Eugene Oregon: Sister Cook

Another week of sun!

Not going to lie, I definitely thought there was going to be a lot more rain when I found out that I’d been called to Oregon.

One of our investigators came to institute this week which was super exciting! 

Another crazy story, we were tracting and this guy was super interested and right as sister Dodds was bearing her testimony he cut her off and closed the door. It was the strangest thing. Then later in the week we were on splits with the other sisters because we had overbooked ourselves and had too many appointments and Sister Dodds and Sister Clark were walking down the street and this lady pulled out of her driveway almost hitting them but as they are walking away she calls out to them, “don’t forget to come back and see Shaun” it was really bizarre. But the next day we brought a member and came back to see him, as he invited us in and got to know him a bit sister Dodds and I both felt that we needed to invite him to be baptized. To which question he responded, “a worthy proposition” and then accepted a date in June. 

As I was thinking about triggers of faith that I talked about last week I realized that not only does God use triggers, but so does Satan. Think about that. Satan uses triggers to distract us from those Godly things.

Love you all

Keep on keeping on
-Sister Cook

Last Monday after pday we went on exchanges with the STLs. While tracting we talked to so many people who were super cool and fun to talk to but none would accept commitments which was really frustrating. But then we went to a lesson with our investigator named Lewin. It was so good! The spirit was so strong and at the very end Sister Bunker and I were both feeling a baptismal invite so we asked him if he would be baptized on June 29th and he said yes! Literally such a good night and then afterwards he told us that when he said yes he just got this feeling like he was so excited. Such a good day!

On Saturday we gave him a tour of the church and he said he would come on Sunday, but he slept in and didn’t make it, so after dinner Sister Dodds and I swung by his house to see how he was doing and we were sitting in the car outside his house and we were just hit with doubts. We didn’t want to make it seem like he was a project and pressuring him too fast. And we sat there for a good 5 minutes trying to decide whether or not we should go talk to him.  After we came around and gathered our confidence we ended up talking to Lewin for an hour about doubts because he had gotten into some anti stuff  and had been plagued with doubts. We were able to bear pure testimony and back it up with personal experience ;).

We had some really good long days this week, one day we had just gotten back to the apartment and we were working on updating our area book and Sister Dodds was getting some food and she asked me if I wanted anything and I was all like “I really want cheese but I also really want to go to bed”. And if that doesn’t just sum up missionary work in a phrase I don’t know what does.

And then later in the week I was talking about how we know something through our imagination and I gave some analogy about a rocketship made out of cheese. I don’t know if you can tell but cheese has kind of been on my mind this week don’t ask me why.

Something else that’s really been on my mind this week has been what triggers our faith. Lots of time we have these big earthshattering lifechanging faith experiences but as humans do we forget and so God sends us triggers to prompt us to remember.  Like if I had a really cool faith filled experience in the mountains, seeing the mountains would trigger that memory and thus my faith would be rekindled. This morning I was reading in Jesus the Christ and it was talking about one of the reasons that Jesus spoke in parables. It said that one reason was for those triggers of faith. People would hear a story about planting a mustard seed and while they may not completely understand the deep doctrinal meaning behind the story, the next time they are out planting their mustard seeds, they remember the story and it prompts them to seek more. And it becomes so apparent that that is why Satan tries so hard to keep us from doing those things that trigger our memory like reading the scriptures, saying our prayers and going to church. Which is why it is so important to keep doing those things. Sometimes the triggers can even be more important and impactful than the original experience. 

Love you all!

God is so good!

-Sister Cook

1. Exchanges, also I got super sunburned…
2. Lol Cook sisters aka Sister Cook
3. Celebrating our on-date
4. Some lady gave me a succulent because I told her I kill plants so she challenged me to keep it alive, I’ll keep y’all updated
5. Pear farm raking
6. We found a pretty view so naturally we pulled over and I jumped out of the car and Sister Dodds took a picture through the car window.

First off: HAPPY EASTER! Ugh, this week was just so good and I can’t imagine a better way to end it off than by celebrating the resurrection! Ah so good!

