Hey Everyone!
I can't believe this is the last time I will be writing home. It has been a really weird feeling this last week. I can't really explain it but it's the weirdest feeling ever. Plus the fact that I wasn't at church for my last Sunday. We had the opportunity to go down to the New Orleans area for hurricane clean up. We went to spend the night Friday in the mission home and then worked all day Saturday and Sunday. I was pretty bummed out at the first of the week though because we found out that everyone in the mission except for our zone was doing clean up work since Monday. Luckily President Wall invited us down to help for the weekend. We went to do work in Laplace. It got hit the worst probably from Isaac. There were over 7000 homes that were flooded. It was crazy to see all of the piles of trash and people's homes out on in their front yard. We helped by gutting the houses. The smell there was horrible and all of the homes were covered in mold. It was a good experience though. I loved it and was glad that I got to do some service like that on my mission. It was good to see all of the missionaries too and to see old companions and friends and be able to say bye to them.
I'm going to miss it here in Marksville and in Louisiana. I've grown to love the people here and truly will miss them as well. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I had to serve these great people. Serving the lord for two years has changed my life and it has been the greatest experience. I know that this is Christ's restored gospel and that by living it we will find true happiness and joy. I know that with God all things are possible even if it seems like at the time it is the hardest thing you've ever gone through and that you won't be able to get through it. I love the Lord and hope that I will continue to serve him to the fullest. I love all of you and can't wait to see ya. I hope that you all have a great week and I'll be seeing you soon!!
Love,
Elder Cooper
Weird Week, Sept. 4, 2012
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had great week. We weathered out the storm here, except it didn't really hit us at all. It was suppose to rain 10 to 12 inches, but I think we only had like 2 or 3 inches. Anyways it ways pretty anti climatic. We also went up to stay with the Alexandria missionaries so we weren't as bored during the lock down. I guess it was a blessing though that it kind of missed us. Parts of New Orleans though I heard were flooded pretty bad. We are going to go down on Saturday and Sunday probably to help out with service down there. I really want to do the service, but at the same time if I go I will miss my last Sunday and won't be able to see some of the members for the last time. So we'll see what happens. So with the Hurricane we weren't able to do much during the middle of the week. We were able to see Ms. Beverly and had a lesson with her on baptism. It went pretty good. She is one of the most difficult people I've ever taught. She keeps all of her commitments and she wants to be baptized, but everything we teach doesn't really sink in. She is a very agreeing person and so it is hard to judge if she is really understanding the lessons and if she is getting baptized for the right reasons. She is scheduled for Sept 15 to be baptized so we are going to be working with her a lot this next couple of weeks to prepare her for that.
I can't believe that I only have one more time that I will be e-mailing home. Time has just flown by so fast. It's been weird because everyone now keeps asking how I'm feeling about it. I don't think it's really hit me yet. I'm excited to see everyone, but at the same time I'm going to miss it out here. I just love this work and there won't be another time really like it. I just feel privileged to be a part of this great work and am truly going to miss it. I know that this last week will be weird, but awesome too. I hope that you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope you all had great week. We weathered out the storm here, except it didn't really hit us at all. It was suppose to rain 10 to 12 inches, but I think we only had like 2 or 3 inches. Anyways it ways pretty anti climatic. We also went up to stay with the Alexandria missionaries so we weren't as bored during the lock down. I guess it was a blessing though that it kind of missed us. Parts of New Orleans though I heard were flooded pretty bad. We are going to go down on Saturday and Sunday probably to help out with service down there. I really want to do the service, but at the same time if I go I will miss my last Sunday and won't be able to see some of the members for the last time. So we'll see what happens. So with the Hurricane we weren't able to do much during the middle of the week. We were able to see Ms. Beverly and had a lesson with her on baptism. It went pretty good. She is one of the most difficult people I've ever taught. She keeps all of her commitments and she wants to be baptized, but everything we teach doesn't really sink in. She is a very agreeing person and so it is hard to judge if she is really understanding the lessons and if she is getting baptized for the right reasons. She is scheduled for Sept 15 to be baptized so we are going to be working with her a lot this next couple of weeks to prepare her for that.
I can't believe that I only have one more time that I will be e-mailing home. Time has just flown by so fast. It's been weird because everyone now keeps asking how I'm feeling about it. I don't think it's really hit me yet. I'm excited to see everyone, but at the same time I'm going to miss it out here. I just love this work and there won't be another time really like it. I just feel privileged to be a part of this great work and am truly going to miss it. I know that this last week will be weird, but awesome too. I hope that you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
Good Week August 27, 2012
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had a great week. It has been pretty wet here and is soon to be a lot more with the storm coming in. I guess the storm is supposed to hit tomorrow. It sounds like it won't be too bad up here in Marksville, but we'll still probably be on lock down. This last week went by way too fast. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was at stake conference. It was a slower week though and we were only able to see Beverly as far as investigators go. We did have a good lesson with her though and she said that she had gone 4 days without coffee, so that is progress. We'll be moving her baptismal date again to Sept. 29 probably. I think she will eventually get baptized though. She just needs to continue to read and pray and to come to church because she hasn't been the last 2 weeks.
I can't believe I only have about 2 weeks left! Time is going by way too fast. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to see everyone and everything, but at the same time I will miss it here a lot. I have grown so much these last few months. I was kind of reluctant about Marksville at first, but I love it here and know that it is where I needed to be. I hope that these last few weeks will be awesome. I hope that you all have a great week and I'll write more next week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
Reply Forward
Scott Cooper
I hope you all had a great week. It has been pretty wet here and is soon to be a lot more with the storm coming in. I guess the storm is supposed to hit tomorrow. It sounds like it won't be too bad up here in Marksville, but we'll still probably be on lock down. This last week went by way too fast. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was at stake conference. It was a slower week though and we were only able to see Beverly as far as investigators go. We did have a good lesson with her though and she said that she had gone 4 days without coffee, so that is progress. We'll be moving her baptismal date again to Sept. 29 probably. I think she will eventually get baptized though. She just needs to continue to read and pray and to come to church because she hasn't been the last 2 weeks.
