Hey everyone!
How are things back home? I'm pretty jealous that you both are going to Hawaii, but I'm still planning on that trip when I get back haha....no but seriously. This last week was kind of slow with not much going on. It snowed like crazy earlier in the week. We got 14 inches I think. It was nuts. We were still out there though trying to get around. I did get the box! It was good to get it because I was kind of running out of things to eat. Thanks!
So, my companion found out he had a brain tumor (its not a tumor....had to say it) when he was 13. It was cancer, but it wasn't one of the spider web ones that can sometimes take over the brain. He had surgery (14 hours) and from the surgery he lost his ability to speak and eyesight in his right peripherals. He ended up having to have another brain surgery where this time they finally got it all. After the 2nd surgery he had a seizure and he was paralyzed on his right side for awhile and had to do physical therapy to get it back. He is fully recovered now except that he has a little bit of short term memory loss which is a little frustrating when you have to re-tell him something over and over haha. So yea that’s his teen years for ya.
This last week we went to a Seder dinner activity at a member’s home. There were like 35-40 people there and it was a lot like the one that we did at the Mazer’s. It was the condensed version and it was really cool to see the symbolism for everything. There were also some non members there as well so that was probably the most exciting thing that happened this week.
I'm pumped as well for conference this weekend. As a missionary it is kind of a break weekend and what better thing to do, other than missionary work, than listen to the prophets and apostles speak. We also have a mission conference in Laramie this week as well so it’s going to be pretty busy!
Elder Cooper
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
A new area
3-22-10
So, I am now officially in the Taft Canyon Ward. It is still in Fort Collins so I'm guessing that I will be in Fort Collins for the rest of my mission haha. No but seriously, the ward is pretty good and the Bishop is all about missionary work so there is definite work to be done. The area is a lot like my last area with a lot of younger families. Sisters were in the ward before I was and one of them was sick the whole time so not a whole lot of work was going on before we got there. I guess the ward didn't click with the elders before that very well so basically we are the clean up crew. All we have to do is build up the trust with the members and we will get the ball rolling. My companion is Elder Smith. I probably already told you that but oh well. He is from North Carolina. He has been out close to a year now. Come to find out, he had brain cancer when he was 13. It is a pretty amazing story. It looks like we are going to work well with each other.
It snowed this past week again and it was a pretty heavy snow, but it’s pretty much all gone now. One day it will be super cold and the next it will be in the 60's maybe even the 70's....if we are lucky.
This last Saturday we also got the chance to go to the temple again. I just keep getting lucky with companions who have turns to go. We went because there was a couple that was from my companion’s last ward that was getting sealed. We did an endowment session and then went to the sealing. It was awesome. A funny thing happened though in the endowment session. Another elder that I knew really well who was my comps. last comp. threw up about 15 minutes into the session. It was awkward. I was surprised though on how quick they were to get someone to come clean up. While he was cleaning it up he said, " ...and this is why maintenance guys shouldn't wear ties". That lightened the mood.
Other than that not much else has been going on. We have a zone conference (now called mission conference) tomorrow which will be up in Laramie, Wyoming. Both of us are still getting adjusted to the area but we should be cruising by week 3 of transfers.
Elder Cooper
So, I am now officially in the Taft Canyon Ward. It is still in Fort Collins so I'm guessing that I will be in Fort Collins for the rest of my mission haha. No but seriously, the ward is pretty good and the Bishop is all about missionary work so there is definite work to be done. The area is a lot like my last area with a lot of younger families. Sisters were in the ward before I was and one of them was sick the whole time so not a whole lot of work was going on before we got there. I guess the ward didn't click with the elders before that very well so basically we are the clean up crew. All we have to do is build up the trust with the members and we will get the ball rolling. My companion is Elder Smith. I probably already told you that but oh well. He is from North Carolina. He has been out close to a year now. Come to find out, he had brain cancer when he was 13. It is a pretty amazing story. It looks like we are going to work well with each other.
It snowed this past week again and it was a pretty heavy snow, but it’s pretty much all gone now. One day it will be super cold and the next it will be in the 60's maybe even the 70's....if we are lucky.
This last Saturday we also got the chance to go to the temple again. I just keep getting lucky with companions who have turns to go. We went because there was a couple that was from my companion’s last ward that was getting sealed. We did an endowment session and then went to the sealing. It was awesome. A funny thing happened though in the endowment session. Another elder that I knew really well who was my comps. last comp. threw up about 15 minutes into the session. It was awkward. I was surprised though on how quick they were to get someone to come clean up. While he was cleaning it up he said, " ...and this is why maintenance guys shouldn't wear ties". That lightened the mood.
