Merry Christmas!

It was good to talk to you on Christmas. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one that felt nervous

Sanding toy cars that we gave to kids in our area

to talk. It was weird. I don't know why I felt like that but I did. I do agree with you about it being not very personal but it was good to SEE everyone. That really was just what I wanted. I could have sat and looked at you guys forever and been completely happy. Next time we need to actually talk too, ha-ha. So it's less pause and more talk. I hated how short it was and then I didn't want to sign off at the end.

The cool thing about being on a mission is it's Christmas all the time. They talk about having an eternal focus and really, that's all you have as a missionary. You know, you have it when some one slams a door and you feel bad that they didn't let you talk to them. It's their salvation, not ours. This Christmas was really different. It was really CHRIST-mas. It was all about Him and how He was the gift that forever changed the eternities. It was good. 

We went and talked to our families, which couldn't have gone better (other than longer time and if they where here with us). Then we went to a dinner with a less-active family. They fed us ham and potatoes and we laughed and talked to them for a while. Then we went and picked up a member, Marlen Gaddis, and took him to a shut-in's house. We spent an hour with him and listened as he talked about the Savoir. It was great. 

My district sang at a devotional. It was the first time I ever had to do that!

The rest of the week was good. I thought that I was going to be super homesick after talking to everyone on Skype but I wasn't. After I was done blowing my nose and wiping my tears away, of course. It's almost like talking to you guys gave me strength to go out and do it again at least for another five months. (Mother's Day is just around the corner!)

It was a good second-to-last Christmas! (When I say it like that, it makes it seem shorter. ha. ha.)  

Love,
    Cooper

This is all of  the missionaries in the Michigan Detroit Mission at the Christmas Celebration on December 24th.  

Transfers and Training

Elder Oviatt

So this week went really good. I got to go to transfer meeting and I got my new companion. His name is Elder Oviatt. He's from Washington state. I'm finishing up his training, so he's really green but, honestly, he came pre-trained (he's been in the mission for six weeks). The only thing that I might have to help him with is to grin and bear it while tracting. ha-ha That's something that I still need to work on! I think that he is super cool so far. I don't really have any complaints. He went to BYU-I for a semester before coming out here. He is really funny and laughs a lot. He's really easy to talk to and he is just a normal person. It sounds dumb but I love that the most! He isn't something robotic and he understands that he needs to be himself--but just a better version of himself. This transfer should be great!

Dearborn is a lot different from Plymouth and a whole new world from Northville and from home but it's good. I am still so confused on the roads so I let Elder Oviatt drive me. ha-ha. It makes me feel important and he likes to drive so it all works out. There are crazy Michigan lefts and like five-road intersections everywhere. So I don't plan on driving until I absolutely have to. There are a lot of really cool people that we are teaching here. There is a family that the boy wants to get baptized but the dad is still not sure. Their name is the Diens family. They are really cool. The boy came to church with us for the first time this week so that was really cool. We have a really awesome guy named Marlen that goes out with us. He is so funny. He is this big black guy. We call him "Mr. President." He is the worst back seat driver ever but he loves to go out with us. He lives in the Detroit side of our area so he can and is willing to go whenever we need him. So that's also really cool.

I'm happy to be here. I feel like I have the Spirit with me more and Elder Oviatt is on fire so it's totally helping keep my fire going.  I'm pumped about the new area. Hopefully the next couple weeks go as good as this one.

Love,
   Cooper

We made some epic nachos!

Then we got diabetes in a single square!  It's fudge and caramel all-in-one-- It was great!

Riding in Style

This week a lot actually happened. It was a good week to end the transfer with!

Monday we didn't do too much out of the ordinary. We had a Christmas open house on Saturday so

we went out and delivered the invitations to that. Tuesday we went out teaching with a ward missionary. His name is Brock. He is sweet--the best ward missionary ever! He works for Ford so once in a while he drives a test car that he is trying to gather information on. Well, he pulled up in a 2015 Porsche! It was so cool! It was so fast! He punched it a couple of times to "test" the car and the brakes. Oh my gosh! It was so great. He said that it was a $120,000 car. I started to drool. It was great! It's sad when you wish that your lesson would get over so that you could go get back in the car! Sad to say but the lady we were visiting was kind of dull in comparison. We just had to check on her for Brother Clawson, the ward mission leader. The next day we just spent the whole time giving out flyers and the following day was pretty much the same.

Friday we went tracting for the first time almost all week. We met this really neat guy named Ramon. He is Persian. He was a soldier that protected President Carter. He has a master's degree in chemistry and a PhD in polymer chemistry. He is now divorced and lost his job because he has a gambling problem. It's sad to see people that are absolute genius's destroyed because of an addiction! We also went and saw that Christian family that fed us dinner forever ago. They let us right back in and talked with us for a good 45 minutes. They are so great! I am still absolutely shocked by them! We brought them a framed copy of "The Proclamation to the World" as a gift for their kindness towards us. They invited us to come back. They are so awesome! As we left, the husband shook our hands. I went to shake his wife's hand and she refused and gave me a hug instead! I officially adopt them as family! I was so happy!

The Christmas party was a great success. The ward was great--they actually brought people. They had a great program. There was a less-active boy that came. He sat and talked to me about wresting the whole time. He actually knew the names of moves and stuff. Obviously he didn't know that I was a guy that wrestled just for fun--not so much for the winning!

We got the transfer calls that night too...so I'm leaving! I won't find out where I'm going until tomorrow morning but I'm excited for it. Some place new, with new people. I asked Heavenly Father to send me where I would grow the most. So I guess that's were I'm headed! It must be so good that Satan is working against me. I filled up my water bottle last night and was walking back to bed and I ran into the corner of the wall! It hurt! I went and laid down and then I realized I was bleeding! I had split my head open, not very big but it was bleeding pretty good!

By the way, I returned the boots that I bought. They were more for style than for keeping my feet warm. The store we went to get Army boots was out of black in my size. We stopped by a Red Wing store. We went in and pretty much walked right back out. Elder Iverson asked the guy what he could get for $60. The man told him he had some socks he could get. Ha.ha. Yeah, he was serious. So we went to Payless and I got some big klunky boots. Yuck! I hate boots. They are so awkward to wear and I feel slow and zombie-like in them. One thing I'm learning out here is that there is no such thing as comfort and style. It's all about how much it costs and will it last. Luckily we don't have any snow so I wore the boots for a week and then went back to my shoes.