I can't believe I only have about 2 weeks left! Time is going by way too fast. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to see everyone and everything, but at the same time I will miss it here a lot. I have grown so much these last few months. I was kind of reluctant about Marksville at first, but I love it here and know that it is where I needed to be. I hope that these last few weeks will be awesome. I hope that you all have a great week and I'll write more next week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
Reply Forward
Scott Cooper
Great Week, August 20, 2012
Hey Everyone,
I hope that you all had a great week. I'm still refraining from saying y'all. I don't know why but it's just too southern and hick sounding. Anyways, this last week was great. It was a weird week though because we were in Alexandria all of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We had Zone conference on Friday and then Stake conference on Saturday and Sunday. Zone conference was pretty good. We just went over on how to use the Book of Mormon better in everything that we do. I loved stake conference though. We we're able to go to all of the sessions. The theme of the conference was service and especially centered on serving each other. It was really good. It's so true that the lord uses us to bless others lives as we serve them. It made me think back to something I'd learned before, that if your having a hard time loving someone you should serve them. I don't know I can't really put all of my thoughts in words but it was really good and just reminded me that, that was one of the things that we all covenant to do when we are baptized is to comfort those that stand in need of comfort and to help those in need. Jesus Christ was the greatest example of serving others. He always went and healed the sick and the afflicted and lifted up those that were down trodden. I just love this gospel and know that it is truly the fullness of Christ's gospel restored to the earth.
The beginning of this week we were able to teach quite a few people and we have four new people that we are teaching now. So things are looking up here in Marksville. I don't really have any more time today. I hope that you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope that you all had a great week. I'm still refraining from saying y'all. I don't know why but it's just too southern and hick sounding. Anyways, this last week was great. It was a weird week though because we were in Alexandria all of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We had Zone conference on Friday and then Stake conference on Saturday and Sunday. Zone conference was pretty good. We just went over on how to use the Book of Mormon better in everything that we do. I loved stake conference though. We we're able to go to all of the sessions. The theme of the conference was service and especially centered on serving each other. It was really good. It's so true that the lord uses us to bless others lives as we serve them. It made me think back to something I'd learned before, that if your having a hard time loving someone you should serve them. I don't know I can't really put all of my thoughts in words but it was really good and just reminded me that, that was one of the things that we all covenant to do when we are baptized is to comfort those that stand in need of comfort and to help those in need. Jesus Christ was the greatest example of serving others. He always went and healed the sick and the afflicted and lifted up those that were down trodden. I just love this gospel and know that it is truly the fullness of Christ's gospel restored to the earth.
The beginning of this week we were able to teach quite a few people and we have four new people that we are teaching now. So things are looking up here in Marksville. I don't really have any more time today. I hope that you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
Great Week, August 13, 2012
Hey Everyone,
I hope that you all had a great week. This week was weird. The week went by fast but a lot of the days seemed to drag out. We had a pretty good week though. Sunday was awesome yesterday too. We found 2 new people to teach and have two more that we are supposed to be teaching this week! So things are starting to pick up here and it's really exciting when you start having multiple people to teach. We still definitely need to find a lot more people to teach though. It was pretty cool, though, how we found one of the people. We were looking for a former investigator but couldn't find her address. We decided to try some of the houses close by to where the address was suppose to be. We knocked on one door and this guy Albert answered. He didn't seem too interested at first but as we talked to him more he let us in and we were able to get to know him better and teach him about the Book of Mormon. He was pretty interested in the Book of Mormon and said that he actually already had a copy because his wife, who is deceased, was Mormon. It was pretty cool and he said that we could come back and teach him more about the Book of Mormon. So good things are happening. Also, Beverly came to church, which was good. I'm excited for this next week and having more people to teach. This week just reminded me that the Lord is preparing people and sometimes he tries our patience. I had been praying pretty hard this last week that we could find people to teach, because there was nothing really going on these last few weeks. And then yesterday all these people showed up to church that we can start teaching and with Albert and we are now teaching one of the member's Girlfriend. I just love this work and even though it's hard sometimes it is the best thing and the most rewarding thing I've been able to do in my life. I hope that you all have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope that you all had a great week. This week was weird. The week went by fast but a lot of the days seemed to drag out. We had a pretty good week though. Sunday was awesome yesterday too. We found 2 new people to teach and have two more that we are supposed to be teaching this week! So things are starting to pick up here and it's really exciting when you start having multiple people to teach. We still definitely need to find a lot more people to teach though. It was pretty cool, though, how we found one of the people. We were looking for a former investigator but couldn't find her address. We decided to try some of the houses close by to where the address was suppose to be. We knocked on one door and this guy Albert answered. He didn't seem too interested at first but as we talked to him more he let us in and we were able to get to know him better and teach him about the Book of Mormon. He was pretty interested in the Book of Mormon and said that he actually already had a copy because his wife, who is deceased, was Mormon. It was pretty cool and he said that we could come back and teach him more about the Book of Mormon. So good things are happening. Also, Beverly came to church, which was good. I'm excited for this next week and having more people to teach. This week just reminded me that the Lord is preparing people and sometimes he tries our patience. I had been praying pretty hard this last week that we could find people to teach, because there was nothing really going on these last few weeks. And then yesterday all these people showed up to church that we can start teaching and with Albert and we are now teaching one of the member's Girlfriend. I just love this work and even though it's hard sometimes it is the best thing and the most rewarding thing I've been able to do in my life. I hope that you all have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
Slow Week August 6, 2012
Hey Everyone,
It was a hot one here this week. I'm sure it was just as bad back home too. This week was another slow one work wise, but it seemed to go by really fast. It was transfers this last week too. Elder Jensen got transferred to Denhim Springs. At the transfer meeting I got a pretty big surprise. I thought I was going to be getting a newer missionary, but I actually got someone who's been out for over a year. So Elder Gubler is my new companion. I was pretty excited when president Wall called out his name because I've we've been in the same district before and he is way cool. He's from a small town in Nevada and he's a really good missionary too. So I'm really excited for these next few weeks and all of the miracles that we are going to see.
