"Give" -Little Stream

Familia mea,

The subject really has nothing to do with this email, I just saw a girl wearing a shirt that said that and I thought it was HILARIOUS!!! Really, I start laughing every time I even think about it. So... I put it as the subject hoping that you find the humor in it like I did.

So....is everyone alive?!? I've missed hearing from you all this week. But I'm sure all is well and just really busy!!

It has been an okay week. Definitely one of the harder ones. More break downs than I can count, but also more tender mercies than I can count as well. I am so blessed here. My branch president, President Palmer, get released this sunday and it will be REALLY hard to say goodbye to him and his wife. I have gotten to be really close with them and admire them both so much. I'm surrounded by amazing people. By the way mom, he works at the Church Office building in HR and said he would be up to visit you this week. You will love him. He's awesome. Brother Hodges and Brother Merrill are his councilors and are also amazing. Brother Merrill is a religion teacher at BYU and I LOVE talking to him about things. I have learned so much from him. Lately I've been studying the creation and pre-existance lots and have asked him lots of questions. He's incredible.

Everything is going really well with our investigatores. Maria and Ghoerghe have a baptism date and are progressing so much and it is definitely so cool to see the spirit work with them. And Bogdan is still struggling. Mostly because we only get to work with him once a week, but we have an awesome lesson planned out for tonight and I think it will go really well. We'll see.

This will be redundant for some because I've already said this to you before, but something I have really learned this week and have constantely tried to remind myself of is to be grateful for the moment I am in and not to "wish moments away". It's hard not to just wish I was in Romania already, but I am learning to appreciate where I am in this moment realizing that I need today in order to get to tomorrow. What I learn today will help me get through tomorrow's challenges. Obviously when I say 'today' and 'tomorrow' I mean 'the moment I'm in' and 'the future'. I need this moment in order to reach any goals or dreams I might have for the future. There is always so much to be grateful for for the moment that I am in. I keep asking myself "Am I willing to pay the price of today (or this moment) to get to tomorrow (or reach my goals)? Am I willing to pay the price to be able to return home and say 'I gave it everything I have'?" Those two questions have given me a lot of strength. And I realize I'm not alone in doing so. Heavenly Father has proven to me that He is there to give me strength to overcome and to better myself. And I've learned that His love for me is unconditional. I don't need to earn his love. Regardless of anything I do, He will always love me. However, I do get to earn His trust and show Him that I am willing to do what it takes and that He can put His trust in my to accomplish His will. These last two realizations have changed my perspective a lot this last week.

It's also sometimes easy to wish I was back home, soaking in the moments of being with the people I love and I have realized that it is pretty hard to jump the hurdles in front of me when I'm looking backward. I love Nephi's example of always looking forward to the promise land, even though his entire life and possessions were in Jerusalem... he continued onward with faith knowing that God would bless him. I don't know if you guys have picked this up from the last few emails, but I LOVE the scriptures. I almost feel ungrateful for not taking better advantage of the words that have been given to us before now. Even now, I know I could take better advantage of the blessings of the scriptures. We are so blessed to have the Book of Mormon and all the sacrifices that were made in order for us to have it in our lives.

Sunday night fireside we had the Provo Temple President come and speak to us. Not to be dramatic, but OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!! it was amazing. He talked all about the temple and symbols in the temple and how every thing in the temple points back to the atonement of Jesus Christ, starting with the fountains in the front of the Provo Temple and explained how there is a wind metere in the fountain that measures the wind and according to the wind, it determins the height of the fountain so that the water is always moving water, or living water because Christ is referred to as the living water. That right there was so cool, but that was just the surface of his talk. I wish I had time to adequately write out my thoughts. But I don't. Sorry. Just take my word for it. It was incredible!!!!

Also, if you can find Elder Bednar's talk "Character of Christ" online, READ IT!! Or listent to it or whatever. It changed my life. He talked all about how the character of Christ is to turn outward when the natural man would turn inward. Amazing. He told this story of a woman who, after just finding out that her daughter was in an accident with two of her friends, and that they knew one didn't make it and the other two survived, and then found out that her daughter and only child didn't survive. She immediately responded to Elder Bednar, who was her stake president at the time, to find out how the parents of the other girls are doing and to let them know that their daughters are alive and on the way to the hospital. And he went on and on about this woman who exhibited the character of Christ of looking outward during this experience. How inspiring. Seriously, if you can find the talk, read it. It was given here at the MTC so it might not be available online, but you should still look.

  

I've missed all my neices and nephews lots this week! Especially with all the birthdays and whatnot. Make sure they all know how much I love them! I'm sure Sister Ewell is sick of me talking about them and telling her stories. But it's hard NOT to talk about them:)

  

Love you all so much!!!!

Sister Cook

SWEEDISH ELDERS:) we love them!