I can't wait to see where I'm going! I'll work hard! I'll mail you a letter with my new address on it. I hope you have a good week!

Love,
    Cooper

The past district. I wanted to take a picture in some nun robes because this week, on the 18th, I'll be a brand new sister missionary--18 months to go!  I'm afraid they didn't have one that I could borrow. Bummer!

Still Finding

This week was a little better than last week. We didn't have any lessons but I felt like it was more successful. We tried to contact all the potential investigators that we had found and everybody that we haven't heard from in a while to share the "He is the Gift" video with them and see if they would still like to meet with us or for some to set up a return appointment. No one was home though. That was a bummer.

Elder Iverson

We got to go on exchanges this Wednesday. I got to go out with Elder Iverson. He's one of the zone leaders. I had a good time. I had fun. We just went and knocked doors all day but I enjoyed it. Some times it is absolutely awful.

We have been meeting with one of the young men in the ward to "practice" our teaching and to give him the lessons to hopefully get his testimony strong enough to go back to church. The lessons have gone good so far. This week he accepted our invitation for him to come out with us to testify that Joseph smith is a prophet. Hopefully we can get the appointment set up so we can actually take him with us to do it! We also have another guy in the ward that we are going to try to start meeting with him. He hasn't been coming so we went to meet their family this week. They were super cool. I felt right at home with them. Their son wasn't home so we didn't actually get to talk to him.

This Friday we had a big zone conference. It was great. I really enjoyed it. I love listening to President Gerber talk to us. He always helps me with something that I'm in need of, whether I know it or not! This Saturday we have transfer calls. I'll tell you what happens with transfers next Monday. I hope you have a good week.

Love,
    Cooper

The Life of a Missionary

This picture was taken at the Gardeners. He's the bishop of our ward. They had us and some of their extended family over for Thanksgiving dinner. It's funny that you mentioned my hair. I've just let it grow. I'm too lazy to go and get it cut. I don't want to spend p-day doing that so I've just let it go. It's almost been three months since I last got it cut!  I'm feeling really gross! After emailing today, I'm going to go get it cut. I'll send you a picture of that next week.

This week was really hard on me spiritually. We started off the week with a lesson on Monday. It was awful--like terrible! Possibly the worst lesson that I have ever tried to teach. We went in under prepared. It was with a guy named Jerry and his wife. They are very knowledgeable about The Bible and our church. This was our second lesson with them. The first, we just got to know them and tried to answer some of their questions. I would try to tell you how bad it was, but I can't. It just stunk! I was so frustrated and mad. When we walked out, I told them to read the chapters from the Book of Mormon we were leaving with them and to give us a call when they were able to meet again--using the holidays as the out. When we got outside, I told Elder Warner that we put their salvation in their own hands. I told him that I didn't want to go back unless they called us. Not the greatest missionary moment for me, to say the least.  The rest of the week we worked at finding people to teach.

Good-bye long hair!

Thanksgiving was a highlight for the week or really the only highlight of the week. We only have one real investigator and she doesn't even count anymore. She has stopped progressing. The next time we meet with Pamela, if she hasn't been reading or praying, we are going to have to drop her. Ugh! The life of a missionary: it's the best of times and the worst of times! Hopefully this week goes better.

Well I have to go. I'll talk to you next week. Keep praying for me! Prayers are the only thing that gives me the strength to get up some mornings. Know I do the same for you!

Love,
     Cooper

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just so you know I'm still alive!

This week was good. Nothing too exciting that happened, the weather was crazy though! They told us that the weather was going to turn cold and it did! Wednesday it dropped into the 20's and 30's. It was crazy! It snowed and kept snowing. That was kind of a cool thing. It's definitely a new experience riding a bike in the snow. The thing that I hate is that in Michigan they use salt like it's going out of style! It's awful! It melts the snow but it makes your bike rust really fast and it flips all over the place while you ride. I joked that God should work like these people. If the salt of the Earth loses it's savor, then just put more down! ha-ha. I know that's not how it works but really, the salt on the roads is nuts.

We found a couple new investigators this week. Sadly, neither panned out though. We had a good lesson with Pamela. We covered all the commandments with her and are getting ready to answer the questions she has about what she doesn't know--like the Word of  Wisdom and things like that. We probably won't get to meet with her this week so we'll have to wait until next week.

Elder Warner getting ready for the cold. 

We had stake conference this weekend it was great. There were some families from the Northville Ward that I was happy to see again. The talks were great. It was good to get to listen to the stake president talk. I think that he is an amazing guy. You could feel the love he had for the people in the meeting. It was sincere and heart felt. It was great! Then Sunday we got to go to the rest of conference. There were some really good speakers. They did a great job covering their topics.

The weather warmed up into the 40's on Saturday and Sunday so all the snow is gone again. Saturday morning we came out and it was raining and it was freezing rain! It was really bad in the apartment complex but once we got on the road, it was good. It was nice not to have the snow sticking to the tires of the bikes. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful week.

Well, I have to go. I love you. Know that I'm happy and that I haven't been shot or mugged yet. I'm the one that people worry about here!  I know how to use the Good Book!! ha-ha! I hope you have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,
  Cooper

This is a squirrel we feed once in a while.  He is super fat and comes
right up to you. I now know why Uncle Si, from Duck Dynasty,
 said he went to pet a dog and it was a squirrel. They are huge here!

Ready for Snow!

This week was good. The weather was really nice Monday and Tuesday but after that it got cold. It snowed a little but it didn't stick. Today we got up and there was snow on the ground and its cold enough to keep it there. I guess that we are suppose to get at least two or three inches by Tuesday. I'm pretty excited still. It will be something to throw some spice into our rides. I decided that Michigan was okay. It wasn't all bad. They have a Kohl's,  so I went and got a big winter coat and some boots. I should be ready for the snow but everyone here is really not looking forward to the cold.

We found a couple cool people this week. We found two new investigators. One is a newly married couple--they just moved from Utah. The wife invited us to come back and we could talk to her and her husband. The other lady was older and she invited us to come back and gave us her phone number. It was really a shock! Most people don't really like to give us a phone number and she was more than willing to. I'm excited to see them both this next week.