We were able to see ms. Beverly on Saturday. We had a pretty good lesson with her and she says that she wants to become a member of the church. We had been having a hard time with her because she doesn't really understand too much that we teach her. She seemed to understand a lot better though this last time and we're excited to keep working with her. Unfortunately though she didn't come to church yesterday. So we don't know what happened but, hopefully will continue to help her to progress towards baptism.
So right now Beverly is the only investigator that we have. We'll be focusing on finding quite a bit for these next few weeks. I love it here in Marksville and hope to be able to have a great last transfer here and to find those who are being prepared here in this area. I love this gospel and know that there is nothing else better that I could be doing right now then serving the Lord. I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
It was a hot one here this week. I'm sure it was just as bad back home too. This week was another slow one work wise, but it seemed to go by really fast. It was transfers this last week too. Elder Jensen got transferred to Denhim Springs. At the transfer meeting I got a pretty big surprise. I thought I was going to be getting a newer missionary, but I actually got someone who's been out for over a year. So Elder Gubler is my new companion. I was pretty excited when president Wall called out his name because I've we've been in the same district before and he is way cool. He's from a small town in Nevada and he's a really good missionary too. So I'm really excited for these next few weeks and all of the miracles that we are going to see.
We were able to see ms. Beverly on Saturday. We had a pretty good lesson with her and she says that she wants to become a member of the church. We had been having a hard time with her because she doesn't really understand too much that we teach her. She seemed to understand a lot better though this last time and we're excited to keep working with her. Unfortunately though she didn't come to church yesterday. So we don't know what happened but, hopefully will continue to help her to progress towards baptism.
So right now Beverly is the only investigator that we have. We'll be focusing on finding quite a bit for these next few weeks. I love it here in Marksville and hope to be able to have a great last transfer here and to find those who are being prepared here in this area. I love this gospel and know that there is nothing else better that I could be doing right now then serving the Lord. I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
Last Transfer July 31, 2012
Hey Everyone,
It's really weird to think that I'm going to be starting my last transfer! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. We found out yesterday that Elder Jensen is getting transferred. I'll miss him but at the same time it will probably be a good thing to finish out with someone else. I find out on Wednesday who my new companion will be. I thought I was going to be training. but I guess not because Pres. Wall didn't call. So I was a little excited to train, but it will be good who ever I'm with.
This last week was really slow though. Our one investigator Beverly is having a hard time understanding what we're teaching her. We pushed back her baptismal date for Sept. 1. We'll see how that goes. It seems like it's going to take a while for her, but that's alright. So yeah since it was such a slow week, there is not too much to write about. I love being out here and I'm definitely going to miss it. I hope that you all have a great week and hopefully I'll have some more stuff to write about next week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
It's really weird to think that I'm going to be starting my last transfer! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. We found out yesterday that Elder Jensen is getting transferred. I'll miss him but at the same time it will probably be a good thing to finish out with someone else. I find out on Wednesday who my new companion will be. I thought I was going to be training. but I guess not because Pres. Wall didn't call. So I was a little excited to train, but it will be good who ever I'm with.
This last week was really slow though. Our one investigator Beverly is having a hard time understanding what we're teaching her. We pushed back her baptismal date for Sept. 1. We'll see how that goes. It seems like it's going to take a while for her, but that's alright. So yeah since it was such a slow week, there is not too much to write about. I love being out here and I'm definitely going to miss it. I hope that you all have a great week and hopefully I'll have some more stuff to write about next week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
Phone Call on July 23, 2012
This isn't from Ryan but is about him. I,Carol, received a phone call tonight from a Sis. Bonnie Matkin, who, with her husband, is a Senior missionary couple in Marksville where Ryan is. She just called to tell me how wonderful Ryan and his companion are. She had them for dinner last night. She said the Elders helped them move in and check on them every day. She said they are adorable and her best friends. She said they both spoke in church yesterday and that Ryan gave a wonderful talk on the Resurrection. She said that Scott and I had done a wonderful joy raising him and that he is a very hard working missionary. That was great news, expecially since Ryan didn't write much at all this week. What a nice thing for her to call. We are so proud of our missionary!
Wet Week! July 16, 2012
Hey Everyone,
Hope you all had an awesome week! It was a very wet but really good week here in Marksville. It rained everyday, which was much needed. It hadn't rained really at all since I've been here in Marksville. It was awesome too, because it brought in some cooler weather too. This week was a little hectic too. We moved into a new apartment, so that took a couple of days to do because we had to clean the old apartment. That took forever because we had to clean up the mess that missionaries have made there for over 10 years. We also have a senior couple now here in Marksville. Their name is the Matkins and they are from Park City, UT. They are awesome and will really help out the branch. So we had to help them move in too.
