Detroit Car Show

This week was normal...kind of dull.  Elder Fakahau and I have resolved to do something awesome every day--that spices up life and we can have some fun. If you aren't having fun on a mission, you are doing it wrong! Any one who doesn't think so can fly a kite! Ha. Ha. We started off the week by going to the car show. It was super fun! Really neat cars! We rode with another set of elders and the member that took us is an engineer from Ford so we got the "tour." Ugh! I just wanted to ditch him! Last year's show was better. There were more cars and I had more fun with Elder Oviatt. We just ran around and did what we wanted. It wasn't like a school field trip. It was fun to be back in my kingdom again. Westland Stake covers the downtown area so I drove through Dearborn. It was great! Back where I knew everything!

Tuesday we didn't do anything too great other than email. We had an appointment with the less-active

family I told you about last week--the one with the crazy family life. They were doing so much better! It's amazing to be able to see people as a missionary. You can literally see and feel the light that is in them. They were doing so much better! The son even prayed and we felt like we made a difference. We were asked not to spend time with them by the bishop though. So that was our last set appointment with them. After that, Elder Fakahau took some medicine and a nap. He was having an allergic reaction. The was the rest of our day...almost. We went with the other elders and walked across a frozen lake! Don't tell! I guess it's against the rules? Grey Zone! Got to love it!! ha-ha

Tracting in the country

We had a mission training broadcast from Salt Lake on Wednesday. It was good. Six of the apostles were there and a couple of them instructed us. It was nice to hear them live--just to us tell us that they feel our pain and are cheering for us. We met with Camryn and Kaylee the two 11-year-old girls we are teaching. They love the gospel and want to come to church but there less-active mom won't take them. It's so frustrating! They want to come. They keep all of their commitments and try so hard. Their mom, who knows this is true, just won't make that step for them. Please pray for them and their mom! We have another appointment with them this Wednesday and are going to try and have some members take the girls to church next week --if their mom won't.

We think we have bed bugs. All Saturday and Sunday  we cleaned cleaned cleaned and sprayed some nasty chemicals around. I swear we have the cleanest apartment in the whole mission right now! Our poor washer and drier haven't stopped going for two days! The last two loads are in right now so it's almost done! Its been a good week though. Love you guys!

Love,
   Cooper

A Car Wash & Borrow Pit

This week was a good one. We had one really exciting day Tuesday! What a day!! We started out doing personal studies together (not recommended) but we talked about our investigators and how we could help them. At ten we went out and started to work but our car was really muddy on the outside from all out dirt roads. So Elder Fakahau was like "we should wash the car." It was 17 degrees outside! I said I thought it was too cold but he felt like we should, so we did. Ha-ha!

Happy Elder Fakahau

It was so COLD! We would spray off the one side of the car and by the time we got to the back of the car the front would be frozen. We were literally blowing ice chunks off the car! ha-ha  It was funny! We switched after the one washing got too cold. The car looked good when we were done and Elder Fakahau was happy. Then we went to a trailor park to tract.

We prayed we would be lead to those we could talk to and know whose door to leave a card on, that would be prepared, and would look at the website. We talked to one guy and got to share our message with him. He didn't get it and was convinced we were adding to the Bible. As we left, he told us that there was a single mom that could use our shoveling skills to clean off her porch and driveway. We went, shoveled, and left a card.  Prayer answered!

We had a lesson with a less-active sister right after that. We saw her family fall apart as we were sitting there. Her son (who is highly-functioning autistic, suffers from depression and suicidal thoughts) cut himself in the other room then came in. We were like, "umm, can we pray and leave?" and then the woman's mother called. They had had a huge fight right before that, so we left a short thought, prayed, and left. So already it has been a crazy, fun day! We ate lunch and decided to go out and knock in the country.