One of the harder parts of our job as missionaries is working with people who have gone through some really tough things. It’s crazy how quickly people open up to you as a missionary, we could knock on a door and expect a quick disappointing rejection only to learn their whole life story and everything that weighs them down. This world is a crazy place and I don’t even know what’s going on half the time but that’s okay because God does. 

IMPORTANT  PSA: GATORBALL HAS BEEN BANNED! I don’t know if I’ve ever quite gone through such a trial of faith as I did when the zone leaders broke this news to us. To answer your questions: yes it has been rough, yes there have been many existential crises, yes it felt like the world was coming quickly to an end.  But there is a small light at the end of the tunnel. Just kidding. There is no light. Gatorball has been banned.

Somehow, even after such devastating news, we managed to push through it and be the best missionaries we could be under such trying circumstances. But have no fear! We were actually able to find 15 new people interested in the gospel which is almost double our previous high for a week! So yes it has been actually a pretty fantastic week! I guess when the people dropped us last week, the lord was just making room for all the new people we would be teaching!

Saturday night we stopped by a house to make a brief contact which ended up with a lot of tears and laughter and art. This guy that we were talking to is an artist and he has lived a rough life to say the least. But we were talking and teaching and comisserating and the spirit was so strong and we were all just bawling because God is so good. About 45 minutes into us talking the guy goes “wait a second I have something for you” and he goes back into his house and comes back carrying a large painting. And then he hands it to us and says “this is for you, it represents God”. Wow it was so cool! 

Unfortunately, Saturday was one of our days without the car so around 9 at night there were 2 girls in dresses walking down one of the busiest streets in Medford carrying a large painting.  I can only imagine the thoughts of those drivers as they drove past, their necks kinking under the strain of trying to turn too far around. 

One thing that has really stick with me this week is how God never lets anyone fall by the wayside. No one can slip through the cracks under His watch. There have been so many instances this week where it is just so apparent that God is watching out for His children. He loves us and He knows what’s best for us!

Love you guys! Happy Easter!!

-Sister Cook

1,2. On Saturday we gave service by partnering with Red Cross and the local Fire Department and installing free smoke alarms in trailer parks. While we were driving to the park the guy driving us gave us the whole history of a Gristmill that burned down last year and then pulled over to look at the remains of it and there was a nice bridge so we took a picture. 
3,4. Happy Easter from your favorite duo
5. The painting we received. It actually looks a lot cooler in real life bc it’s all 3d but oh well.
6. Tracting in the beautiful sunshiny weather.

Holllaaaa! First 6 weeks done! It’s crazy how fast time flies but also how slow it seems to be creeping by!

We lost one of our zone sisters 😦 Sister Williams went home, she served a very faithful almost 19 months and is now safely back in Utah, we miss her but we’re so grateful we got to serve around her for at least a little bit!

We had a lot of really amazing member moments this week! Our members here are really incredible! 

On Tuesday we were knocking houses and this lady opened the door and right away she said, “oh sisters!! Come on in! Is there anything I can get you?”  I was super grateful because we hadn’t scheduled an evening lesson with a member for that night so what were the odds that we would accidently knock into one. Sister Dodds and the sister started chatting away like old friends talking about her job and friends and I kind of took a backseat, it’d been a long day and I was pretty exhausted so I almost started dozing off. I introduced myself and asked a couple questions but I was just grateful for the chance to sit down and rest my eyes for a bit.

After a fair amount of small talk and catching up there was a lull in the conversation and all of a sudden the “member” said, “so what do YOU GUYS believe about exorcisms and demon possession”. I’m pretty sure I jumped like 3 feet out of my chair.

Long story short, this “member” was actually a nonmember who Sister Dodds had previously tracted into and had apparently taught for a little bit. Let me tell you, after that I was wide awake.

