GELUKKIG KERSTFEEST!!

GELUKKIG KERSTFEEST IEDEREEN

 

Lieve Familie,

 

  Well it’s Christmas week huh? Pretty crazzy! I can’t even describe to you all the crazy emotions inside of me- I am nervous, EXCITED, about to throw up, stoked, a little tired, and ready to run around in circles. Pretty crazy right? What a special week this is going to be though.

 For the information you have all been waiting for: I will be Skyping on the 25 of December at around 7:00/7:30 p.m. here. That means that it will probably around 11:00/11:30 a.m. there.

I have made sure that my account works that Carly has set up, THANK YOU SIS, so I will actually be calling Carly around that time. I’m not sure how long I will have to Skype... I'm thinking maybe an hour and a half or two and a half hours, but I hope that I will have enough time to talk to each one of you individually. This is very important though family- knowing me I will probably be really shocked and all that when I see you all and Skype.. So to help me please try to have some questions or something all written down to ask me that way this whole Skype thing will run smoothly! I said that in my last email, but it was in Dutch so I'm not sure if you guys were able to translate that all... hahah but yeah that would be awesome!

Well as for this last week it was a very good and fun week.  Our investigators are great! Ethlyn is so blessed and our lessons with her truly have been so spiritual. We are excited for when she will become baptized and receive all the many blessings the Lord has in store for her. And as for others... well here is a quick little story.. 2 weeks ago I went on exchanges and ended up "randomly" running into a Jovo (young adult) named Jasmine who is a less active. Well long story short we have now had 2 appointments with her and OH.MY.GOSH. We found ourselves a kingdom builder everyone! I have never seen someone who is only 19 years old and so excited about learning the gospel and then sharing it with other people. All I can say is that Heavenly Father absolutely put me there on that train in another city that day to meet her.  She is one awesome young adult and so excited to keep on teaching her.

But the spirit of Christmas is definitely in the air here in Nederland and Elder Thomas, Alade, and I are really just having a good'ol time! I have been doing the 12 days of Christmas thing and I must say that number 8 was my favorite and it was so good that Elder Thomas, Alade, and I find ourselves having dance parties to it every night. (Which I have a ton of videos but they won’t send...) Thank you so much for all the love you guys have sent to me. I truly feel your love every single day and LOVE YOU GUYS LIKE CRAZY.

As for my spiritual note:

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 Familie, Friends, whoever reads my emails....  This Christmas could go down as the most "Memorable Christmas EVER" for me.  I will not be skiing; I will not be attending the family parties, no playing in the snow (as of right now), and unfortunately no big Christmas breakfast. Actually I will pretty much be doing nothing that really has anything to do with a "typical Cook Christmas". Weird right?  So how could this possibly be the most "Memorable Christmas" of my life.. Well it’s easy- Gratefulness and Thankfulness. I have been so blessed for everything in my life (with family, friends, etc) and this is a Christmas where I can really reflect on WHO has given me all these wonderful blessings and that is our Savior Jesus Christ.

      Family I could go on and on about all the many things I have learned throughout my mission and the spirit I have felt. But I will make this short and meaningful and leave you all with my personal testimony that comes out of the mouth of Joseph Smith  “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!” (D&C 76:22).

     

 

I love you all with my entire heart.

 

     ENJOY TO THE END

 

 

-Your son, brother, friend,

         ELDER COOK

 

 

Ps: SEE YOU SOON!