Another kind of cool thing is that there was a Muslim guy that let us come back and talk to him. He totally turned the table on us! We told him that we invite people read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if its true. He told us he had already read it and the King James version of the Bible, old and new testaments. He's read the New International Men's version and the Jehovah's Witnesses version  and he gave us a copy of the Quran. He invited us to go and read our book's first and then read this. It was crazy! He did to us what we do with people every day. It was a little different. So now I can say that I've been given a Quran and a  Jehovah's Witness Bible. I know neither hold the truth but I think it's still cool that I've gotten them! Other than that, this week went by without too much excitement.

I was going to send pictures but I forgot the cord to my camera. Next week, I'll send you pictures.

Love,
   Cooper

Taught by the Spirit

This week went really good. I started to fall apart closer to the end of the week. It's weird to think that only a short while ago, I didn't like to go to church and being there was a chore for me. I can say that now I've changed. When I first got out here, Elder Olsen told me that eventually you, as a missionary, need to go to church. I thought that he was crazy but I get it now. If I couldn't go to church, I wouldn't be able to get through the week. I would be so dead. My spiritual battery would give out on me. It's nuts! I was thankful to go yesterday. It gave me the peace and strength that I need to go out and keep talking to people.

We got to teach Craig and his wife this week. We met his wife for the first time and she was really nice. We taught her the restoration. I was super glad we had a member there with us. We teach simple truths and Craig knows those really well. He wants to know the "meat" of the gospel. The member answered his questions and finally he was content. Afterwards, I was so drained it was bad. We went home and had dinner and went to bed. I was glad that we taught him at the end of the night. I'm excited to go and see him this week. I hope that he has been reading so we can talk about it with him and his wife.

We also got to teach Pamela this week. I don't think I've told you about her before. She is an engineer and is super duper smart! She knows her church stuff! She is probably 25 and taught six years of Sunday School in a Lutheran church. She has been meeting with us the whole time I've been here. She is a hard person to teach. Finally we gave her a teaching record and told her, "These are the things we can talk about and these are the commitment we leave with people. Why don't you choose what we talk about?" So this last week we talked about the atonement and why we need it. It was great! The Spirit was there and Elder Warner and I knew it. We were able to talk and teach and she said she had an "a-ha moment." It was great! It was so cool. I learned and understood mercy and justice better now and why we need them. I was just as much the student as she was. It was amazing! This next week she asked that we define love, yep, love. It's going to be a new experience. I'm pumped about it!

Those were the highlights of the week. I do wish that the weather would change already. If its cold, it needs to snow. I hate the wind--it's nasty! But I guess when I get home I won't need a car. I'll be conditioned to ride my bike through all types of weather! (But I'll still choose to drive over the bike ha-ha!)

Love,
  Cooper

Keeping the Faith

So this week was good--nothing really too great happened but I did have some really cool experiences. We found a new investigator. We knocked on his door and heard someone inside drop something and then it got quiet. We waited and knocked again--nothing. So we left a card and went to the next house. We heard some one call out "hey guys!" so we stepped around the garage and the guy at the house we just knocked was calling us back. He let us in and offered us some water. He said he was Catholic and his wife was from the Church of Christ. He had gone to her church once thinking it was one and done, but he never went back to the Catholic church. He wanted a Book of Mormon. He is trying to find the books that should be in the Bible that the Catholics took out. So we have a return appointment with him on Tuesday. He is sneaking it! He doesn't want his wife to find out about us meeting with him or she'll freak! It's funny. Normally, it's the other way around! His name is Dave. I can't wait to see him. Hopefully he is ready for the gospel. He seems "golden" so keep your fingers crossed.

We didn't get to meet with Craig or Fred, so that's a bummer. We are going to see Craig this Saturday. Fred is getting married so it might be a while till we can see him. But we know where he lives so we'll just keep going back!

On Halloween we didn't get to go trick or treating, that was a bummer but we had interviews.  We also got to watch "Meet the Mormons." It was awesome! I loved it! It felt good just to check out for a while and watch something and not have to knock doors or ride our bikes. The interviews were great. I love to meet with President Gerber. He gave me some things to help along the path to becoming better so I'm stoked. It's not going to be easy. Hopefully I get it all figured out!

Some really good news is that I get to stay with Elder Warner for another transfer. I'm excited. He's awesome and we get stuff done. That's the best part. Ha-ha. Today we were feeling it, so we broke out the Christmas music. I know it's not Thanksgiving yet but it made me happy so what more could I have asked for!

I forgot to tell you about Jacob. He's was excommunicated, had a really tough life, and he wants to come back. He contacted us. We went over and pretty much told him he had to do everything we told him or else he wouldn't make it back. He followed our commitments to the "t" and more! In three days you could see the change. You could feel it in the way he sat and talked. His apartment felt different. It was amazing! So cool! I hope to find more people like him who are willing to do whatever it takes to get on the right track!

You and Gramma would be so proud of me. Last week, the hem hem came out of one of the legs of my grey suit pants. I had to fix it! I tried and failed...there was a pucker in them. I was so frustrated! So a few days later, I sat back down and got them out. I worked on it for over an hour, working as patiently as I could. And I actually fixed them! I was so happy! I know it's small but I was super happy about it! God totally had a hand it in!

I hope that you have a great week. Know that I'm thinking about you and hope that everything is working out back home.

Love,
   Cooper

True Christians

This week was good. I'll only give you the highlights. So Tuesday I met the nicest family.  They were the definition of christian. We had been knocking doors for a couple of hours and there wasn't anyone on the street that wanted to let us in or even listen to us. So that was such a bummer and it, of course, was cold. We were almost done--we had like three more houses until we were back on the bikes. We knocked on this door and we said our little speel. The lady was older and she said she had just been telling her grandson about us, explaining that we were missionaries out sharing that God loved people. She asked us if we had eaten. We said we hadn't and she told us to come and join them for dinner.

She apologized for not fixing something better but she didn't know that we were coming. Her daughter-in-law and two grandsons were over. We went in and they moved over for us and got us plates. It was the weirdest thing ever! I have never felt so welcomed or at home. They made every member that I've ever met look bad! They were so nice. They shared what they were doing in their; lives the big stuff that the boys had done at school that day. They were completely okay with us being there. We were there for a little over an hour. They asked once what church we were from because she had got a phone call and the person had asked. Other than that, we believed in Christ and so did they. That was enough.

