lesson was a very sweet experience. Before we even started teaching he asked, "So when can I get baptized?" As we shared the experience of the First Vision, he leaned forward in his chair listening very intently. Afterwards, he fed us some hummus, good stuff. He is very excited for his baptism on the 7th of April and hopes that his wife will consent to come. Joseph has been of testimony that even those who come in the 11th hour will receive the same as those of us who have been around for awhile. The gospel is true and if we learn it, live it, and love it we will be happy.  I hope y'all have a great week!

Love, Elder Cooley

My Dearly Beloved Family,

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Things are going great here in the land of Texas.  This past Saturday and Sunday Melba was baptized and confirmed; this time it was done in one dunk and the water was warm. Jose, our amigo venezolano, and Edgar, our amigo uruguayo, both came to church this past week for the first time and the lesson in Gospel Principles was about the scriptures. Afterwards they wanted a Triple so that they could read D&C and the Pearl of Great Price.  Jose has read up to 1 Nefi 17 and loves every bit of it.  He is progressing towards baptism and can't wait to feel clean.  

I love this area so much; there are so many people to talk to!  This past week we received a call from a member who lives outside of the mission but who has a friend who lives in our area.  The friend wants us to come over and teach him so we will be visiting him this Wednesday.

Tell Craig that he needs to write me, porfa. Anywho, the work is going great, time is flying by and I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Cooley

Howdy,

So, this past week was amazing!  We were able to teach a lot of people and see many miracles.  About a week back, as we were rushing to make it home on time, we were stopped by Jose, a man in our apartment complex.  One of the first things he said was "Quiero que me ensenen".  After setting up a few appointments and him not being there for them we began to give up hope.  But as we were trying to get an investigator to an investigator fireside yesterday we walked by his door and he was outside, we invited him and he accepted.  We were able to get him a ride and he loved it.  We still haven't taught him so he has a lot of questions about Jose Smith and the Book of Mormon but he definitely felt the Spirit which is the most important part.  Also at the fireside, Moises Gomez, shared his conversion story.  It was awesome to see him and hear how he's doing.  He has received the priesthood and just turned 16 so he will soon start blessing the sacrament.

We had a great lesson with Melba; she was postponing baptism because of her arthritis and she feels that her bones were really weak.  We then asked her how she was doing with the Word of Wisdom and admitted that she was still drinking coffee.  We then read through parts of D&C 89 and focused on how even the weakest of saints can do it and then testified of the blessings, including marrow in the bones and those were the blessings she needed.

There were 2 instances in which after talking to people on the street we set up appointments for the next day.  We taught them and they accepted baptismal dates. Also, we taught Adan, a 15 year old who recently came from Guatemala and who is living with his sister and brother in law.  He said he's not really sure why he came here, he liked it back in Guatemala, he was going to a nice school and everything but he feels that God has him here for a reason.  Afterwards I was reminded of the scripture in the Book of Mormon that talks about how no one will be brought here save it be by the hand of the Lord.  I feel privileged to serve among those who have been brought here by the hand of the Lord and I have seen that scripture be true many times throughout my mission.  As for Adan, he is a really smart kid and has already come to church several times and has a baptismal date.  

There certainly has been "an abundance of rain"(1 Kings 18:41) this past week, in terms of literal rain and blessings that the Lord has poured out upon us.  This gospel is true and it makes eternal changes in the lives of all who accept it with full purpose of heart.

Love, Elder Cooley

Buenas,

How's it going?  As for the bike/car thing, our area got cut in half so we didn't need the car anymore and I was thankful for that.  I prefer bike areas over car areas.  As for Ashlee getting called to Scotland/Ireland, that is fantastic!  Hopefully she likes haggis.

So as for this past week, it was absolutely amazing!  President called for "a return to greatness", in terms of more diligent striving to meet our goals and focus on our purpose.  As such, we set out to talk to everyone and not waste a minute.  I was reminded of my time back in Galveston with Elder Jensen and how hard we strove to reach our goals, how much success we had, and the Spirit that filled my life and raised my faith as we did so.  We saw many blessings.  

As we were biking home one night to get picked up by a member, we stopped and offered help to a couple carrying things; they were both deaf and accepted our help. After helping them, we were able to get their information and will get it to the ASL elders.  

Countless other blessings; we needed 3 investigator lessons on Sunday and we had 3 lessons scheduled but 2 fell through.  We talked to someone on the street and he asked if we could teach him right then, so we went to a nearby park and taught him.  Upon ending that lesson, another man walked by and we talked to him; he told us how he had talked to missionaries before but they never came by.  So we walked with him to his apartment and taught him.  He was a humble man from Guatemala and he showed us pictures of his family who are still in Guatemala, and then I pulled out my wallet family picture and showed him my family.  This past weekend has been unforgettable.  There is nothing more satisfying than work!

About a month back, Lilian dropped us, saying that she needed more time.  Then this past weekend, her and her boyfriend got in a car accident.  He passed away but she is in the hospital and hopefully gets well soon.  It was a witness of how sometimes the time we ask for doesn't exist, that's why it's so important to not procrastinate the day of our repentance.  That relationship was one of the things keeping her from baptism so hopefully this can work for her good.  Pues, La Iglesia es verdadera y El Libro es azul.

Que Dios los bendiga y que tengan siempre trabajo y salud!

Con un abrazo,

Elder Cooley

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

 

Dear Loved Ones,

How's everyone doing?

This past week has been awesome.  The gospel is true.  

