Strange Week

This week we had Elder Kopischke of the presidency of the quorum of 70 come speak. He did a zone conference first where he just did basically a question answer section. It was pretty cool, they never do that usually and he gave great answers to everything we asked. Then we had a leadership meeting with just the zone leaders and assistants and sister training leaders and Elder Kopischke. Well and Pres and Sis Wolfert.  It was crazy. Super powerful, but he helped us realize we’re not quite achieving our full potential in this mission.

Other than that we had a lot of appointments fall through. It was frustrating. But one lesson with Steve Archer was so amazing. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation but when we taught about the pre-existence he was blown away by it. Like just couldn't even grasp the concept fully. He's progressing steadily, it's still just his family that's holding him down. At church yesterday we sang Love at Home and it almost moved him to tears. He's so cool.

Asia had some opposition come up like we said last week, but it all got cleared up. She says she knows it is because of our blessing, too. But then she missed church and when we went by for an appointment yesterday she flaked out so were a little concerned for her.

The weather has been bipolar as usual. Super nice one day, really warm the next, pretty chilly the day after.  But that's just GA. Today for p-day we’re planning on doing some rugby (two hand touch) and ultimate frisbee in the rain. Should be a lot of fun.

We've been working with some really cool less active people recently,  too and our recent converts. Danny Mendez has been having some problems but he'll be okay I'm sure. The Witherspoons are mixed. The boys are doing pretty good and are at church almost every week, but the girls haven't been for awhile.

Our Ward Mission Leader had us over for breakfast yesterday and his wife gave me and my companion some sweet St. Patty's day socks. They're so cool that I felt obligated to mention them in this email.

Alright that's about it. Still a missionary. Still love the church and know it's true. Still wanna stay out here forever.

Elder Cooper

Great Week March 10, 2014

So Elder Cook came and visited our mission on Saturday. It was SICK. He had Elder Piper of the 1st quorum of 70 with him too. They both spoke about how we need to do more invitations. Committing people to read and pray to find their own answers will bless and strengthen them more than anything we could say. Really helped me realign my focus of how to teach and help people reach true conversion. Elder Cook talked about how missionaries are called to where they go too. It was interesting, he said a lot of the times the impression comes that a person needs to go to this specific mission President, rather than focusing on the area. I had never thought of that before it was cool. Also they had Elder Parker with them who is an area 70. He is a black guy and a convert and he gave the craziest mormon/baptist sermon I have ever heard. It was sweet he was straight preaching from the pulpit. Elder Piper got up after and said, "Elder Parker I bet there are a few churches around here that would love to hire you." It was pretty funny. It was also so great to see all my mission friends there. There are so many awesome people I've met on my mission it's ridiculous.

Other than that our ward had a chili cookoff competition that night after the Elder Cook meeting. It was a lot of fun and the ward put on a great show. There was a lip sync competition which was pretty funny and the food was bomb. We had our investigator Adam there and I think he had a good time. Asia is doing okay, had some opposition come up this week, but she's staying strong. Had a great lesson with her this week and she committed to baptism on the 29th of March. We were able to give her a priesthood blessing too it was amazing. Steve A. has been swamped with work and family things (as always) but we saw him last night and set up another appointment. I told him the more opposition he sees the more he can know this is true and of God and that Satan doesn't want him to have it. He said, "That's funny I was thinking that just earlier today, that very same thing."

The weather has been pretty good. A little rainy and cold at first but the last few days have been awesome and it is really nice outside right now.

Hope all is well with all of you.... Yeah that's all I got this week, no words of wisdom I'm too stinking tired. Cause we taught early morning seminary twice this week and then daylight savings made us lose an hour of sleep. Bleh. But yeah. I really love being a missionary.