Something that’s really been on my mind this week is the fact that Jesus Christ never ever leaves us hanging. Never. He is ALWAYS there for us no matter what we are going through. But if we want to get through this life and live the happiest we can, sometimes we have to grit our teeth and hang onto him for dear life. He will never ever leave us hanging but we have to hang on to him. He is there for everything it’s just a matter of if we let him sit by and watch or if we are clinging to him with all our might as he supports us.

This gospel is so good. Not only does it give us a good feeling but it fills us. With this gospel, we are full and we understand our purpose.

Love you all!

-Sister Cook

1. Yogurt with the sisters!
2&3. Transfers and saying bye to Swill

I  think this week can be summarized in member and nonmember generosity. The amount of food that members and nonmembers have given us this week, their generosity in letting us come over for conference, their kind words and messages it really has just been such a blessing. We’ve gotten fresh eggs, cool leather bracelets, hot chocolate and soup, more soup and guacamole and cheese and chips and salads and many many desserts. Overall I think its safe to say that as missionaries we’re pretty watched out for.

The other day while we were tracting, we knocked on this door and a man opened the door, he told us that he didn’t have time to talk because he was going on a date with his wife, we were all like “ooooh, where are you going?” he said “shhhhh it’s a surprise” and then we cordially parted ways. Anyways, the next day we were up tracting in that same area and we were walking to the next house and this guy comes running down the street, we waved hello not really thinking much of it, but after running a couple paces the man turns around yells back to us “the date went perfect!” We were just like “wait what?” And then we remembered our brief conversation the day before. Maybe someday he’ll remember the sister missionaries that knocked on his door the day of one of his perfect dates and he’ll want to know more.

It’s kind of crazy how many people you see in such a short amount of time, and how many people remember your face.

On Thursday we had a really solid conversation with this lady named Amy about God’s love for all of his children and the role that he plays in each of our lives and we all were just super hyped and like “YES! God is so good!” And we left her with a pamphlet and our number and we were so pumped. Anyways, we continued knocking doors and we were standing on a porch probably 10 houses down and we had knocked a couple times but the house looked pretty dark so we weren’t hopeful that anyone would respond but then we hear someone yell “they aren’t home! But I have something for you!” Shocked we turned around and saw someone running towards us from a car parked in front of the house. It was Amy and she was holding a plastic bag in her hand. As she came up to us, she said, “thank you so much for reminding me about how important God is!” Then she handed us a bag with a couple of leather bracelets in it. She had tracked us down in her car because we had touched her and she wanted to show us her appreciation. People are so good!

Conference weekend was amazing! We were able to watch every session of conference with a different family and wow what a weekend! It’s amazing how this gospel is so simple yet it changes so many lives! Simplicity is key. God is so good! People are amazing!

Friday night we knocked on this guy’s house, and it was a super sweet old man who was living by himself, he was 94 years old anyways super great, we got to know him a bit, bore our testimonies and as he said “have a good night” and started closing the door I blurted out: “love you, take care” and then I was like wait a second I just told him I loved him. Luckily being 94 years of age his hearing was not quite up to perfection and I think my accidental slip up went unnoticed.

Love you all! (actually) The gospel is so good! It’s so true! I love this work!

-Sister Cook
Sorry no pictures… if I find any, I’ll send them

What a week. I was looking through my journal to try and figure out what happened this last week and I realized that I had unintentionally started every journal entry of this week with “wow”. I think that’s just a pretty good summary of this week just “wow”.

It’s crazy how God really watches out for his missionaries. One of the sisters in our zone tore a tendon in her foot so they’ve had the car the whole week. On Thursday we met with this guy who just chatted our ear off but his house was super far away from our apartment and by the time we got out we had talked straight through dinner and we didn’t have time to go home before 5-7 tracting and then it started raining. So we were tracting in the rain and we hadn’t had any food since lunch and one of the members of our ward just happened to drive past us and he recognized us and pulled over and offered to buy us dinner without even knowing that we hadn’t eaten that day. It was amazing. Even though it wasn’t that big of a deal and we were going to be fine, God still made sure that his missionaries were fed that night.