As for your question about seminary - I remember not paying attention in 9th Grade (Book of Mormon year) and so therefore I didn't get much out of it.  However, later on I grew a deep love for seminary, for my teachers, and all the good people I met in it.  

Yesterday as Sacrament was about to start, President Saylin and Elder Gifford Neilson (Area Seventy) walked in and joined us and Elder Neilson spoke to the members while our bishop translated.

Well, I love this gospel. It's the truth. Hope y'all have a great week!

24 January 2012

Howdy,

It's always good to hear how things are going back home.

This past week we have seen the hand of the Lord in rich abundance as he's poured his blessings upon us in more ways than we could have imagined.  I know that prayer and fasting combined with faith can bring about miracles, even more than we have room enough to receive.

This past week we had an amazing Zone Conference and it was a little different than most; instead of gathering several zones it was done zone by zone on separate days. The topic was discipleship, specifically where we are at personally.  President Saylin asked us to go to the Lord as did Joseph Smith in JSH 1:27-29 to see where we stood before the Lord and what we could do to improve.  It was a Zone Conference I will never forget.  

Mom asked me what I remember about seminary but due to the lack of time I have I'll have to address that next week.  But oh boy was it a blast!

I love you all, thank you for all you do to help further the Kingdom of God.  The Gospel is true.

Love, Elder Cooley

Hola Familia,

Sounds like a great past week for the Cooley family.

Transfers this past week were pretty intense.  My new companion is Elder Claunch, from Payson, UT. He was "born" 2 transfers ago in Mo City for my last transfer there, so starting off we already knew each other mas o menos and had gone on an exchange together.  We have been working hard for this little time that we've been together and we've seen many miracles.  One of them was that we were able to teach Roberto.  He is the man.  We taught him and his kids Saturday and had a great lesson.  We had made a lesson plan, or outline, of how we wanted to teach the Restoration but as we started I felt that we should mix it up a little bit (the beauty of Preach My Gospel) and so we taught it kind of out of order and used examples that we didn't plan on.  The spirit was really strong and towards the end of the lesson he committed to baptism and he came to church on Sunday.  

Other miracles that we've seen have been really awesome OYM's in which we've sought the guidance of the spirit and have better understood their needs.  I know that the Lord is preparing the hearts of the children of men for this gospel and that we can be the answer to someone's prayer.

I hope y'all have a great week and strive to live as disciples of Christ in every thought, word, and act.

con gran amor,

Elder Cooley

 El que no vive para servir, no sirve para vivir.

Howdy! This past week was awesome! So things are going great here in Houston 1. Elder Sheridan is getting transferred tomorrow so I'll be getting a new comp here. A lot of times in my mission I have not understood why the Lord does certain things but I'm always reminded of the scripture in Proverbs that says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. This helps me remember that whatever happens, the Lord knows why and he asks us to just trust in Him.

I know both Elder Bullock and Elder Sawyer, but I've only served around Elder Bullock.  He's a champ; I've had many memorable exchanges with him.

Pues, no tengo mucho que contarles. Fue una semana mas o menos pero siempre andamos con fe y la aseguranza que Dios ama a todos sus hijos. Espero que tengan una semana llena del Espiritu y que El Senor los protega de todo peligro. Que compartan el Evangelio con todos los demas es mi oracion humilde.

Con gran amor, Elder Cooley

Happy New Year,

So basically most Spanish jokes I've heard just aren't the same in English so translating just never does them justice when you say, "What did one cup (vaso) say to the other?" when you say "Que vaso?" it's supposed to sound like "Que Paso'?  (I heard that one from a 9 year old).

That's cool they legalized fireworks on those days, I'm sure everyone had fun with that. As for the festivities here in Houston, the buses ran all night to encourage people not to drive if they'd been drinking.  They just do the usual partying, and a lot of staying up late.

 A big focus in church was about setting goals and faithfully working towards them.  Also we got to teach the youth Sunday School class an introduction to the Book of Mormon.  We did a pretty epic object lesson, and then committed all of them to read the Book of Mormon daily and also gave them copies of the Book of Mormon to share with a friend.

This past week I went on an exchange with Elder Preece in his area.  We were walking through a complex and stopped to talk to a lady while she was doing laundry.  She invited us to come back another day and then we asked her if she knew anyone else who would be interested.  Without delay she said yes; she told us of a friend she had who's sister had just died.  She then went into her apartment, grabbed the phone and called her asking if she would be willing.  On the other end of the line she seemed excited to have us over and we set up an appointment.  When the elders went back her husband wasn't there so they weren't able to go in, but since then they've been able to teach them and they are very excited to read the Book of Mormon, all of that because we asked someone we talked to on the street for a referral.  We also had another neat experience this past week.  We talked to a guy, Roberto, really quick, who seemed really excited to have us over; it was a little unusual because we didn't even explain who we were we just said "Hola, como esta?" as we walked by him.  He stopped to talk but said he didn't have time now but that we should come by this upcoming Saturday.  Then yesterday we got a call from a member who asked us if we were the missionaries that talked to her friend, Roberto.  It turns out that she's been inviting him to church and to talk with the missionaries but he's always been busy.  She told him how much God loves him and is looking out for him.

I love being a missionary and being able to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord.  I know that the Lord is preparing the hearts of people to receive the gospel.  Thanks for all the member missionary work that y'all are doing, keep it up, look for ways that you can be a light unto others, if the Lord can make simple stones give light unto others in darkness surely he can use people with weaknesses and faults to build up His Kingdom as we humbly submit to His will and have faith. I hope all is well and that y'all have a fantastic week!

Con gran amor, Elder Cooley

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