I can't say enough good things about them. I would have no problem standing up, when they get to the judgment seat, and ask that God let them in. If not, give them my spot because they are more worthy than I could ever be. They are true Christians! That was the highlight of the week!

The rest of the week went really good. We got to teach Fred and Willy this week. Come to find out, Willy, our 90-year-old Swiss guy, is so old that he shook Henry Ford's hand. I was like "what? that's crazy!" Other than that there wasn't anything too great that happened.

I hope you have a great week.Thanks for the letters, emails, and the prayers!

Love,
   Cooper

Process of Purification

This week was great! Elder Warner and I are doing this thing called the "process of purification." It's where you fast and ask God to help you get your will more in line with His. It's pretty awesome! You start with a fast. Then you write the things that come to you through prayer or study.  Those are the things you give up. Lets just say that it is super hard! This is the second week doing it and I feel a change in us already. It's amazing!

We knocked more doors this week than I have ever done before and I actually loved it. I realized that nothing really makes me happy out here. The food is blah and sleep isn't satisfying. It's sad. I recognized I was happier out knocking doors than I was doing anything else. I'm not saying that it was any different but we changed. We are getting a lot better at stating simply what we are there for. We found three new people to teach, all in the same neighborhood. It took us 25 hours of knocking doors to do it, but we did it and actually enjoyed it! Two of those new investigators are "golden." They are looking for it.

One man is Craig. He's in his 50's, married with kids and is super cool. He let us right in his house when we knocked on the door merely because we were Christians. He also didn't want us to shake the dust off our feet on his door. Really cool! He was amazed that we knew so much theology at such a young age. We gave him a Book of Mormon. I'm excited to meet with him this week. The other "golden" guy is named Fred. He's a single dad. We knocked on his door after it got dark and he let us right in. He said that he had one question and he asked it (cant remember what it was) and we answered it. He said he was in! We have a return appointment this Saturday for him! The third is Willy. He's from Switzerland. He also let us right in. He asked who we were. We told him we were missionaries and that we were out sharing a message with people. He said "Mormons?" And we said "Yes." He was like, "Why didn't you just say that?" He's super cool. I already love him. He's 90 and just fell backwards down a flight of steps and he wasn't hurt at all! I loved visiting with him. He has had missionaries come before but it was like eight years ago. We sat and talked about his wife who has passed away and the stuff happening in the world. It was good. I love that old man already!

So, yep! That's about how my week went. It has been a week with a lot of learning in it. One of the quotes that I love from my calender says "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are" by E. E. Cummings.  It totally describes my life right now! I love you. I hope you have a great week. Know that I pray for you and the rest of the family every morning and night. You guys never leave my heart.

Love,
  Cooper

Finally wore the shirt you sent me. Have a picture for proof!

The Priesthood is Real

I'm doing good in my new area. It gets a little hard. I get to learn how to be self motivated now. We do a lot of knocking doors and it's good for the first couple of hours but then it gets old--like super old! Elder Warner is awesome. I love him. I can learn a lot from him. He is a good, honest guy that has the Idaho work ethic, so that's even better! The other night we were sitting there and talking about home (a very dangerous pastime) and I showed him the picture I have of me and the Cadillac. We kept on talking and then he was like. "I know you! We've met before at a basketball game." Really odd. I guess he was with a Shelley kid and I walked past. They said something about me and he called my name out. I turned and gave him the "who-are-you-look" and kept walking. Weird, right? I totally know how small this world is. Hyrum Stonehocker, from Shelley, is coming to this mission at the end of the month. I think the world is going to get even smaller!

Elder Warner fixing my bike.

So Melvin didn't get baptized....He doesn't think that financially he can pay a full tithe but he was more than willing to pay as much as he could. I guess that the interview with the district leader didn't go so good. Melvin got really ticked off that the district leader kept asking questions about tithing. He was so mad. When I saw him the next day, he asked why I didn't come and shut the guy up. He said if he saw him again, he was going to hit him. I don't doubt that! He meant it!  I got him calmed down. So that's good and he is still going to come to church...just as long as the other elder isn't there.

Extracted from my tire.

I got to give my first blessing and the spirit was so strong! I was so scared. I thought "I hope that the sisters ask Elder Warner to give the first blessing so I can copy him and see how he does it." But the sister asked that I give her the blessing. I said yes and gave the first blessing of my life! I felt total peace. Once I started, it just came to me and I said what was in my mind. I know I spoke to that sister what God himself would have told her if He was there. After I said amen, she stood up and looked at me and just said "holy crap! the priesthood power is real." I never realized the power God entrusted me with until that moment. It was amazing. Elder Warner gave the next blessing and I was asked to give the third sister a blessing. By the time we were done, I was in tears. Thank heaven you sent me out with handkerchiefs!  It was an absolutely powerful highlight of the week for sure!

Another great thing that happened is we were out knocking doors and we were tired of it so I decided I'd have to pee by the time we got to the church. So I said I had to pee. Well, I didn't realize how close we were to the church. We pulled in and there was a lone car there. A guy was just getting back into it. We pulled in and he asked if we were the missionaries. I said we were. He said that he was a less active member and he wanted to come back. He had come to the church hoping to find some one and was about to leave when we pulled up. Super awesome! God sure works in mysterious ways!

I hope that you have an awesome week!

Love,
   Elder Kniffen

Loving the fall colors!

Surprise Transfer!

Shortest companionship ever! Good-bye Elder Plant!

On Monday the 29th around 9:45 p.m. Elder Plant and I were just hanging out writing home and I thought I heard the phone go off.  So I walked to get it off the couch and I saw that President Gerber had just called, so I hurried to call him back.  He answered and said my call had been changed...he needed me to leave the Northville area. The APs would be by the next morning at 7:30 a.m. to grab me.  Can I be packed by then?  I said I could and he thanked me for being willing to serve, then hung up.

Sister Barb Thompson

So I packed all of my stuff and stressed out!  I called and let Barb know.  I didn't even get to say good-bye to any of my people.  I was not thinking that's how I would leave Northville but I guess I get to learn to rise to the occasion. I'm good now. I was really stressed out about leaving the night before. Oh! I was so sick. It was bad! When I found out where I was going and who my companion was, I was okay.  Now I'm loving it!