We had a couple of lessons with Beverly this week. They both went really well. It's just hard with her because she is very agreeing with everything and just kind of goes with the flow and doesn't study it out and find out for herself. So we're really working with her on praying to know that what we teach is true. Unfortunately Beverly wasn't able to come to church yesterday because she is having a colonoscipy today and so she had to start the preparation on Sunday. Church was really good though. There were 43 there and that was without one of the main families, the Petch's, there. If they all would've been there we would've had about 54 there. It's awesome because the branch is growing and has already grown a tons in the last year. It's awesome to see the Lord's hand in this work. He will get it done one way or another, we are just privileged enough to be part of it. I love this gospel and know that as we live it, it will bring us more happiness and joy then anything else. I hope you all have great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
Hope you all had an awesome week! It was a very wet but really good week here in Marksville. It rained everyday, which was much needed. It hadn't rained really at all since I've been here in Marksville. It was awesome too, because it brought in some cooler weather too. This week was a little hectic too. We moved into a new apartment, so that took a couple of days to do because we had to clean the old apartment. That took forever because we had to clean up the mess that missionaries have made there for over 10 years. We also have a senior couple now here in Marksville. Their name is the Matkins and they are from Park City, UT. They are awesome and will really help out the branch. So we had to help them move in too.
We had a couple of lessons with Beverly this week. They both went really well. It's just hard with her because she is very agreeing with everything and just kind of goes with the flow and doesn't study it out and find out for herself. So we're really working with her on praying to know that what we teach is true. Unfortunately Beverly wasn't able to come to church yesterday because she is having a colonoscipy today and so she had to start the preparation on Sunday. Church was really good though. There were 43 there and that was without one of the main families, the Petch's, there. If they all would've been there we would've had about 54 there. It's awesome because the branch is growing and has already grown a tons in the last year. It's awesome to see the Lord's hand in this work. He will get it done one way or another, we are just privileged enough to be part of it. I love this gospel and know that as we live it, it will bring us more happiness and joy then anything else. I hope you all have great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
July 9, 2012 Good Week
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had a great week and a great 4th of July! This week was a little weird, because I was in Alexandria the whole week. I went on exchanges with the Pineville missionaries and then we had specialized training with President Wall in Alexandria too. So Elder Jensen stayed down in Marksville, with one of the Pineville Elders. Apparently I missed the best 4th of July party ever. Elder Jensen said that Marksville was just packed with people everywhere. Oh well It would've been cool to see, but it was still good being up in Pineville.
We did find someone new this week. Actually we didn't do anything to find them. Her name is Beverly and she was a media referral that we got from church headquarters. We met with her on Friday and had a good lesson. She had gone on to Mormon.org and said that she had been looking up all she could about the church. She had a Book of Mormon already and had read to 2 Nephi! She is really wanting to learn more and she came to church on Sunday! It's going to take a little while for her because she has a hard time understanding the Book of Mormon and she doesn't understand everything that we've taught her. We're excited about her though and she is working towards baptism. Other then that not too much else happened. It just reminded me that the Lord truly is preparing people to accept the gospel. I love the work out here and there couldn't be anything better that I could be doing right now. I know that living the gospel brings us true happiness and joy. I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope you all had a great week and a great 4th of July! This week was a little weird, because I was in Alexandria the whole week. I went on exchanges with the Pineville missionaries and then we had specialized training with President Wall in Alexandria too. So Elder Jensen stayed down in Marksville, with one of the Pineville Elders. Apparently I missed the best 4th of July party ever. Elder Jensen said that Marksville was just packed with people everywhere. Oh well It would've been cool to see, but it was still good being up in Pineville.
We did find someone new this week. Actually we didn't do anything to find them. Her name is Beverly and she was a media referral that we got from church headquarters. We met with her on Friday and had a good lesson. She had gone on to Mormon.org and said that she had been looking up all she could about the church. She had a Book of Mormon already and had read to 2 Nephi! She is really wanting to learn more and she came to church on Sunday! It's going to take a little while for her because she has a hard time understanding the Book of Mormon and she doesn't understand everything that we've taught her. We're excited about her though and she is working towards baptism. Other then that not too much else happened. It just reminded me that the Lord truly is preparing people to accept the gospel. I love the work out here and there couldn't be anything better that I could be doing right now. I know that living the gospel brings us true happiness and joy. I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
July 2, 2012 Slow week
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had a great week It was another slow one here in Marksville. It was a little rough because we were really low on miles and couldn't get around to anywhere that we wanted to go. We unfortunately haven't been able to get in touch with Julie since she's been back from Catholic Youth camp. She is really the only person that we have right now that we are teaching. We did find some people who said we could come back and teach them. We did have a really good turn out at the scripture study this week so that was good. We also talked to Naomi for a while. She is the recent convert who stormed out of church a couple of weeks ago. She is just super paranoid that people at church don't like her. We've met with her a couple of times now and she seems like after a little while she will be coming back to church. Luckily this week we were fed a decent amount by members. We were struggling with food because it was the end of the month and we were out of money. Well this next week should be better. I know that there are people that are prepared and we just have to keep looking for them. I hope you all have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope you all had a great week It was another slow one here in Marksville. It was a little rough because we were really low on miles and couldn't get around to anywhere that we wanted to go. We unfortunately haven't been able to get in touch with Julie since she's been back from Catholic Youth camp. She is really the only person that we have right now that we are teaching. We did find some people who said we could come back and teach them. We did have a really good turn out at the scripture study this week so that was good. We also talked to Naomi for a while. She is the recent convert who stormed out of church a couple of weeks ago. She is just super paranoid that people at church don't like her. We've met with her a couple of times now and she seems like after a little while she will be coming back to church. Luckily this week we were fed a decent amount by members. We were struggling with food because it was the end of the month and we were out of money. Well this next week should be better. I know that there are people that are prepared and we just have to keep looking for them. I hope you all have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
Good Week, June 19, 2012
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had an awesome week. It was pretty slow here in Marksville. The lessons that we did have were really good though. So I found out that Elder Jensen and I are going to be together for another transfer. I'm pretty excited for this transfer and feel like a lot of good things will happen. So luckily it was a lot calmer here too, this last week. Not too much drama went on. We did have a member, Shuntelle, call us and said that she was moving to Lake Charles. I guess she and her mom got in a physical altercation and so she got out of there pretty quick. She's an interesting person. She is really nice and loves the church, but she is not all the way there mentally. So unfortunately it sounds like she moved in with some guy down in Lake Charles, so that wasn't the best news. Other then that though we steered clear from all the craziness.
