Letter to home - May 25, 2009

HI Family! I hope that all is well. Things are good here. This past week was my first zone conference! It was amazing! There was so much stuff that I learned, about how to be a more effective missionary. We had it in Danville, at our stake center. It was my first and last zone conference with President and Sister Beck. They are wonderful! I will miss the Becks, but I am excited to meet President Wade. I hope that President Wade is a little more strict. I am sorry to say that our mission is a little disobedient. President Beck has never sent a missionary home, so missionaries here think that they can do whatever they want. At zone conference I got to see Elder Kesler! (my buddy from the MTC). He is doing good, but I feel bad for him. He is a great, hard working missionary, but his trainer just doesn't want to work. He is also in one of the roughest parts of the mission - in Richmond, and he is on bike. I really realized how blessed/spoiled that I am. I am so grateful and blessed that I got a trainer who actually works, and that I can start my mission on a good note (in beautiful San Ramon!). At zone conference we are taught by President and Sister Beck, the AP's and the zone leaders. We also get fed! We had a way good lunch that ward members prepared for us. We get our cars inspected, and Sister Beck awards her coveted chocolate chip cookies to whoever has the shiniest shoes! Its fun.

Well the work is going good. I have my first BAPTISM this week!!! We are baptizing James. I really didn't teach him much, but I am so blessed to be able to attend a baptism on my first transfer! I'm pretty excited! Elder Cain says that I am pretty lucky, because he didn't have a baptism until he was out for a whole year. I'm so blessed. We also have found some people that are interested during tracting. We also met with a former investigator. He has been taught before and has a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon. After we talked, he said the closing prayer, and in his prayer asked if he would find the truth. He is really searching for the truth! He has a lot of hard questions, so I hope and pray that I can do the Lords will, and answer his questions and baptize him! Hes a good one.

Well our roommates are great people, but not very obedient. They break a lot of rules. President has told them that they are going to the San Jose mission, to get a "fresh start", but Elder Cain tells me that he just wants to get rid of all the really disobedient missionaries. They are both from Utah. We really don't see them much because when we leave in the morning at 10am they are still sleeping, and they don't get home until late. It actually makes me kind of mad. Why would you even come out on a mission if your not going to work? I've decided that I'm going to give it my all out here, not waste my time, and be an example of how a missionary should act, not an example of how one shouldn't act.

About the bike situation - There is a member here (he is a recent convert) that is amazing! He is the best! He always takes the missionaries to get ice cream at Cold Stone, and this morning he took us golfing, at this golf club! I don't even golf! But it was way fun. He is very wealthy and had a full set of clubs for each of us to use. Anyway, he is letting me borrow his super nice bike! We have a car in this area, but some days we bike, because we can only drive so many miles a month. So I had to buy a helmet, but I hope that he will let me borrow him bike for like two years or something....He has bad knees and cant ride anyway, but we will see what happens. But I was pretty excited that I didn't have to spend $400 on a bike!

Well. we have dinners about 2 or 3 times a week, plus the members send us home with food all the time. Other than that, I survive off of PB&J sandwiches and granola bars. I haven't cooked anything yet, but I might start soon. I also eat apples and carrots, to try and stay somewhat healthy.

Well our schedule follows the one in the handbook. We tract from 5-7 every single day, then fill the rest of the day with appointments, visits to less actives or recent converts, and meetings (district meeting, ward correlation meetings, etc.) It is good. It is pretty much the same everyday-but very different, because we are meeting new people everyday, teaching different things, and tracting different streets, so it is good.
It was good to hear that preschool graduation went well. Last night I was at a member house for dinner and was playing with their little kids, and I thought about the pre school kids.

The Lord is blessing me so much everyday. It is hard sometimes, but hope to learn everything I need to. I want to truly be converted myself, so that I can teach with power and conviction. It is hard to know when the spirit is talking to me, and when it is just my own thoughts, but I need to remember patience, and have faith that I will be directed. The Lord will bless me and help me to grow.

Well I love you all so much. Being out here, I have really noticed how blessed I am to have an eternal family. I have really taken my life for granted. I love you all so much and am so thankful to have the best family in the world, who loves and supports me.

-Elder Cook
ps -I have talked to other missionaries and they all say that you should just send mail through the mission home, especially any packages. It only takes a day longer to get the letters, and it makes sure that the packages don't get stolen.
Also - are you forwarding my emails to everyone? I don't mind as long as you delete the parts that you think are only for the family.
Holy cow this is a long email!