I'm now in Plymouth.  It is a biking area. My companion's name is Elder Warner. He's from Rigby, Idaho. It's so awesome. We know all the Idaho ways. So when I say something, he knows exactly what I'm talking about. It's great! Two days in a biking area and my bike broke down! Luckily, Elder Warner worked as a mechanic before he came out here, so he fixed my bike for me. I just held it for him while he worked on it. It was really bad! The plastic casing that goes into the frame and holds the wire to my front derailer got sucked in. I couldn't turn right or shift gears. We took it back to the apartment and tried to get it out and the cable snapped and the casing broke.  I was really unhappy! I about ripped the office elder's head off when I called to tell him to get a hold of Mom! I was so not happy! But it actually was a lot easier to fix than I thought at the start. There was an extra bike at the apartment the Elder that I replaced left, so I rode that bike for a day or so while we worked on mine. Now its fixed and I'm riding it again. I also taped it so it's safe. The only way that I could really describe how I feel is that song by Queen "Bicycle  Race" -- "I want to ride my bicycle! I want to ride my bike..." ha-ha, its perfect!

I did get to watch General Conference at the stake center. We had an investigator with us. His name is Melvin, He's 81. He smells like Grandpa Kniffen and it makes me smile. He's pretty much deaf and blind but he's awesome! He is planning to be baptized this weekend. I'm so excited for that! I hope it works out.

I don't quite know why I'm here yet but it feels good and I am doing the right stuff so whatever is suppose to happen will happen. I love you. I'll send you some pictures next week.

Love,
    Cooper

Welcome Elder Plant

My new companion is pretty cool, so far.  His name is Elder Plant and he's from Utah. His last area was in Detroit--like actually in Detroit!  He's suffering from a culture shock right now--going from the "hood" to massive houses. He just keeps asking me where all the black people are and if there is a ghetto in South Lyon. He has been out for 21 months, so he thinks this is his last stop before he goes home. That's kind of cool but I think I'm going to have to start working harder than ever. He seems pretty trunky and burned out. I guess we'll just have to change that!

I got to teach sharing time yesterday.  Ha. Ha. It was SO much better than elders' quorum! We had a lot of fun!  I tried to be creative so I hope that the kids liked it. It was junior  primary, so they were pretty easy to keep happy. I felt so good! We walked in and a lot of the kids knew my name. It was great! 

Also this week, Elder Cardon from the First Quorum of  the Seventy came and talked to us. It was really cool. He was nice and we got to shake his hand. This is a picture of half the Michigan Detroit Mission including President and Sister Gerber.

The biggest blessing I had this week was with Greg. We took a member to visit him on Friday and he wasn't home.  I was so bummed out!  We went by again yesterday and a miracle happened! Greg wanted to know how Nephi was a descendant from Joseph that was sold into Egypt. We gave him a King James Bible so he could look it up but he hadn't.  He was flipping through the Bible, reading the chapter headings, trying to find the connection. He couldn't find it!  I was standing there and I knew if he couldn't find it, we would loose him.  He doesn't want proof but we told him the two books (the Book of Mormon and the Bible) work together and are connected. I thought, "if he can't find it, then he would think we lied and the Book of Mormon isn't true."  So he kept flipping through the headings and he finally handed me the Bible and tells me to find it! I'm like, "oh crap! I don't even know the New Testament, let alone the Old!"  I don't even know where to look!  I opened the Bible and read the chapter heading. The first one that I read was the one that I was looking for! It was such a blessing! I couldn't believe it!  The Lord so provided that one!  It was a great experience!

I love you and I hope that this week goes good for you!

Cooper

Goodbye Elder Olsen

This week went really good. We got transfer calls on Saturday and I'm staying in South Lyon but

Elder Olsen

Elder Olsen is leaving :(  I wish I could say that it's all good and I'm totally ready for this but I'm not! I've been worried about it for the last couple days. It doesn't seem real to me. I feel like I don't know enough to be able to take over the area but Olsen has told me before that when you don't feel you're ready is when you grow the most. So I guess I'll get to rise to the occasion. I don't go get my new companion until tomorrow but Barb asked one of the A.P's if my guy is cool and he said yes. I really hope that he's chill and we get along well!

We had a lot of lessons on door steps this week. That was really exciting.  We tried using an object lesson and people listened more so that was really cool. We went to Daniel's house (he was a referral that wanted the Book of Mormon). He and his wife sat and bashed with us for over an hour--well, maybe not bashed but they were asking very deep questions. They seemed surprised at our answers and we just told them to go and read the Book of Mormon. It was cool. Elder Olsen took their Bible and was pulling scriptures out of it to answer their questions. I hope I get to that point some day! Other than that, nothing too exciting has happened. We did have a member tell us at dinner that he could tell a good missionary that works hard and has a testimony. He can just see it. He said he could see it in us. That made me feel good. Some times I doubt that I have the spirit with me--like I'm good, but just not quite good enough to have it testify. I don't know how to explain it.  It felt good to hear that some one can see it in us.

My district

It's good that you had the sister missionaries over for dinner.  Now that I'm out here, I wish we had had them or the elders over more. It feels so good to have members that will take care of you a little and watch over you.  Some people will never know how much it means to a missionary to have some one they can call family while they are away from their real family!

I love you guys and you 'll be in my prayers

Love,
    Cooper

The Elders

A Bit of Real Joy

Monday was a good p-day..it is always pretty good. It's nice to have a little bit of a break. Tuesday was nice--I can't remember anything really exciting happening but Wednesday was different. We had district meeting and they had just re-done the floor in the gym so it was super smelly. We opened up the windows to try to air it out a little and while we were in the meeting it started to rain.  It was coming down really steadily so we went home and had lunch then we went out and knocked doors in the rain. It wasn't too bad, the first hour anyway, but after that it got old and we didn't have any success.