Elder Cooper

Good Week

This week was pretty awesome. That lady Asia who we met a week ago was able to come to church yesterday and absolutely loved it. She's a single mom with 4 kids and we're really hopeful for her now. Steve A. wasn't able to come and I think he's going through a really hard time. We had an awesome experience on Saturday when we were tracting. We talked to this guy outside and he was Atheist. It was awkward because we never really know what to say to atheists because we hardly ever find any. So we were talking about it before we knocked on the next door and the person who answered was another atheist.  At first he didn't want to talk to us but we started asking him questions about the plan of salvation and he really opened up.  He actually ended up inviting us into his home where we had an hour and half conversation.  It was cool to teach someone without the christian background and we are going to be meeting him again in a week or two. Other than that, we're just getting ready for the Elder Cook meeting and then like 4 days later the Elder Kopischke meeting. Loveyoubye.

Elder Cooper

Good Weird Week

Wow I feel like I'm the Johns Creek guru now. Seriously as I've been introducing my companion to this area I know like everyone and all the place to go. It's nice getting a new comp when you've been in an area for 6 months. But my new companion is Elder Zimmerman. He's been out 7 and a half months and was just made zone leader. He's from Utah and is a really cool good guy. He's actually a lot like my last companion Elder Coleman. On Tuesday before I picked Elder Zimmerman up we had zone training meeting. It was a little stressful running the whole thing by myself since Elder Coleman was gone picking up the brand new missionaries. I think it went well though. That night we had a lesson with Steve A. and he's doing great. He promised me he would be at church on Sunday and he kept his promise! I think he really enjoyed church too.

Elder Zimmerman and I found some solid new people to teach. One was a lady named Asia. When we knocked on her door her 5 year old daughter came and said, "My mom said she's not interested." We left kinda laughing at how people send their kids to shoo us away, but then Asia came out. She said she was on the phone and thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses. She said two sister missionaries had come by a while ago and offered a blessing on the house. At the time they were too busy but she said she regretted it ever since and wanted us to bless her home. So we did. Had a long conversation after that and invited her to church. She said she would love to come and said, "You should invite the neighbors down the street, the Davis'. They are such a good Christian family." The Davis family are active in our ward. They actually brought two of Asia's kids to church on Sunday. Asia was unable to make it, but we're really hopeful for her.

Everyone is talking about the Gilbert Temple dedication! I wish I could watch the youth cultural event. Apparently this Temple is more ornate and detailed than any other Temple for a long time. I'm going to be stoked to go through when I get home.

I ate lint out of the lint trap for 5 dollars last week. Thought you'd like to know.

Elder Cooper  Reply Forward

A Strange, Strange Week

The best way I could describe this week is... "what the junk? First of all it snowed again. Well, first it iced really bad then snowed a lot the next day. We were basically stuck inside Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It was really boring. I got really sick of our apartment. But Thursday afternoon after it snowed a ton, the sun came out at 3ish and we got to go to work. So, at night on our way home from an appointment Elder Coleman was talking to President Wolfert about something else but President decided to tell him that he was calling him to be an Assistant and would be picked up the next day. So Friday was packing and saying goodbye. It was super crazy, neither of us expected it at all. I thought for sure I would be out of John's Creek but I'm another 6 weeks. That will be 5 transfers in Johns Creek, or at the end 7 and a half months! Crazy long. But it's good I love this ward. I don't know my new companion Elder Zimmerman but have heard he's awesome and will make a great Zone Leader. So I've been staying with some other Elders in my zone until I get my new comp on Wednesday.

This week the Witherspoons moved back. They actually aren't in our ward, but are in the neighboring ward so it should be an easy transition hopefully and the mom and aunt can get baptized. Also we met with Steve Archer! We hadn't seen him forever but had one of the most powerful, spiritual lessons of my mission. Elder Coleman and I taught really well together about the Atonement and it was just awesome. We asked him to pray there and he did, but silently. After about 5 minutes he looked and said, "I've never realized how much God and Satan both want me on their side." He is praying about a baptism date and we're meeting with him tomorrow night. Other than that Bro Mendez who was baptized a few weeks back is doing awesome. He is going to be a very strong member because the change in his life from the Gospel has been so dramatic.

Now that Elder Coleman's gone I have to run the Zone Training Meeting for our whole zone by myself tomorrow... yay. But I'm excited we're getting some cool new people in the zone.