Other than that not much else has been going on. We have a zone conference (now called mission conference) tomorrow which will be up in Laramie, Wyoming. Both of us are still getting adjusted to the area but we should be cruising by week 3 of transfers.
Elder Cooper
Monday, March 15, 2010
Transfers were today and I got moved....
Hey, how is everything? Well, transfers were today and I got moved far, far away. All the way to Taft Canyon Ward which is still in, you guessed it....Fort Collins! It’s all good though. My new comp. is Elder Smith and he seems like a pretty cool guy. I have hardly even been with him yet so we will see. It was kind of sad leaving my last companion though. On top of that we got swept into our ward which means that neither of us have served there. So, it will probably take a while to get work going a bit. There were sisters there before, but one of them was sick the whole time. The elders before that I guess lost a lot of trust with the members so we are now there to build up that trust with the ward again. So, in other words we probably have a lot of work ahead of us. I didn't burn a tie Tuesday. We did it Saturday. It was all good. I can't believe that a 1/4 of my mission is over. We also went to the temple this last Thursday. It was so awesome. A family that Elder Seve knew picked us up and took us down there. After the temple we went to their place and had some dinner so overall we had a great day. I'm pretty stoked for a new area and meeting some new people. I don't think that I will be here for another 6 months. Probably 3, but we will see. I will still get to see all my old district at least once a week on P-Day so that is cool. That is rad that so many people in the ward are going to the temple. We have a couple of people in Parkwood Ward that are really close so I am excited to get some updates from my old comp. Everything else is going great. Moving is kind of weird for me considering the last time that I moved was from the MTC. So, we will see how it goes...Elder Cooper
Monday, March 8, 2010
I can't believe 1/4 of my mission has already gone by
3-8-2010
Once again another week gone. This will be the last week of this transfer and for some reason I am getting really excited to see if I will be going or not. If I stay then no worries. That means that there is still work here for me to do. I might not know what that is but the big guy upstairs does. Tomorrow will be my 6th month mark! I cannot believe that a 1/4 of my mission has already gone by. We might go to the temple this Thursday as well so this could be an extra exciting week. This last week was pretty good. It was a lot harder than most other weeks. The investigators in this area that we have now are really hard to get a hold of. Who said conversion would be easy though.
This last weekend was stake conference. It was awesome. I used to get so bored going to stake conference, but now I really enjoy it. The stake president makes things interesting by calling people up to the stand randomly to bear their testimonies. Most of the people that went up were youth and recent converts. Those are probably the 2 kinds of people that have probably some of the most powerful testimonies. The rest of the meeting was really good with a theme of "the atonement of Jesus Christ" and how we can apply it to ourselves. I realized that the atonement is much more than forgiveness and being clean from sin, but then again, there is so much to the atonement that I don’t think that I will ever fully understand it.
That is sweet that lady went through the temple and that you both got to go through with her. I bet that she loved it. As a missionary I have noticed that I stress sometimes about the work especially when the work is slow, but when I go to the temple all of that stress goes away. It is pretty awesome.
Other than that not much else to report. Fort Collins is still mostly cold with a few nice days. It always seems to be cloudy and cold on P-Day though. Hope things are going well.
Elder Cooper
Once again another week gone. This will be the last week of this transfer and for some reason I am getting really excited to see if I will be going or not. If I stay then no worries. That means that there is still work here for me to do. I might not know what that is but the big guy upstairs does. Tomorrow will be my 6th month mark! I cannot believe that a 1/4 of my mission has already gone by. We might go to the temple this Thursday as well so this could be an extra exciting week. This last week was pretty good. It was a lot harder than most other weeks. The investigators in this area that we have now are really hard to get a hold of. Who said conversion would be easy though.
This last weekend was stake conference. It was awesome. I used to get so bored going to stake conference, but now I really enjoy it. The stake president makes things interesting by calling people up to the stand randomly to bear their testimonies. Most of the people that went up were youth and recent converts. Those are probably the 2 kinds of people that have probably some of the most powerful testimonies. The rest of the meeting was really good with a theme of "the atonement of Jesus Christ" and how we can apply it to ourselves. I realized that the atonement is much more than forgiveness and being clean from sin, but then again, there is so much to the atonement that I don’t think that I will ever fully understand it.
That is sweet that lady went through the temple and that you both got to go through with her. I bet that she loved it. As a missionary I have noticed that I stress sometimes about the work especially when the work is slow, but when I go to the temple all of that stress goes away. It is pretty awesome.
Other than that not much else to report. Fort Collins is still mostly cold with a few nice days. It always seems to be cloudy and cold on P-Day though. Hope things are going well.
Elder Cooper
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