We did get to talk to a preacher's wife. There is a huge non-denominational church called Oak Point. The woman's husband is one of the pastors there. We talked to her for a minute and invited her to get a Book of Mormon and she said the already had one and she has read some of it.  That was pretty surprising! We invited her to get it out again, read it, and pray about it. She said she hoped we would pray so God could help us find the truth.  ha-ha! It was pretty funny. Thursday and Friday were pretty uneventful just tracting and stuff.  Oh! on 9/11 the teenage girl that we go and teach had her baby. We haven't seen either of them yet but we are planning on seeing them, along with the girl's mom, this Thursday.  So I'll get to see a brand new baby!

This week got chilly. Thursday we went out to the car and turned right back around and got jackets! It was 50 and 60  instead of the 70 and 80. It's chilly!  We went and knocked some doors and I found this tiny butterfly. It was too cold to fly so I picked him up and carried him around with me for a couple hours. Olsen thought that I was a little off but I liked it! so say hello to my little Friend!

Saturday was pretty great we have a family in our ward that are super awesome he is a returned missionary and his wife is super cool. They have two little kids and their little boy turned six and had a party. He likes us a lot so we got invited! That it was cool but a little weird because the kids' parents were all there and we are the weird robots, you know. Some of them talked to us, so that was good. It was nice to be at a party-- even if it was only for a little while. Then we went and knocked this  neighborhood. Not too may people answered the door. Then, at the last house, this lady answers the door and invited us in. We couldn't go in because there was no man home, so she stepped out. She works for Scentsy, (the company that sells the wax that you have for your little pot thing) so she has a lot of Mormon friends. She was so awesome! She is Catholic but she wanted to help us and told us her home is always open to us for anything. It was really cool. She told us she was gay and introduced us to her partner. That was a little of a shock but she was so nice to us! She told us she wanted her house to be our home-away-from-home and to stop by anytime.  It was good! Faith in humanity restored!

Alright, now the super awesome mission experience! We had a referral a couple weeks ago and the guy wasn't home. The next door neighbor was out smoking on his front step so Olsen went over and we talked to him (I didn't want to go, by the way). We taught him about the restoration and then we stopped by again and gave him a book of Mormon. We read the intro with him and challenged him to read. This week we went to follow up with him. In one week, he had read the first 13 chapters of Nephi and asked all sorts of questions! It was great! He said that he felt reading was helping him grow spiritually. It was so great! Poor Olsen had to do all the teaching...I just sat there thinking "holy crap! he actually is reading! I don't know what to do from here!" It was great! That's the first time that I've felt what real joy is! I can't wait to go visit him this next week!!

Have an awesome week!  You are in my prayers and heart!

--Cooper

Sister Thompson sent these photos from Sept. 15. She wrote "Your boys are the hardest working missionaries I have met! An elderly man in our ward, whose wife passed away, needed to empty his house and barn to sell it. They worked really hard to help fill up this 30 yard dumpster.  They even gave up some of their p-day to get it done.

A Taste of Home

At the Bauss home

This week seemed to fly by!  We had Labor Day on Monday and there was a huge stake picnic at a park. We went...there were so many people! Ugh! I still hate crowds and when you wear a tag, every one wants to shake your hand and act like they know who you are. It's kind of annoying! Tuesday we did a little service in the morning. That was a nice break--something to do other than talk to people. The lady we helped really appreciated it. Wednesday we had our district meeting and that was good. The A.P's were there. They are both really good friends with Elder Olsen and they are so funny!  I want to end up like them! They are awesome!!

After our meetings, we went on exchanges with some of the elders in town so I was on my bike. We got to talk to two people that were semi-interested in our message.  It was super cool how that worked out.  The person we had planned on meeting wasn't home. So we knocked doors and that's how we found one of the people we talked to. The other was a street contact.  It's good just to be on my bike. Even with only talking to two people, I felt super accomplished! The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Nothing too exciting other than we had a massive storm come through. It was knocking trees over and stuff! There were three hundred thousand people without power! The storm wasn't even that long! I was kind of bummed out about that!

I have told you there are a lot of frogs here. We picked this one up at the Thompson's house (it's in Olsen's hand).  We put the frog on the car and drove the 2 or 3 miles home.  It held on the whole way!  Olsen was so proud! Barb told us we were mean and gave us an earful about it! Ha. Ha. She really isn't that scary so it wasn't too big of a deal.

On Sunday night we had dinner with the Bauss family.  Sister Bauss has a tradition she calls "A Taste of Home" where she prepares a favorite dinner from home for each missionary. It was my night!  Dinner was good...It is the thought that counts. Ha. Ha.  The potatoes weren't  the same as yours-- they were a little runny, but they still tasted the same. I tried and tried to figure it out what we were going to have. I honestly just ate whatever you fixed. I couldn't think of anything that really stood out as my favorite. But once I saw the food, I knew exactly what it was! I am so happy that you didn't tell her maggots! I would have been super disappointed!

Well I love you and I hope you have a good week!

Love,
   Cooper

Knocking Doors in the Rain

Last Monday, we walked into the store and I told Olsen, "oh, look! there's Barb's car" and we laughed. There are a lot of cars like hers, so we didn't think anything of it. Then we walked in and had barely started shopping when we bumped into her! She is the sweetest lady! She loves us and takes good care of us. She told us that if she takes good care of us, then some one might do the same for her son, who is serving a mission in California. Honestly, if it weren't for her, some days would have been a lot harder on me. That was on Monday...

On Tuesday Barb invited us over for dinner. So we went knocking doors in a neighborhood that's close by. There were some nasty looking clouds and we just kept going. We thought we heard the storm sirens start going off but we thought, "whatever, we will be safe!" So we knocked one more door and it just opened up on us!  It was crazy!! We were sopping wet in under a minute! It rained so hard that it took out trees and stuff...it was crazy! But I still had one Book of Mormon! So we knocked doors until we gave that book away--it was going to get ruined if I'd have kept it!

Arriving at our dinner appointment with the Thompson family... and wearing borrowed bathrobes while our clothes dried.

Some good things and bad things happened this week. First, the bad...We got yelled at twice this week.  I can now say that I've been threatened to be shot and its only my second transfer! We were knocking doors. It was our second house of the day. A guy answered the door and he said he was Catholic and said something about the trinity. We had a third elder with us (his companion had surgery so he was just hanging with us for the day) and he asked where he got the trinity idea from. He said, "The Bible" and he shared some scriptures. Then the elder kind of said, "well, we believe this..." and the guy blew up! It was crazy! He slammed the door so hard the screen door flew open! It was pretty scary but an experience. The other guy we ran into told us that he thought it was invasive for us to knock on peoples' doors and told us to get off his F-ing property. He told us he would shoot us if we ever came back!  I was pretty surprised, so was Olsen. Olsen said that guy was probably the worst screamer he's met on his mission! It was pretty wild--two in the same week!