The roads were good so we went for it! Then we hit this part in a dirt road that was super bad. As long as you didn't stop, you were good. There was a car stuck, so we pulled up, stopped and asked if they wanted help. She asked if I was stuck.  We smiled and said, "probably." So her boys pushed us out. We pulled into a driveway and pushed her out.  Elder Fakahau slipped as we were pushing. He ate snow, stood up, and slipped again! ha-ha We all laughed and got her out. If she stopped, she would get stuck again, so her one boy jumped in with her and the other son was going to ride with us. We pulled out of the drive and BOOM! right into the borrow pit! I was like, "well, lets get out and see how bad it is." We were high- centered, so we were toast! Luckily, a truck came and pulled us out. Then we went on our way. ha-ha

That was the best day this week! If all days were like that, a mission would fly by! The rest of the week was pretty normal. ha-ha I am in a district of all elders. This one is great! We are brothers here. We all laugh and tease and joke with each other. No one is better than anyone else. It's awesome...so much better than the last one. We hang out with each other on Mondays at my apartment and then go play ball at the church. Like last night, we had all gone to the car show. I'll talk about that next week. I've got to save the good stuff! Afterward, we all met at our place and got Little Caesar's Pizza and sat and joked. Elder Fakahau gave a couple elders hair cuts. We talked about home, our mission, and girls. It was just great!

I'll talk to you next week!

Ofa Atu (love you in Tongan)

Loving the Country

Our week was pretty great... nothing like being a balmy 40 degrees outside! What could be better than that?! It was pretty slow.

Ha. Ha.

We are teaching a couple of 11-year-old girls, Kaylee and twin sister, Camryn. Their mom is less-active. They are super cool little girls! I love to go teach them because it's the basics of the gospel and their questions are all heartfelt. Last week they had some ducks pass away. We had just got done teaching them about the Plan of Salvation. They asked if they would be able to see them again. It is really neat! They are so excited that they can get baptized. We just have the struggle of getting their mom to church. They were going to come yesterday but they didn't show up. They said they had people come over. It was a bummer! We have another appointment with them this next Wednesday. I'm already stoked to see them!

It was also Elder Fakahau's birthday yesterday. On Saturday night we had the the other elders in our district come over and had brownies and ice cream. It was fun. I think he enjoyed it. It's hard to make things special when you aren't with the ones that love you the most.

We woke up to snow and ice all over the roads! We broke an ice scraper on the car! It was crazy! We had maybe 30 people show up to church. I got asked for the second week in a row to say the closing prayer. We joked...I'm 2 and 0. Maybe I'll go for all six weeks!  ha-ha

It was a good week, just cold. Hopefully things stay good.

--Cooper

Loving the country!

Happy in Howell

New Year's Eve Chinese with Elder Fakahau

So I'm now in this little ward called Howell. The the ward is about the size of a branch. It's so small but it seems good so far. We are in the country --like walking  forever to get to the next house and up a long drive--but I have an awesome companion!  Elder Fakahau is from Tonga. He moved to California just like a year before he came on a mission. He is so great! Elder Fakahau is so happy--like nothing could get him down at all. I just love it! He just has the Island way, the faith of the people and he just loves it here. He's been in Howell for seven and a half months. He came out three months after me. I'm so blessed to have him.

With it being the new year, I have had the chance to reflect on the past year. I know how much Father in Heaven loves me. Over the past year, I have learned so many important lessons. I now have a personal relationship with my Savior. I know how to really commune with Father and I have seen the Lord working in the very fine details of my life. How richly blessed I have been. Instead of making a resolution for the year, I have decided to choose two words that I would like to live by. The first is "remember." If I can remember Jesus, as I have covenanted to do, then I would live a better, richer life. I would have the Spirit to be with me always and I would never be able to loose sight of the Celestial Kingdom. The other word is "experience." Bishop Day used that word over and over and I love it! I can pray to Father and it can be just words or I can humbly kneel before my Creator and have an experience with Him. That is what I want--to not only do the steps of the gospel but to hear and feel the music fill my soul and experience the light. Its been a great past year and this one has the possibility of being even better!!

My new address is: 62 Curzon Ct, Apt 301, Howell, MI 48843

Love you,
    Cooper

Elders Becker and Oviatt, my boys!

Michigan Detroit Missionaries, December 2015