We were able to have a lesson with a new Investigator, Julie. She had gone to church in the past. about 8 months ago. She is a friend of Ms. Ann, a member, and really likes coming to church. I guess though when she was coming before her parents told her that she couldn't go anymore. They're Catholic, so they didn't really want her going regularly to our church, I guess. Well that made her go off the deep end I guess or she went rebellious because her parents wouldn't let her go anymore. So she showed up to church with Ms. Ann a couple of weeks ago and I guess her parents are ok with her going to church because they figure that at least she's going to church and it will be a positive influence for her. We were able to have a lesson with her and Ms. Ann on Wednesday and then again yesterday. They both went really well. She is really smart for a 16 year old in her knowledge of the gospel and the questions that she asks are really good. She said yesterday that she is torn between the two church's and is trying to decide which one is right and which one she wants to go to. We're really excited though to work with her and I could see her being baptized in a couple of months which would really help her out in her life. Well other then that not too much happened. I hope you all have a great week and hopefully I'll have some more exciting news next week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope you all had an awesome week. It was pretty slow here in Marksville. The lessons that we did have were really good though. So I found out that Elder Jensen and I are going to be together for another transfer. I'm pretty excited for this transfer and feel like a lot of good things will happen. So luckily it was a lot calmer here too, this last week. Not too much drama went on. We did have a member, Shuntelle, call us and said that she was moving to Lake Charles. I guess she and her mom got in a physical altercation and so she got out of there pretty quick. She's an interesting person. She is really nice and loves the church, but she is not all the way there mentally. So unfortunately it sounds like she moved in with some guy down in Lake Charles, so that wasn't the best news. Other then that though we steered clear from all the craziness.
We were able to have a lesson with a new Investigator, Julie. She had gone to church in the past. about 8 months ago. She is a friend of Ms. Ann, a member, and really likes coming to church. I guess though when she was coming before her parents told her that she couldn't go anymore. They're Catholic, so they didn't really want her going regularly to our church, I guess. Well that made her go off the deep end I guess or she went rebellious because her parents wouldn't let her go anymore. So she showed up to church with Ms. Ann a couple of weeks ago and I guess her parents are ok with her going to church because they figure that at least she's going to church and it will be a positive influence for her. We were able to have a lesson with her and Ms. Ann on Wednesday and then again yesterday. They both went really well. She is really smart for a 16 year old in her knowledge of the gospel and the questions that she asks are really good. She said yesterday that she is torn between the two church's and is trying to decide which one is right and which one she wants to go to. We're really excited though to work with her and I could see her being baptized in a couple of months which would really help her out in her life. Well other then that not too much happened. I hope you all have a great week and hopefully I'll have some more exciting news next week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
Crazy Week, June 11, 2012
Hey everyone,
So mass craziness broke out this week. I don't know what hit Marksville but everything just went haywire this week. I guess the adversary was working hard this week, I don't know, but it was crazy. So to start off we went over to Michelle's this week on I think it was Wednesday. We had a good lesson with her and everything. We went to go see her sister Sonia who lives on the next street over in the same trailer park. We pulled up and there were four cars that we did not recognize at her house. There was a private investigator there too with his police badge hanging around his neck. We asked him if Sonia was there and he said he didn't know who Sonia was. Then the landlord came over and told him that we were people from her church. So then he told us that Sonia wasn't there, so it was really weird. So we drove off and were starting to head home when Michelle called us and told us that we needed to come back and give her ex-boyfriend Tony a blessing. So we turned around and came back. We were outside on the porch halfway through giving the blessing to Tony when Michelle's friend Crystal, who lives two trailers down, came running and screaming telling Michelle that they had to leave now. Well then the Private investigators came running up and told Crystal to come back because they were going to search her trailer. I guess they had been following Crystal for a while and now since they were there they were going to search her trailer for drugs. Well then a sheriff pulls up and blocks off the street so we can't leave. I was like what in the world is going on. So after a little bit we asked the sheriff if we could leave because we were missionaries and had just been visiting Michelle. Luckily they let us leave and we didn't get caught up in all that mess. So later we found out from Michelle that they found a grinder in Crystal's trailer but she blamed it on a neighbor and said that he broke into her trailer and put it there. I guess the police bought it because Crystal didn't get in any trouble. Well that's only the beginning of the craziness. I'll have to leave out details now because I don't have too much time left on the computer. So two days later we find out that they searched Michelle's trailer too and apparently found prescription drugs in there and we found out that Michelle is living with Tony again. It's just sad because she was doing so good and then just one week after her baptism she just fell off. We're going to try to work with her though, but she might be going to jail for a little bit.
Oh yeah, also the reason the private investigators were over at Sonia's was because I guess Sonia set up her husband Lucius for cultivation of an illegal substance. I guess he came home high a few days ago and Sonia told him that was it that she was done with him. So they are getting divorced and she set him up because he had been growing a marijuana plant there in their house!
Then on Sunday another recent convert ,Naomi, flipped on everybody and stormed out of the church saying she was never coming back. I guess someone made a comment to her of how she was dressed too immodestly for church. Well that was bad of the member who said that but Naomi also has a lot of emotional problems. I guess she's done that once before. So that was pretty crazy too. Hopefully we will be able to talk to her and help her out to come back to church.
