Friends and Family:
First off, special shout outs.
Hermana Houghton, Madi, the letters were amazing. If I had 30 seconds to rub together I would
send you hard mail back, but your thoughtfulness and wisdom (from pop
and grandpa especially) are really special to me. Something about
physical mail just gets my goats.
Now for the quotes of the week:
First and foremost. The crazy evangelical who pulled over next to us
during a street contact, decided that he needed to pray for my lost
and wandering soul.
The highlight was when he blessed me to have "The fire of Jeremiah in my bones."
That was a first.
-- When I finally offered him a Book of Mormon, he told me that the
"Holy Spirit revealed to [him] that there was error in that book." He
just about passed out when I told him he should actually test it out
for himself and see if it really does testify of Jesus Christ. The
Moroni promise almost knocked him over -- guess the fire in his bones
kept him standing.
Second, I'll give you the quote that I hear about 9 thousand times
everyday in Spanish on people's porches:
"Oh my, we would love to hear your message, there is just a mountain
of people out there who don't listen to you guys, and wow I pray every
moment of every day....But I work everyday from 6 am-7:30pm so sorry, hope we see you around."
It's really interesting every single time (especially when they tell
you that at 2 pm with a beer in their hand.)
On a different note, Hispanics have so many things they do that I
love. Every night besides Monday thru Thursday, you walk around
complexes contacting, and they have the entire family (3 generations
usually) chatting in a circle, one older guy (of the 2nd generation)
is grilling forty different things at once on one edge of the group,
and they just pass around fajitas and soda while they talk, mariache
music blasting in the background. I can't imagine what they think when a couple white dudes walk up in church clothes, wearing bike helmets, and start chatting in Spanish-- all
while dripping sweat like a Gatorade commercial.
I hope that my goofy appearance and gringo Spanish doesn't distract
them too much. Reality is that we are bringing them the most important
thing they can have in this life.
As my love grows for this people, their culture, and their language,
it breaks my heart when I see them without the gospel. The part of
Texas I'm in is rough. Really run down apartments, really sad
situations, I hear the same story every time (with minor variations)
"My husband left, I'm pregnant again, boyfriend in jail, no money"--
it breaks your heart. Yet as complex as all these problems are, I
haven't seen a single one that the gospel couldn't remedy.
The value of raising a child in the gospel is something I cannot put
to words. My gratitude to my parents for their role in bringing me the
opportunity to gain a testimony is immense. Only now that I am in the
world, in people's homes, and speaking to them on this more personal
level about their lives, can I truly see through Heavenly eyes and
recognize the value of my testimony and what my parents taught me.
My new favorite word is "remember." The Book of Mormon only says it
about every 3 sentences, because it is huge. It is repeated in BOTH
the sacrament prayers the Savior gave us. That word "remember" (enclave - Spanish dicho that means "it's keystone"), or in other words, everything depends on it.
If you consciously remember the Savior, your covenants, and the
commandments, you will not fall. The Spirit can reside with you and
testify to you of simple truths as you give them constant invitations
to be with you.
I invite all of you to send those invitations everyday this week. Send
them to the Savior, to your spiritual experiences, to the
scriptures, and you will receive the spirit and peace during hard
times.
Les quiero mucho,
¡Recuerdeles siempre!
Elder Cox
Siguiente son photos:
My humble bed, with completely non-sectarian Christmas lights above
(no idea who had the time for that)
My companion making roast beef eggs and a little waffle on the side.
The companion you all haven't met yet (who is the assistant) and a
simple recreation of how you feel at the end of a good day.
Our washing machine and dryer (which literally catches clothing on
fire after more than 10 minutes of operation).
Where I live and study.
My bed
Elder El-Bakri making roast beef and cheddar eggs
zone conference
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