New Year and Change

This week was so great! Missionary work was non-existent but that's okay. Both Elder Ross and I just were counting down the days till Christmas! We got to go over to Sister Couch's for "dinner" that was all day long ha-ha. It was so nice. She has taken care of us this last transfer. She is kind of like another Grandma. Her famous words: "Come on in. Sit down. Take your shoes off. Stay a while. Are you hungry? Go get some food. Take a load off."

Since I've been on my mission, as I meet people, I find things I like and want to take home with me. The way Sister Couch's home is is how I would like mine to be. Her whole family came over on Christmas and it was just like we were at Grandma Summers' house. It was loud and crazy. Everyone laughing and picking on each other. It was great! You would have thought that we were just part of the family! It was so great to just be there! We even had a gospel discussion. After supper, one of the aunts asked me a few questions and we all sat and talked about it. Sister Couch's less-active sister even helped answer the questions. It was just so nice!

Transfers happened!! We are both leaving! They are going to put sisters in our apartment! The other elders in our district aren't too happy about it. I just want to clean so its not nasty in the apartment. There is just no way. I had a dream that i went back to Dearborn with Elder McCormick. I would be okay with that but we'll find out for sure tomorrow! Wish me LUCK!

Love,
    Cooper

Baptized!!

This week Cody got baptized!!! It was so great! They talk about people being prepared and he was one of them! The baptism was on Saturday at noon. We got there, the font was full and ready to go. We had such a great turn out. We filled up the Relief Society room with people. Everyone that had a hand with Cody was there. He's pretty social, so there was a lot of people! Even President and Sister Gerber came.

There was a couple short talks and one I thought was great. It was about how the ward/church is his family now. That's really how our ward runs. It's not a ward--it's a ward family. He also talked about how this is just the beginning of Cody's path of ordinances.

On Sunday I got to stand in on his confirmation. There were probably about 12 of us standing in. It was neat. Bishop Day had him come up on the stand and he presented Cody as the newest member of the ward. While he was up there, he asked that Cody be sustained to be set apart to be a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood and to the calling as a ward missionary. Talk about cool!  Bishop Day is so great! He started to cry as he said he found Cody worthy to progress so quickly. It was awesome!

Other than that, there was not a whole lot of exciting things that happened. In church it was all

Me & Elder Ross

musical preferences. The Spirit was so strong! It was a great way to start the week! I'm pumped for Christmas and it's suppose to get back into the 60's by the middle of the week. Yes! A green Christmas! ha-ha

Only a couple more days...I'll talk to you soon!

Love,
   Cooper

Counting down til Christmas

This week was pretty good. We have had such great weather. It has been in the 50s and yesterday it was 63! I am so thrilled with the weather! I mean, what could be better than a green winter? No tracking in the freezing cold!

We've pretty much spent the whole week going around talking to people and inviting them to the ward Christmas party that was this Saturday. No one came except for a less-active sister, Sister Mckenzie. She has been been active for a while but Bishop Day took us over to invite her. She has been prepared. She wants to be active again and her 8 year old daughter is talking about being baptized--so that is super cool. This is one of the most gospel-orientated wards I have ever served in. Like, wow! The Bishop is just the greatest. It's all about the people and their experience with the gospel and their next ordinance. It's so neat! He is such a great guy!

The party was great! We had a really big turn out. There was plenty of food and absolutely no seats left. They had to pull out more tables for everyone! They had a talent show and Cody, our investigator, sang. He did really good. I didn't know he could sing that good! He's on date to be baptized this Saturday at noon. It sounds like the whole ward is going to try and be there! It's super exciting for him. Hopefully he pass's the interview tomorrow.

Yesterday we went to a choir concert that Grandma Lavely was singing in. It was so good. They did such a good job! It's the Michigan Concert Choir. Elder Ross wasn't too happy to go but we all ended up enjoying ourselves! Only a couple more days until Christmas. I'm so pumped! Hopefully this week is a good one!

Love you,
   Cooper

To Hell and Back

My visit to Hell

This week we did a couple of neat things. We got to go to a zone conferece and listen to President Gerber and our stake president talk to us and have other instructions. I just love it when we get together! I can see all my old friends and get to be with President Gerber. It was a good conference. We did a lot of practices and less talking, so that was cool (if you had a comp that would work with you!)

Then we went out with the Bishop. He is on the top of my "favorite bishop list" right now. He just gets the gospel. He makes it so simple to understand. We went and visited some less-active members and he asked if they would let us come back. They said yes! It was just so cool. The way he goes about his work is how I could see Christ doing it. It's not about programs...it's about people and helping them. Bishop wants us to take the Deacon's Quorum President out to one of the boys that is in his stewardship. What a lesson. That is how the work should be done. It's so cool


We also got to go with Cody, our investigator, to a Christmas program--not the First Presidency one, although we did see that with him too. This one was different. It had the nativity broken down into the people and their experiences--like the shepherds and the wise men. The spirit witnessed again to me that Jesus is my savior. Then, just this morning, as I was reading in Mark about Christ's suffering in Gethsemane. It said He was amazed at the load or astonished and He felt heavy and asked God to take it from Him. And He went and fell down and prayed again. He did that for me!! What a marvelous gift! It was a sweet experience!

Love,
   Cooper

No Complaints

This week was really slow with Thanksgiving. We just kind of  waited around for Turkey Day--I mean there is food and stuff. All elders are excited for food! A recent convert, Mike, had us over to supper with the other elders from our ward. We sat and talked and just laughed. It was good to just be and not feel like we had to leave. That's one thing I still don't like is feeling the need to leave after a certain time. The food was great and so was the company. I can't complain. We ate so much!

Before Thanksgiving dinner we went on exchanges. I was with Elder Park, the district leader, who is from Idaho. We went and knocked doors for a couple hours.....not such a hot idea. No one wanted to talk, of course and if they did it was like they thought we were Jehovah witnesses. "Don't you know that today is? Thanksgiving!" Uh ya, we'll be eating turkey in a little bit too but we're thankful for Christ, our Savior.

Yesterday in church we had some great talks. They were personal, well prepared, and the speakers got choked up so I liked it!  ha-ha. The ward here is great! We get fed a lot and the members are all pretty missionary-minded, the one's I've met anyway. The bishop is awesome and the ward council is right behind him. It's going to be good! The elders were teaching an investigator named Cody before I got here. He has a baptismal date for the 19th of December. That is exciting! I had nothing to do with it but I'm along for the ride.

All in all it was a pretty decent week!  I'll talk to you next week!

-- Cooper