Finally, the good...We had a really good lesson with one of our family's about faith. We told them, nicely, that we can only help them so much and then it's their choice to do what they know is right. We challenged them to read and pray as a family I pray that they did, they need some blessings!

Know that God is watching out for you guys for me and don't be surprised when angels help out a little.

Keep the faith!
     -- Cooper

Little Miracles

This week was pretty good.  We didn't do anything too out of the ordinary. We went and saw our less-active people and tracked a lot. I fell off a porch when we were leaving a house...I just stepped off the side and tripped hard! Thank heavens no one was home, so only elder Olsen saw me do it. Then there was a hose on another step and I knew it was a hose. We walked up and Olsen said "look at that snake!" and I jumped.  He still laughs about it!

Thanks to Barb Thompson for the photo!

We got to see Heather again...she is the woman we found last week. She has two kids and is Catholic. She let us in and we got to teach her about the restoration. She was super interested and said that we could come back, so we did! Her husband went to school with a Mormon so he kind of knows about us. He hasn't said we couldn't teach her so that's good!  Heather had read the pamphlet we gave her. So that was exciting! She is asking good questions about changing and stuff. We gave her a Book of Mormon and she hasn't read anything yet but she seemed excited to start! I'm really glad that we have her.  I get down sometimes because we don't have any success and it bums me out.

We did have a miracle this week though. We found a new person to teach! We blitzed our area with the zone leaders and Olsen found her. We have an appointment tomorrow with her and  I'm excited to meet with her! We also had a referral. We went to deliver a Book of Mormon but he wasn't home.  His neighbor was out on his front porch so we went and talked to him. We were teaching him about the restoration when the guy we were trying to contact came out. So we started over and taught both of them! It was super exciting!

We went to dinner at a members house last night and it was my turn to share a  thought with them. I shared something about being a believer and not hiding it and I realized that I wish I had lived my religion more closely and not let my standards droop. I wasn't bad but I wasn't as good as I knew I should be. I just said that it was me being me and I shouldn't change, I was good enough. Now I wish that I had changed and not let myself stay the way I was. I wish I could go back and tell myself to get a grip and stand up and  be the person that I was meant to be instead of the person that I didn't mind being. Even the things as little as not drinking caffeine can be profound and showed how much I was willing to follow what Jesus had asked of me.

That's about it for this week! I pray for you guys every day and keep you in my heart always. Live so people will never question who you are and what you believe.

Love always,
   Cooper

No Flooding, Just Rain

This last week was good.  At the start of the week, it rained buckets and flooded out Detroit.  The flooding didn't reach us.  I was kind of let down about that.  There was so much water that they canceled the transfer meeting (we didn't have to go, but we still got the text). It was pretty wild!  A member told us that we are supposed to get a polar vortex in September.  I don't know what it means other than cold!  The trees are already starting to change.  All the Michiganders say that this time of year it should be in the upper 90s, not the 60s and 70s so I'm kind of worried about winter.

A cool thing this week is we found a lady to teach!  We were knocking on doors and feeling super rejected. I prayed (silently, of course) to have someone be at least kind-of interested.  At the next door, the lady let us in and was super open and invited us back. It was such a miracle! We also got to dedicate a home and I felt the spirit there.  That was so welcome, it had been a rough day.  I also got to find out what it was like to get yelled at this week.  There is a maintenance man at a mobile home park that freaked on us--really only on Elder Olsen.  I've never heard the "F" word so many times! He ripped us a new one.  It was super scary.

I love you guys. Remember that! And thanks for supporting me.  Have a great week!

--Cooper

We had a lot of rain and there was a perfect rainbow.
You can't see it in the picture, but it touched the ground on both sides.  It was really cool!

Red Hot Chili Peppers

This week we went to dinner at this family's house.  They are Filipino, maybe. So they made us lunch.  It was pork chops and they had this oil to put on it.  The oil had little peppers chopped up in it.  Elder Olsen doesn't like spicy so I thought, "what the heck, it's worth a try!"  She said it wasn't too hot, so I tried it.   If hell is half as hot as that pepper, I don't ever want to go there!  I took a bite and instantly started to cry and sweat.  It was bad!  I didn't say anything but asked for a glass of milk.  Milk didn't even stop the fire!  It was so hot!! I totally learned my lesson--not to put weird food  in your mouth, it's a tender area!

The Hill Family

We also had dinner with the Hill family. They are a family in our ward and President Hill is in the stake presidency.  We had burgers again.  Ha. ha. We eat a lot of burgers and pizza.  The pizza is just gross now and burgers are getting old.  But hey! at least I don't have to cook!

We went to Taco Bell and I went to sit down. Big Fat Cooper just about tipped the whole booth bench over!  It wasn't bolted down so when I sat on it, I tipped it with  my hand and dropped my butt into the seat.  It slammed down super hard and the whole place was looking at me.  It was super awkward!

Transfers skipped over us this time.  Elder Olsen and I are still companions which is fine by me.  He's super chill and easy going so no complaints there. (Even better that he doesn't have a ukulele!) Elder Olsen has been in South Lyon for three transfers now.  After this one, he only has four more until he goes home.  He keeps telling me that time flies by and I smile and tell myself it is probably true, but it sure doesn't feel like that some days!

Well I better go.  I love you and I'm thinking and praying for you!

Love,
   Cooper

My district

Old Ladies & Babies

This week things with my Bible basher went pretty good.  He is so smart but he's too smart! He keeps popping shots at us and I hate to sit there and take it. He doesn't want to learn at all.  It's a total waste of time but maybe he'll feel the spirit through us.  We'll just have to see.  It was kind of funny...we got there and the two old guys had tons and tons of paper and were pulling notes out.  I just about died!  They were at war with each other but were still decent and peaceable.  That's a plus!  We have another meeting with him this week.  I hope it goes well.

