Week #57 (July 11, 2016)

Quotes of the week:

1) Literally couldn't come up with one in specific this week. A lot of
drunk craziness, but nothing super madly hilarious to report, I'm
sorry.

My new companion and area are easily the best in the mission right
now. Elder Finlinson is a really humble, hard-worker, and the Longview
4th Spanish Branch is on the brink of seeing a ton of people come into
the church. This area is awesome for finding - tons of trailer parks
that are just mini-México. I can't stop talking about it.

Sometimes the mission just gets really tough and you feel really down,
though. Satan is allowed a few extra jabs at us when we are blessed,
and he got me down a couple of times this week about different things.

I just kept going out and working and doing what I know is right and
the Lord picked me up and dusted me off.  He's the best.

We had a great Mission Leadership Council this week as well! It's
always a blast seeing Elder El-Bakri and Elder Maxwell, my old
companions, as well as other mission buddies.

There aren't many things cooler than a training given by President and
Sister Taylor in a group as small as that.  The only thing I could
compare it to would be like if Elder Holland were teaching your Sunday
School class with his wife - yah, it's that awesome.

But the coolest lesson taught the whole day was this:

I was allergic to the dessert Sister Taylor made for lunch. Not a big
deal -  it's a lunch dessert at a meeting, no biggy. Well, President
Taylor overhears me turn down dessert from someone. He quietly
approachs me and says: "Would you eat something else if we had it?"

I just blew it off, "No worries President, really it doesn't bother me
at all...." So, he just leaves.

5 minutes later he comes back with another dessert he found in
freezer somewhere in the house, but I am allergic to it as well. This
time I am really like "No president please..." But he leaves again.

Another 5 or 10 minutes later, he comes back AGAIN with ANOTHER dessert.

Then he just gave me a secret bro handshake and walked away to go eat
his lunch.

It was seriously the most humbling, Christ-like thing ever, I'll never
forget it.

Message of the week:

Be more like President Taylor.

Love you all, especially my family.

-Elder Cox

MLC (Missionary Leadership Council)

Kool Aid Pickle - East Texas Delicacy + the homegirl who sold it to me

With former comp, Elder El-Bakri at MLC