January 12, 2015

Guys, it's been cold. But luckily when you find a sweet feather down parka with matching Eskimo hood (on sale!) you can bare -40 degree weather with ease despite missing multiple buses and being stuck outside. No frost bite for this Sista! I think prayer from home helps so thanks for that. It's back up into the 20s and life is good! We've been "ice skating" on the side walks which has been really fun and it's crazy how the snow just piles up here because there are no chinooks to melt it. People keep thinking I made up that word. I did not.

We were sad to have only 1 investigator at church this week but after the sermon, we realized it was a tender mercy. Our high council speaker talked about crickets and eating them for about 20 minutes and then ended abruptly with very little tie into the gospel. It was uncomfortable but really funny at the same time. The two members in front of us where just cracking up. Melissa has reset her baptismal date to February 7th and there are just miracles all over. We were teaching this awesome lady on the bus and missed our stop by about 30 blocks and got off the bus in a sketchier end of town. The bus to take us back to our area (which is really safe, beautiful and nice) came just 5 minutes later. God loves us. We were also on exchanges that day, so Sister Packer was pretty excited. And we had supper at the Lofgrans and they are awesome. Every time after dinner we go down stairs and have a light saber war before our lesson. Sister Lofgran has a sister going on a mission next week and they came out with us to go visit Pati.

Speaking of Pati, she is our Colombian less active who makes us some pretty delightful food even if she does try to wash it down with tea we aren't quite sure is kosher. It's ironic how often you accidentally break the word of wisdom on your mission. A lady gave us a chocolate with rum in it but failed to mention the rum part until after we swallowed. Anyways, she made us Colombian tamales and they were so good. We had some from Yolanda on New Years and we were craving a repeat so that was awesome. 

We were challenged to start a new Book of Mormon study this new year and I am reading all the war chapters again with a focus on this battle of life. I'm loving it and it's a really fun way to study. We're warriors my friends! 

We have also started a fun new game with our new Elder from New Zealand who just turned 20. It goes like this, "When Sister Cook was ___, Elder McMoore was still ___" My favourite one was when Sister Cook was baptized, Elder McMoore was still in diapers. It's been pretty entertaining. 

My battle advice for today is:

Dearly beloved brethren [and sisters], let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

Win for scriptures! Love your little soldier, 

Sister Cook