There's a lady that's home-bound in our area.  Her name is Sister Long.  We go once, maybe twice, a week to visit her.  I love just to sit and chat with her.  Poor Elder Olsen just sits there and takes it.  He normally says hi and then lets us visit for half an hour or so.  Then he will give the thought and we leave.  He doesn't really enjoy the chatter like I do but that's no surprise.  I'm sorry to hear about Verla moving.  She's such a sweetheart.  She was my favorite person to home teach.  She was just on a level that nobody else I knew was!  I miss my old girlfriends and hearing about the good old days!

I saw two babies this week. One was at church. We had to stay after because our ride had a meeting with the bishop.  A mom came out of sacrament meeting with a screaming baby.  He had to be only a couple of weeks old.  He was so cute!  It took everything in me not to ask her if I could hold him!  That' against the rules, which stinks! but it's there to keep us safe.

I got to play on a typewriter this week.  I can't believe it actually worked and that you had to use them for school.  It's nuts that it was the only thing there was for people to write with.  How did you guys live? Ha. ha. I also went on an exchange and got to ride my bike. It was pretty cool and I enjoyed it until I had to get back on!  Then I felt it!  I was really sore but I learned to grin and bear it!

I hope you have a great week!

--Cooper

Exchanges with Elder Birch

Three Things I've Learned

There are three things I've learned this week. One is that when you know some one is way more intelligent than you, always bring a guy just as smart or you're in some serious trouble. We met a guy named Dave while we were knocking doors. He said that he had had missionaries come over before but they never came back.  Elder O. thought he was going to bash with us but we had to at least go back once more. So we took a guy from our ward (he is crazy smart) and went over to teach. The man is a Roman Catholic. We walked in a said hello and then didn't say a word for an hour and a half.  The guy from our ward and Dave went to town! They were talking about Greek translations of words and perfect participles in the Bible.  I just sat there thinking, "Holy crap! I'm glad didn't have to talk to him!" Dave said if we can show him where there proof of an apostasy, he would be baptized and join our church. We have another lesson with him on Thursday...we are bringing the member with us! Thank Heaven he knows his stuff!

The second thing I learned was how lucky we were to be able to pray and "TALK" to God not just utter the same stuff over and over. We met another Catholic lady this week.  She talked to us on the door step for a while. She was old and crazy but she was nice. She told us every day that she practically falls out of bed onto her face and prays. This is her prayer: "I am nothing. I am less than nothing without you (meaning Jesus and God). I am nothing."  It may be true but that's so depressing! I'd put a gun in my mouth if I had to say that every day! I'd start to think I was worthless--not a the prince that I am! 

The third thing I learned is that I need a rain jacket! I'd love it if you guys would mail me one.  It dumped yesterday...so hard the tornado sirens went off. The sky was black and nasty. It was kind of exciting... if there was a tornado, we could do service! ha-ha  

Well, I love you guys and I'm always thinking about you! I hope you have a great week!

Yours Always,

     Cooper

Where did Jesus come from?

Nothing really new happened this week.  I did have to go on splits for a day.  Elder Olsen got to go to the temple for a sealing of a guy that was in one of his old areas.  I was pretty jealous. That's so awesome for

him!  The elder that was with me is named Elder Shepard. He was a pretty nice guy, nothing too special. He played the ukulele. He was a little Molly Mormon for me but that's alright. He really helped me feel comfortable.  I was so stressed because I had to make all of the appointments and things like that because we were in my area.  I also had to drive--that is the first time since leaving home.  It all worked out good and nothing bad happened.  I was a little tired of singing though!  We sang at everyone's house because Elder Shepard wouldn't just leave it in the car!  Ugh! The people enjoyed it so I can't be too unhappy!

Another funny thing is that we had a lesson with a less-active family (this was with Elder Olsen). We got there and the mom wasn't home but her 16-year-old daughter and other kids were.  We had a member and his wife with us so we went in to teach them.  It was a disaster!  The kids are always disruptive but the little girl, she's around 8 years old, asked where Jesus came from.  I was like, "Jesus came from Heaven, just like
us." Super safe answer, right? Oh, no--not going to happen! She kept asking.  So the member was like,

"well, he was made in his mom's belly just like your sister's baby."(I forgot to mention that the 16-year-old sister is about 7 months pregnant. It's sad and makes me hurt inside.) Then the whole thing went to pot!  To make a long story short, he asked her something about where her sister would have her baby.  The little girl said, "she's going to go to the hospital and she's going to push the baby out!" Poor little me! I was just about ready to walk out!  I was so shocked! The 16-year-old was so embarrassed. There was no recovering from that one! Wow!  It was rough but it makes for a great story, I guess. The first of many more I'm sure.

Last Monday I played sting with Elder Olsen.  I stink at ping pong so I got marked up! I promise I'll write more next week. I love you! Stay happy. I think about you always.

Love,
     Cooper

July 14, 2014

I really wish that I had something exciting to tell you but I don't. We don't have any new investigators. There were two people we found tracting. One was a really pretty blonde. She was nice and seemed interested. The other was a mom--Elder Olsen thought that she just wanted to bash so that made me nervous. We went back to visit the girl and she was fighting with a boy and said we should come another time. I'm pretty sure she had just broken up with him--it was kind of awkward. So we went and visited with the mom and she wasn't home but her husband was. He's a Presbyterian pastor and he was so nice to us. I guess he had LDS friends when he was young and was a scout. So we talked about scouts. He asked us about some of our beliefs and said he thought we were doing an awesome thing spreading the gospel. He gave us his name and number and said if we ever needed something to call him like for rides or food. It was really weird but he was a really great guy.

We went back to visit the girl after a day and there were some other girls walking into her house. They were wearing some pretty revealing clothes and carrying a lot of alcohol so we didn't stop. We finally got a hold of her parents yesterday and they kindly told us she wasn't interested. They were really nice about it and talked with us for a while.

Thanks for keeping me up to date with everything back home. A family in the ward feeds us dinner every Thursday. The sister said before I leave the area, the tradition is that she'll cook a meal--anything we want, something that we miss from home. She would try to make it as close to the way it was back home. So I was thinking about it. I really don't miss the food or anything back home too much. I just miss you guys. I miss the people. But I'm alright. I'm learning a lot and I'm being a good boy. That's all I can do. I love you and miss you a lot! Thanks for loving me and cheering for me!

Love,
      Cooper