Email 20: Exhaustion + Food Issues + Smiling

Sent June 3, 2013

Hello everyone! Thank you all for the emails! They were great to read! :) Brynne and Clark, I am glad you guys are so good at tennis, I can just imagine... So time is just flying by! We are already in June and my 19th is this week. Thanks for all of your birthday wishes. It will be a great birthday dedicated to serving the Lord :)

Let me tell you. I have NEVER been so exhausted in my life. This week was glorious. Elder Davis and I were thinking about what we needed to buy today grocery wise, and we realized that we didn't eat anything that we bought last week. We probably only ate three or four meals this week other than breakfasts. I mean I feel like I have done a lot of hard work throughout sports and working on the farm but there have not been many times in my life that I have been just flat-out tired. Both mentally and physically. But... I love it :) It is a great work and I do not want to save anything. Oh and more evidence that we worked harder than ever this week... The half-gallon of ice cream that I usually eat every week only had like 5 bites taken out of it. Geez.

I have been learning a lot recently about happiness and hope and faith and patience. We pretty much hit rock bottom this Sunday as far as investigators go. Three of our investigators straight up dropped us before church when we went to remind them. One of them being the whole Crain family. Makenzie, the mom, said she had been doing a lot of reading praying, talking with her family and her pastor, and she has decided that the current church she goes to is the right home for her family. When we were talking to her in her driveway Elder Davis and I were so sad. She had been feeling the Spirit so strong and was so excited about he Book of Mormon. But she left town for a week and we couldnt teach her and all of that happened. Hopefully something happens in her life that will cause her to give the Book of Mormon another chance. As far as the other investigators right now, they all dropped us and no one came to church this Sunday. But guess what. This is the Lord's Work, not mine. And He has asked me to forget myself and serve him diligently and faithfully and happily. I completely trust that the Lord has many great things in store for the White River area. I have been praying a lot and searching a lot and I feel like some of them have been revealed to me. I know what needs to be done here and I will just keep working with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength! I love it so much :) I can never stop smiling, I even tried once, couldnt do it.

We do have one investigator right now that WILL get baptized! though. I told you about Makayla last week. Well she is stoked about church and the Book of Mormon and she is progressing towards baptism. It could be any weekend now, it just depends on when she is ready! That was an incredible miracle for us and I know that the Lord is seeing our hard work and obedience!

I was thinking about the War in Heaven last night. Whatever type of war it was, I hope I was a valiant soldier on the front lines in Michael's Army. All I know is that I will be forever now. There is no stepping down! I love in Helaman 6:37 when it talks about them trying to get rid of the Gadianton Robbers and it says that they "preached the gospel to the more wicked part of them" The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only answer. Period. We must preach it to everyone!

President Larking promised each companionship in the Washington Seattle Mission on fastsunday that if they fasted and prayed with all of their hearts and then went out and did as they were asked that each companionship would fnind someone who is prepared to be baptized in June. He is an incredible man and leader and I love him so much. I cant believe the mission is splitting. June 18th is the transfer day that we will know where we are. I personally would like to stay in White River and the Federal Way Mission but the Lord's will be done :)

I haven't gotten any packages yet but I am excited to get them! Thanks!

Glad to hear that everyone is doing so well at home! Keep it up!

I promise you all that I am working my hardest and doing my best! I will give everything I have to the Lord! I love this work so much. I love this gospel. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know with all that I am that Jesus is the Christ, that His Atonement is real and powerful. The Plan is perfect. It is so glorious :) I love it all so much. I love you all so much. Praying for you! Until next week!

Elder Cook