So the week was not the best but we did still find two new people to teach and the members are starting to do more towards missionary work. I also had an interview this week with President Wall. He is awesome! Anyways he told me that I will most likely be training my last transfer. So I'm pretty excited about that. Well I have to go. I love you all and hope that you have a great and blessed week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
So mass craziness broke out this week. I don't know what hit Marksville but everything just went haywire this week. I guess the adversary was working hard this week, I don't know, but it was crazy. So to start off we went over to Michelle's this week on I think it was Wednesday. We had a good lesson with her and everything. We went to go see her sister Sonia who lives on the next street over in the same trailer park. We pulled up and there were four cars that we did not recognize at her house. There was a private investigator there too with his police badge hanging around his neck. We asked him if Sonia was there and he said he didn't know who Sonia was. Then the landlord came over and told him that we were people from her church. So then he told us that Sonia wasn't there, so it was really weird. So we drove off and were starting to head home when Michelle called us and told us that we needed to come back and give her ex-boyfriend Tony a blessing. So we turned around and came back. We were outside on the porch halfway through giving the blessing to Tony when Michelle's friend Crystal, who lives two trailers down, came running and screaming telling Michelle that they had to leave now. Well then the Private investigators came running up and told Crystal to come back because they were going to search her trailer. I guess they had been following Crystal for a while and now since they were there they were going to search her trailer for drugs. Well then a sheriff pulls up and blocks off the street so we can't leave. I was like what in the world is going on. So after a little bit we asked the sheriff if we could leave because we were missionaries and had just been visiting Michelle. Luckily they let us leave and we didn't get caught up in all that mess. So later we found out from Michelle that they found a grinder in Crystal's trailer but she blamed it on a neighbor and said that he broke into her trailer and put it there. I guess the police bought it because Crystal didn't get in any trouble. Well that's only the beginning of the craziness. I'll have to leave out details now because I don't have too much time left on the computer. So two days later we find out that they searched Michelle's trailer too and apparently found prescription drugs in there and we found out that Michelle is living with Tony again. It's just sad because she was doing so good and then just one week after her baptism she just fell off. We're going to try to work with her though, but she might be going to jail for a little bit.
Oh yeah, also the reason the private investigators were over at Sonia's was because I guess Sonia set up her husband Lucius for cultivation of an illegal substance. I guess he came home high a few days ago and Sonia told him that was it that she was done with him. So they are getting divorced and she set him up because he had been growing a marijuana plant there in their house!
Then on Sunday another recent convert ,Naomi, flipped on everybody and stormed out of the church saying she was never coming back. I guess someone made a comment to her of how she was dressed too immodestly for church. Well that was bad of the member who said that but Naomi also has a lot of emotional problems. I guess she's done that once before. So that was pretty crazy too. Hopefully we will be able to talk to her and help her out to come back to church.
So the week was not the best but we did still find two new people to teach and the members are starting to do more towards missionary work. I also had an interview this week with President Wall. He is awesome! Anyways he told me that I will most likely be training my last transfer. So I'm pretty excited about that. Well I have to go. I love you all and hope that you have a great and blessed week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
Awesome Week June 4, 2012
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had as great of week as I had here in Marksville. For one Michelle was baptized on Saturday!! It went pretty good. Unfortunately it took six tries to get her fully immersed. She got pretty frustrated and embarrassed, but after she came back in the spirit was definitely there and she looked peaceful. So that was super sweet. At the beginning of the week it was looking like it was going to be a crazy week. Michelle's sister, Sonia, was baptized about 8 months ago and she and Michelle had not been talking to each other because of some drama that went on just a little while ago. So there was some contention there and Sonia was thinking about not coming to church anymore because of it. Well we were able to meet with Sonia on Saturday morning and work things out. Then on Sunday she and Michelle were talking and I guess had made up. So it looked like it was heading towards disaster but in the end everything worked out. It strengthened my testimony of how much God really cares about his children and that he will always be triumphant over the adversary.
This week I was also able to go to a meeting that we had with a general authority. It was Elder Gibbons of the Second Quarom of the Seventy. He talked to us about working better with the ward members in doing missionary work. He talked about how the members job isn't to find us people to teach, but that it is our job to help members to teach their friends. He gave us a lot of good instructions on how to help members do missionary work and how the Bishop holds the keys to missionary work in the area and that we need to go to him for inspiration on how we can help the work to move forward in our areas. It was a really good meeting and I learned a lot. I almost think it was more to help me when I go back home of how to continue to do missionary work.
Well I truly love it out here and there is nothing else that I would rather be doing right now. I know without a doubt that this is Christ's true gospel once again restored to the earth in it's fullness. I know that it is what we will find the most happiness and joy in. I love being out here and the privilege I have to be part of this great work. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope you all had as great of week as I had here in Marksville. For one Michelle was baptized on Saturday!! It went pretty good. Unfortunately it took six tries to get her fully immersed. She got pretty frustrated and embarrassed, but after she came back in the spirit was definitely there and she looked peaceful. So that was super sweet. At the beginning of the week it was looking like it was going to be a crazy week. Michelle's sister, Sonia, was baptized about 8 months ago and she and Michelle had not been talking to each other because of some drama that went on just a little while ago. So there was some contention there and Sonia was thinking about not coming to church anymore because of it. Well we were able to meet with Sonia on Saturday morning and work things out. Then on Sunday she and Michelle were talking and I guess had made up. So it looked like it was heading towards disaster but in the end everything worked out. It strengthened my testimony of how much God really cares about his children and that he will always be triumphant over the adversary.
This week I was also able to go to a meeting that we had with a general authority. It was Elder Gibbons of the Second Quarom of the Seventy. He talked to us about working better with the ward members in doing missionary work. He talked about how the members job isn't to find us people to teach, but that it is our job to help members to teach their friends. He gave us a lot of good instructions on how to help members do missionary work and how the Bishop holds the keys to missionary work in the area and that we need to go to him for inspiration on how we can help the work to move forward in our areas. It was a really good meeting and I learned a lot. I almost think it was more to help me when I go back home of how to continue to do missionary work.