On Saturday we tracted into a guy who was really not interested in our message but when we offered service he suddenly perked up. So we ended up pulling weeds in his front yard for 2 hours but it was super fun and we chatted a lot about organic gardening which was very informational.

We are so pumped for general conference!!! We got approval to watch the Saturday morning session as a zone at a member’s house which will be so much fun! We can’t wait to see what exciting changes and promises and revelations are going to be announced this week!Hurrah for Israel!

Lots of Love!!-Sister Cook
1. Zone sisters at the temple
2. Sister Dodds and I at the temple
3. Our zone 

Fyi, sorry I forgot to tell y’all that my pday is today this week because we’re going to the temple today! 

This week we did a lot of good finding. We were able to contact a lot of people and leave positive messages but overall we were not able to get a lot of lessons in this week which was honestly a little frustrating because we were putting in all the work and we were doing everything we should be but we just weren’t seeing any results.

Finally, after a really good discussion at district council on Saturday about expecting miracles and reaping blessing we started to see the miracles. 

On Sunday, there was just something in the air. We were so hyped and pumped to get out and keep working. We were able to run into Eric who we’ve been contacting on and off and we actually set up a solid lesson for this week. Then we went over to this lady named Poppy’s house because we tracted into her earlier and we shared a message with her but then she broke down crying and shut the door, so we came back Sunday and dropped off cookies and went to visit her and she totally opened up to us and told us that it was no accident that we showed up the day that we did and the time that we did. Then we were tracting later and we knocked on this door and a guy opens the door and was all like “wow, you guys still tract? Is this a joke? We only moved here a month ago and you guys already found us” and Sister Dodds and I were just like uhhh what’s happening. Then he was like “give me a second to get ready and get my fiance then you guys can come in”. Long story short, this guy had been raised a member, went on a mission and still has all the same standards but just doesn’t really come to church anymore but his fiance is not a member and they had just been talking about religion and how they wanted to start coming to church, and just the other day she had gotten a text from an old friend who invited her to church and then the day before we showed up they had seen the sisters at lunch and were all like “hey it’s the sisters” and then we showed up at their door. God don’t do accidents. They even fed us some of their chili. 

Moral of the story: when you do what you’re supposed to and God promise you miracles, he will always fulfill his end of the bargain.

We heard some wise advice this week: we were teaching a lesson at a member’s house and we were talking about general conference and about counsel that the prophet gives us and their  youngest boy pipes up and is all like “don’t drink toilet water”. Now you know, as you are all watching and reaping the blessings of general conference, don’t forget that drinking toilet water is bad.

Love you guys so much! God is good! God is real!  The gospel is true!!

Sister Cook

1. My companion loves her celery
2. Sister William’s decided she really wanted peanut butter for lunch but no one had peanut butter except the elders who were at a doctor’s appointment so we broke into their apartment to get peanut butter
3. Zone sisters
4. Sister Williams hit her 18 month mark this week so we made her breakfast and surprised her and we all ate together as zone sisters.

Ayyyyyyyy

Our area is sort of split into two unofficial areas: we have the area we don’t go near when it’s dark outside and then we have the mansions on the hill. It’s kind of a different experience tracting on the hill because most of the houses have those Ring doorbells with the camera and the speaker. So on Tuesday Sister Dodds and I were tracting and we knocked and rang at this one house and nobody came to the door, but we saw that they had a Ring doorbell so we left them a very meaningful, inspirational message about God’s love for them. The only thing it was missing was a baptismal invite. We are now taking orders for custom gospel messages if you would like to place your order we will get back to you in 17 months at the earliest.

We had zone conference!!! It was so good! We talked about car accidents for a good couple hours and all that jazz which was super fun. It was actually a pretty heavy topic, just like the food was pretty heavy in my stomach and my eyelids were also pretty heavy. But wow! It’s so nice to be working so hard all week and then to have a day where we can just spiritually feast was a special treat.

