Email 56: A Baptism + SNOW + Church Cancelled

Sent on February 10, 2014

Hello!! It was great to hear from you all this week! It has been such a grand one. Too many great things are happening right now. It is hard to keep track of all that the Lord is blessing me with!

Isaac Yiadom Adu was baptized this Saturday!!! Holy smokes it was the greatest ever. He bore a short testimony while he was still in the font and I started to cry I was so happy! Then he bore his testimony in Twe, his African language and it was super sweet. He is a prime example of how the Spirit can teach of truth. Communicating with him is hard at times because his accent is so heavy and he doesn't understand all of English, but his testimony of the truth of this gospel and church are so powerful. He just reads, prays, comes to church, and HE KNOWS! He is going back to Ghana in March and he is pumped to be a member in his home country and serve there. What a champion. He already gave me his address in Ghana so we can write and he told me I need to come visit him next year in Ghana haha. I love that 75 year-old, beautiful, Ghanan man!

Right before the baptism on Saturday, it actually started to snow!! It got real slick right before and the Spanish Sisters actually got stuck right outside the church. So then we have the baptism and all is well until we go outside haha. Being on the roads in Washington during a snowstorm is like trying to have a picnic on Iwo Jima during World War 2! No one here knows how to drive in snow! This is a literal depiction. We watched car after car after car hit each other haha, and there were like 8 mass pile-ups just in Federal Way! It was crazy and funny all at the same time. We had to follow the Sisters home to make sure they got there safe, then we had to go and help some Elders who got in a crash, then we get a call from two other Elders saying that they are stuck at their Elder's Quorum President's house and they couldn't get out. So we drove Cathy (the Fusion), through the chaos and rescued them haha. It was pretty insane how chaotic it was. Thank goodness for Idaho! All ended well except CHURCH GOT CANCELLED THE NEXT DAY! Made me upset. So Isaac has to wait til next Sunday to be confirmed.

Everyone asked about what my responsibilities were as a Zone Leader and what not and what the best part is. So ya.. I pretty much just lead the Zone haha. I love getting to work with Elder Mckendrick, my trainer, who is the assistant over my zone, as well as President Eaton. I love how the responsibility has increased my ability to love and care for other missionaries. It has pushed me to be better in all aspects and I love that as well. It is a lot of fun!!

This next week is going to be a great one! Two members of the Missionary Department are coming to our mission this week to do some training. We get to have a leadership council with them this Thursday and that is going to be awesome. Also, one of them is going to come and work with Elder Cannon and I from 4-9  tomorrow! So that will be pretty sweet!

Another sweet miracle! I have had this inkling for a couple weeks of a certain little street we needed to tract. Finally the time came where we had an extra 30 mins to plan for and it came to me again. So we went and knocked and we came to one door and the lady answers and says "oh hey I am on my way out right now but you can come back any time tomorrow" I asked what her name was and she said "sister during." She is a member that we didn't know about! We went back the next day and she tells us how she has had an extremely tough year with two deaths in the family and how she has turned to alcohol. She wants to quit and get back to the things that make her happy, especially the church! Also, she has two kids, Joseph and Diamond, who have not been baptized yet and they want to take the lessons and get baptized soon!! So sweet!

Too many great things happening right now! I love it so much. Much more to do! Transfers next week (crazy right?). We will see what happens.

Keep on working! Keep Studying, praying, and loving! I love you all so much! Have a great week! 

Elder Cook