Well I truly love it out here and there is nothing else that I would rather be doing right now. I know without a doubt that this is Christ's true gospel once again restored to the earth in it's fullness. I know that it is what we will find the most happiness and joy in. I love being out here and the privilege I have to be part of this great work. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
Great Week. May 29, 2012
Hey Everyone,
I hope y'all had a great week. We've been seeing tons of miracles here in Marksville. To begin with Michelle is ready to be baptized on Saturday! So we're super excited for that. It was looking like we were going to have to postpone it and we were having a hard time getting a hold of her. Luckily she was there when we stopped by. We had a good lesson with her about the Doctrine of Christ and then went over the baptismal interview questions with her. It went good and we are really excited for her. We also have Zak, who is a friend of a member, Tiffany, who is doing really good. He came to church for the second time on sunday and he really enjoyed it again. He also, has already stopped smoking without us even teaching the Word of Wisdom. He is a cool guy and he is really searching for the truth. He is set to be baptized on June 23rd! So things are going pretty good here in Marksville. We haven't done any of it either. The lord was truly preparing people here in this area.
So it is now finally getting ridiculously hot! It just makes me think of last summer and how miserable it was! It seems like though that the summers are a lot bettter for missionary work for some reason. So it makes the summers a lot better. Well I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope y'all had a great week. We've been seeing tons of miracles here in Marksville. To begin with Michelle is ready to be baptized on Saturday! So we're super excited for that. It was looking like we were going to have to postpone it and we were having a hard time getting a hold of her. Luckily she was there when we stopped by. We had a good lesson with her about the Doctrine of Christ and then went over the baptismal interview questions with her. It went good and we are really excited for her. We also have Zak, who is a friend of a member, Tiffany, who is doing really good. He came to church for the second time on sunday and he really enjoyed it again. He also, has already stopped smoking without us even teaching the Word of Wisdom. He is a cool guy and he is really searching for the truth. He is set to be baptized on June 23rd! So things are going pretty good here in Marksville. We haven't done any of it either. The lord was truly preparing people here in this area.
So it is now finally getting ridiculously hot! It just makes me think of last summer and how miserable it was! It seems like though that the summers are a lot bettter for missionary work for some reason. So it makes the summers a lot better. Well I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
Great Week May 21, 2012
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had an awesome week. We had a really good one here in Marksville. We've been seeing lots of miracles and the lord is definitely preparing people here in Marksville. We have a former investigator, Michelle, who came to church last week and this week. We were able to teach her on Saturday. She is awesome and committed to be baptized on June 2. I guess the only thing that was holding her back before from being baptized was she was living with her boyfriend. So we are really excited for her and to work with her. We also had a member, TIffany Peche, bring her friend, Zak, to church. He is pretty interested in the church and we have an appointment to teach him on Wednesday. We also have a couple of people that we've contacted that we should be having lessons with this week. So things are going pretty good here in Marksville so far. Can't think of too much else to say. I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope you all had an awesome week. We had a really good one here in Marksville. We've been seeing lots of miracles and the lord is definitely preparing people here in Marksville. We have a former investigator, Michelle, who came to church last week and this week. We were able to teach her on Saturday. She is awesome and committed to be baptized on June 2. I guess the only thing that was holding her back before from being baptized was she was living with her boyfriend. So we are really excited for her and to work with her. We also had a member, TIffany Peche, bring her friend, Zak, to church. He is pretty interested in the church and we have an appointment to teach him on Wednesday. We also have a couple of people that we've contacted that we should be having lessons with this week. So things are going pretty good here in Marksville so far. Can't think of too much else to say. I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Cooper
May 14, 2012 New Area
Hey Everyone,
So my new area is Marksville. It is a smaller town in the northern part of the mission. It is pretty sweet and I'm excited to be here, back where there are a lot of Cajun people. My new companion is Elder Jensen. He's from Utah, of course, and he's pretty awesome. So it's pretty sweet, we have a branch here in Marksville and we meet in a triple wide trailer! It's pretty awesome. There's about 25 to 30 people who come a week. So yeah I'm just excited to start working here and to find those who are being prepared. I hope you all have a great week and I'll write more next time.
Oh yeah my new address is : 113 S. Main #5
Marksville, La 71351
Love,
Elder Cooper
So my new area is Marksville. It is a smaller town in the northern part of the mission. It is pretty sweet and I'm excited to be here, back where there are a lot of Cajun people. My new companion is Elder Jensen. He's from Utah, of course, and he's pretty awesome. So it's pretty sweet, we have a branch here in Marksville and we meet in a triple wide trailer! It's pretty awesome. There's about 25 to 30 people who come a week. So yeah I'm just excited to start working here and to find those who are being prepared. I hope you all have a great week and I'll write more next time.