On Friday we had New Missionary Training and zone lunch, but afterwards we decided we wanted to mix it up a bit so we went on a couple splits with the other sisters in our zone.  It was so much fun! Sister William’s and I went over to some apartments to try to contact some people in their area. Both of the people we tried to reach fell through but as we were walking away this guy approached us and we just started up some small talk. We got to know him a bit and introduced ourselves, and as we told him that we were missionaries he was like “yo, I was just sitting in my apartment thinking about religion and I felt like I should go outside and you guys were just standing there”.  Anyways, long story short we talked with him for a good 45 minutes and we introduced the Book of Mormon to him and then we invited him to be baptized and he said yes! It was insane! We set up a return appointment but because we were on splits and he wasn’t in my area I haven’t seen him since.  Wow God works in mysterious ways! What’s even more crazy is that we were supposed to be at those apartments a good hour earlier but because zone lunch went over, we were running really late, but it’s crazy to think that we might never had met him if we’d been there when we were supposed to.

On Tuesday mornings we do service at a food pantry in downtown Medford with the zone. This week we were sorting different breads and the elders kept calling the tortillas tortillos, so if you’ve ever wondered what an Oregonian accent sounds like say tortilla like armadillo and say armadillo like tortilla. Now you know…

I’ve been reading this week in 1st Nephi and something that kind of stuck out to me is that first Nephi had the desire to learn more then he had faith that he could learn more and then he looked around. I think sometimes the hardest part isn’t having a desire or having the faith but it’s remembering to look around because often the Lord sends answers in every day normal happenings that we could miss if we aren’t looking.

Anywho hope allyalls weeks have been going fantasmically!
Love you!-Sister Cook

1. Our dysfunctional zone with President and Sister Orton at Zone conference
2. The view from the hill 

Area: Medford
Companion: Sister Dodd (trainer)

WE MADE IT TO OREGON! Thankfully I didn’t lose anyone on the way to the airport, we had a couple close calls with some moderate to serious short-distance sprints but all 10 of us made it to Oregon in one piece! Hallelujah!

I’m pretty sure I fell asleep before our plane even took off, so when I woke up and discovered that we were still in an airport with about two feet of snow and mountains in the distance I got sort of confused.  But, turns out Eugene had just been hit with a huge snowstorm, which is apparently unusual for them. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Right now I’m in Medford, which is kind of in the Southern part of Oregon. It’s not super big but we do have our fair share of mansions and shacks in our area, lots of variety. 

My companion is Sister Dodds she’s been on her mission for 10 months and she’s been in Medford the last 2 transfers and she’s super short, like 5’2″. It’s funny looking at our reflections in the glass doors because even when I’m standing behind her on a lower stair I’m still taller than her. Lol

So remember how the MTC was like Disneyland because it was the happiest place on earth? Well, the mission field is like Disneyland because of all the walking. Oh, and the happiness of course. Apparently, we are supposed to have a car but the sisters that were here before us ran it into a tree so it’s been in the shop for the past week. Hopefully we’ll get it back sometime this week but for now we’re just enjoying one of the wildest rides in the wilderness by foot. 😉 

Honestly,  one of my favorite parts of the mission so far has been all the member’s homes. Because our area wasn’t designed as a walking mission it’s pretty spread out so we’ve been able to catch rides with members a lot which has been super nice. But it’s so amazing to be in member’s homes after knocking doors all day because there seriously is such a tangible difference in a home where the gospel resides, it’s so refreshing. 

I would encourage all y’all to invite the missionaries over for an evening lesson some time in the coming weeks because we love meeting with members and they seriously help the work along so much!

God is good! God is real! The gospel is true!! 

Love you all!!

-Sister Cook

Ps: I forgot to mention that last Tuesday our devotional speaker was Elder Christofferson and because I accompanied the sister that sang at the MTC presidency dinner, I got to meet him and shake his hand and then perform for him it was so cool! 

1. The room where the presidency dinner was held it was so small I felt like they were all breathing down my back but it was definitely one of the coolest experiences to date!
2. I found you a palm tree Heidi! I’ll try to take more pictures next week..
3. Sister Cook with her mission President and his wife.