Elder Cooper

Finally a slower week

Wow the weeks were bulldozing by at ridiculous speed, but finally things have slowed down here in Johns Creek. It was nice to not feel as frantic and crazy, but also hard to go from so much happening to finding a lot. Maybe it's good though because I will probably be transferred next week and may go somewhere the work is slow. I have no idea what to expect though, there is going to be so many change ups this transfer.

We have some pretty cool investigators right now. I think I mentioned how the Witherspoons moved last week and how sad that was, but they should hopefully be moving back close to us again this week which would be great. The mom is so close to being baptized and wants it so bad, she just is so busy and lives so far now. I know if she puts forth the effort though the Lord will help her.

We had a really crazy leadership meeting this last week too. President told us that we are going to be more and more segregated (for lack of a better term) from the Sister Missionaries. It's going to be hard but I think it will be really fun too. Like today we had an Elders Pday and it was a blast. What was craziest is my trainee or "son" Elder Packer came and visited me! He left the mission around 9 months ago for medical reasons, and was visiting GA with his parents. So he dropped by today and played Ultimate Frisbee with us. It was awesome to see him and see how well he is doing. I also got an email today from a recent convert James Alverez in Woodstock. Elder Packer and I actually taught and baptized him. It's so amazing to see the way the gospel has made him SO much happier and improved his quality of life so much. My companion Elder Coleman baptized his wife when he served in Woodstock later. James said in his letter that he considers us both sons and is so grateful for the truth and happiness we've brought him. That was so great to hear. That's what I love about missionary work; you have the ability to improve someone else's life, sure, but also create bonds of friendship and love that will last forever.

Elder Cooper

If I thought last week was crazy....

Man this week was so stinking bonkers! First of all, on Monday it was nice, 60 degrees out and we played Frisbee and soccer and had a great time. Then the next day around noon it started snowing. And it has "snowed" before but this was legit snow. Got about 2 inches which doesn't sound like much but for ATL it's crazy. The whole city shut down. Like everything. People were stuck in traffic from the city for 12 hours or more. A ton of people just abandoned their cars and went somewhere I guess I don't know. The roads were all iced up and there were hundreds of accidents and the only stores open were grocery stores. We were instructed only to proselyte on foot. So Elder Coleman and I started walking to a place and as soon as we get there we get a phone call saying to return back to our apartments and stay in all day. Snow and ice stayed for a couple days but by Friday it was back in the 60s again. So weird.

On Thursday we went to the BOM Musical!!!! We didn't attend obviously but they had us stand outside the Fox Theatre as people came out. The Assistants to the President and E. Coleman and I were the first people to go do this in our mission to test drive it and see how to do it right. It was so cool to be in ATL. There were a few people who came out during the intermission  and were disgusted by the play. Had some good contacts there. There were a lot of homeless people wandering around too which was sad, especially because it was still so cold outside. Then at 10:00 the play let out and 5000 people flooded out of the doors. There were only 4 of us missionaries so we just tried to talk to as many people as we could at once. We had all kind of reactions; people who laughed at us, people who ignored us, people who were interested and excited to get a Book of Mormon, and everything in between. One guy grabbed Elder Coleman's Book of Mormon and threw it in the gutter. He picked it up and said, "I'm sorry you feel that way!" Then tons of people wanted more. It was so different than anything I have ever done on my mission. Felt like a street-side preacher talking to so many people. We didn't get home till midnight! It was so fun I hope I go again.

We had a baptism this week for a 12 year old named Max Ruiz. His parents were baptized around a month ago. So we taught him and his sister who is 8 and was also baptized. It was a good baptism.

On Friday we called Alex to see if our appointment with his Mom was still good. Her and her sister were on date for this weekend. But Alex told us they were basically getting evicted. So sad. We rushed over and helped them pack all their stuff and now they are in Stone Mountain, which is out of our mission. They may be coming back to Duluth but we'll see. I really hope so, Alex, Anthony, Natallie, and Nala are all so new in the gospel it will be so hard for them to switch everything so soon. Also it's going to be hard for Laueddia and Laquanda (the mom and aunt) to get baptized now I think. Please include them in your prayers.

Other things happened this week too like Chinese New Year, but that was the most of it. I know this gospel is true and there is no where else I would rather be than here doing this

Elder Cooper