Oh yeah my new address is : 113 S. Main #5
Marksville, La 71351
Love,
Elder Cooper
May 8, 2012 Transferred
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had a great week. So I found out that I'm getting transferred and that they are closing down the area temporarily. I guess there are more missionaries leaving then coming in so they had to close down a couple of areas. Also,
I guess the Bishop asked for it to be closed becuase having four sets of missionaries was too much for the ward to support. I'm sad to leave because I was hoping to finish out here, but oh well. So I heard that I'm possibly going to Marksville. It's a small town and it's north of Opelousas, my old area. It should be pretty sweet. Well I don't have too much more time. I have a lot to do today and I still have to pack. Well I love you all and hope you have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope you all had a great week. So I found out that I'm getting transferred and that they are closing down the area temporarily. I guess there are more missionaries leaving then coming in so they had to close down a couple of areas. Also,
I guess the Bishop asked for it to be closed becuase having four sets of missionaries was too much for the ward to support. I'm sad to leave because I was hoping to finish out here, but oh well. So I heard that I'm possibly going to Marksville. It's a small town and it's north of Opelousas, my old area. It should be pretty sweet. Well I don't have too much more time. I have a lot to do today and I still have to pack. Well I love you all and hope you have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
Another slow week April 30th
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had a great week. It was pretty much the same thing here. We weren't able to see any of the people we wanted to and appointments fell through again. It was still a pretty good week though. On Friday we had specialized training with President Wall. We learned how to better find people to teach through working through the members. It was really good and I learned a lot. Then on Saturday the ward had a day of service activity. We went down to the lower 9th ward and cleaned up two houses yards. The first house the grass was seriously 6 ft. tall, and the yard was about half an acre. It was really good though to go and do service and I love to do yard work now. It changes things up from what we do every day. Then after the service the ward had a fish fry at a park not to far from where we did the service. The catfish was really good, and there were quite a few non members there. Unfortunately the less active member that told us he was going to come didn't show up. His name is Roland Alexcee. He's an awesome guy and just hasn't been to church really since his baptism, which was about a year and a half ago. So were going to keep working with him though and he's told us that he is going to come to church soon. We just need him now to commit to a specific Sunday. Other then that not too much happened. Will keep working hard though and the blessings will come. I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope you all had a great week. It was pretty much the same thing here. We weren't able to see any of the people we wanted to and appointments fell through again. It was still a pretty good week though. On Friday we had specialized training with President Wall. We learned how to better find people to teach through working through the members. It was really good and I learned a lot. Then on Saturday the ward had a day of service activity. We went down to the lower 9th ward and cleaned up two houses yards. The first house the grass was seriously 6 ft. tall, and the yard was about half an acre. It was really good though to go and do service and I love to do yard work now. It changes things up from what we do every day. Then after the service the ward had a fish fry at a park not to far from where we did the service. The catfish was really good, and there were quite a few non members there. Unfortunately the less active member that told us he was going to come didn't show up. His name is Roland Alexcee. He's an awesome guy and just hasn't been to church really since his baptism, which was about a year and a half ago. So were going to keep working with him though and he's told us that he is going to come to church soon. We just need him now to commit to a specific Sunday. Other then that not too much happened. Will keep working hard though and the blessings will come. I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Elder Cooper
Great Week April 16, 2012
Hey Everyone,
I hope you all had an awesome week. Things here in New Orleans East are starting to pick up. We were able to start teaching a former investigator Herman Davis, which I just remembered I think I talked about him last week, Oh well. Anyways we taught him again this week and now I remember what his problems were last time. He thinks that we are saying that we gain salvation by going through Joseph Smith, and he says that he only will go through Christ. Which we explained to him is what we believe too, that it is only through Jesus Christ and his atonement that we will be saved. He thinks that we don't need prophets in our day and he says he will continue to keep searching for the truth. He did tell us though that he is going to keep studying the Book of Mormon and that if the Spirit tells him that what we are teaching is true then he will definitely be baptized. So we are going to definitely keep working with him and try to bring the spirit in as much as possible in the lessons. We also, received a lot of referrals these last two weeks. The Grants' referral is awesome and is really excited. Her name is Karen and she is looking for a church to join. She said that she has seen how happy the Grants are and that the church has helped them through a lot of things. Or I guess I should say the Gospel has helped them. We have a lesson set up tomorrow with her and we are really excited.
We also had a new Ward Mission leader called yesterday. He is awesome and is going to help us to get things moving and to get things done. I hope that I'm able to finish out here in the East. I know that it is just waiting to explode and that many great things are going to start happening here. It has been really hot this last week and it just made me think of how much I hated the weather last summer. But, the summer seems to be busier, too, teaching wise. I guess because people are less busy and more people are willing to let you in so you can get out of the heat. I love it out here and can't wait to see the progress that is going to start happening here. I hope that you are all doing well and that you all have a great week. Thank you all too for your support and Prayers.
Love,
Elder Cooper
I hope you all had an awesome week. Things here in New Orleans East are starting to pick up. We were able to start teaching a former investigator Herman Davis, which I just remembered I think I talked about him last week, Oh well. Anyways we taught him again this week and now I remember what his problems were last time. He thinks that we are saying that we gain salvation by going through Joseph Smith, and he says that he only will go through Christ. Which we explained to him is what we believe too, that it is only through Jesus Christ and his atonement that we will be saved. He thinks that we don't need prophets in our day and he says he will continue to keep searching for the truth. He did tell us though that he is going to keep studying the Book of Mormon and that if the Spirit tells him that what we are teaching is true then he will definitely be baptized. So we are going to definitely keep working with him and try to bring the spirit in as much as possible in the lessons. We also, received a lot of referrals these last two weeks. The Grants' referral is awesome and is really excited. Her name is Karen and she is looking for a church to join. She said that she has seen how happy the Grants are and that the church has helped them through a lot of things. Or I guess I should say the Gospel has helped them. We have a lesson set up tomorrow with her and we are really excited.
We also had a new Ward Mission leader called yesterday. He is awesome and is going to help us to get things moving and to get things done. I hope that I'm able to finish out here in the East. I know that it is just waiting to explode and that many great things are going to start happening here. It has been really hot this last week and it just made me think of how much I hated the weather last summer. But, the summer seems to be busier, too, teaching wise. I guess because people are less busy and more people are willing to let you in so you can get out of the heat. I love it out here and can't wait to see the progress that is going to start happening here. I hope that you are all doing well and that you all have a great week. Thank you all too for your support and Prayers.
Love,
Elder Cooper
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