Merry Christmas to All!

Monday, December 23, 2013

All,

So if any of you are wondering why the time stamp is so late, let's just say that the internet was not being friendly at the church and I just barely found a computer to use. And we went digging for gold (only 7 flakes of dust to show for our troubles). But does that dampen my spirit's? Not even close! It's Christmas time and the best time of year to increase my faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Since I'm a poor missionary and don't have a whole lot of funds or time, I'd like to share my testimony with you as my present: 

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." In these times of trials and uncertainty, there can be peace in our lives. When we draw closer to our Father in Heaven through His Son we can know the joy and happiness that comes from the Gospel. The Atonement of Christ is real and I have seen it work in my life and the lives of others. So while this season is important to remember the babe in Bethlehem, never forget the man in Calvary. For that is the news the angels brought, the "gladsome tidings...which inspired their heavenly song." I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. I have dedicated 2 years of my life to spreading these truths and to find what my older brother would have me do. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

I love you all and hope you have a very, very, merry Christmas wherever you are.

Elder Cox

P.S. Elder Carper says hi.

Welcome to Rosamond

Monday, December 16, 2013

All,

Well, I have decided that I don't like transfers at all for lots of reasons. The biggest one is that I end up getting sick. So I apologize if this email doesn't make sense, because it will be brief. I am now serving in Rosamond and the ward apparently is awesome. They give a lot of food to us and make sure that we are always taken care of. I wouldn't know anything about them, because Thursday I got really sick, and am still trying to get better. I don't want to give any details because it's a little embarrassing (but not life threatening), needless to say I'm in pain and not going anywhere anytime soon. My companion is Elder Carper from Layton, UT and has been out for 4 (?) months and is by far the youngest companion I have had so far. But he wants to work and once I get better we are going to kick it! We have three people with a baptismal date and the work has amazing potential here. So I'm excited.

That's really all I can say right now, other than my new address is: 

3400 15th Street West, #57

Rosamond, CA, 93560

Love you all,

Elder Cox  

 

Here's your hat. What's your hurry?

Monday, December 9, 2013

Not much to say about the week. The biggest news is that I'm getting transferred again, to put all the rumors to rest. And I have a feeling that now I'm going to the East side of the mission, since they have been swapping missionaries from east to west and west to east this whole time. So we'll have to see what the Lord has in store for me.

I'll share a funny story from this week though. On Tuesday, the ward goes on to visit less-active members of the ward. I went with a brother (we'll call him Brother Jones for now) to the slums of the ward to visit a large span-am family. We were driving along, when all of a sudden out of the dark this large mutt charged the car. We were driving at a decent pace but this dog was keeping up with us. And even though we were in a car, I was kinda scared. This dog meant business and I knew if we slowed down, he probably would have tried to jump through the window and get us. Needless to say, we sped up and finally lost him at about 25 mph. And that pretty much describes my area. Bon voyage!

So I'll let you all know where I am for Christmas and hope you enjoy the various degrees of winter you are having.

Love,

Elder Cox

Who's up for round 2?

 

Monday, December 2, 2013

As I said in my last email, Elder Taylor and I both got sick. Well I got better, my companion not so much. We went to urgent care (just like Quick Care) and my companion was diagnosed with a upper respiratory and stomach infection, as well as a common cold. So we were confined to the apartment from Tuesday to Saturday so that he could rest and heal. So we did much of the same stuff that we have been for the past week or so. But there were still blessings to be had, the sister missionaries in College Heights were able to contact a former investigator that now lives in our area and set up an appointment to meet with him yesterday. Unfortunately, he either forgot or just plain flaked on us. But the fact that he was still willing to talk to the missionaries gives us hope that we can still contact him and help him to understand better his relationship with his Father in Heaven.

I did have a great experience as I was reading the Ensign, and also thinking about what am I to learn from these past few weeks of sicknesses and trials. As I was reading President Uchtdorf's remarks, one passage summed it all up for me, "Brethren, our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward." Yes we were beaten physically and brought low. But it only made us humble and increased our determination to serve our Father in Heaven with all the energy we can muster, because now we know what it's like to be called to do something, and not reach the potential that our Father in heaven sees in us; to have a desire to serve and not be able to act upon it. 

So my counsel for you all this week is to read the conference talks!!! Learn about what our leaders have been inspired to say to us in these the last days. Their words are modern revelation, custom-fit to meet any and all walks of life. Especially as next Sunday is the Christmas devotional, you should all watch it. I can promise that the rest of 2013 will be full of brightness and hope if you do.

That's all for this week. Just trying not to count down the days until Christmas when I can talk to my family so I can focus on missionary stuff...here's to not thinking about it!!

Love you all,

Elder Cox

Hack, hack, hack, wheeze....

Monday, November 25, 2013

So this week was fun, Elder Taylor and I took turns being sick so we were stuck in the apartment for pretty much the whole time. But the positive side is that I had lots of time to just sit and think about things. One of the things I was really thinking about was the fact that we are sons and daughters of God and how that knowledge helps us be obedient. Knowing that we are heirs to a king and that just as our actions reflect upon our Earthly parents, so too our decisions reflect upon our Heavenly parents. So shouldn't we always want to make our Father proud? When we keep it in that perspective it makes difficult decisions just that much easier and being obedient in anything just that much simpler. And then the words of Paul just bring it home: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

That's...uhhhh...really about it. Like I said being sick sucks when you are at home with a mom to help you out; in the mission field it was downright miserable, especially since I didn't get a working DVD player to watch my D&C study videos until Thursday. And with no TV, I just laid in bed and watched the fan spin for hours on end. Like I said, I had lots of time to think. But I'm much better now and looking forward to Thanksgiving. Hope you all enjoy it and for pity's sake please, please don't start any Christmas stuff until after 12:00am Friday morning. It's bad enough there are some stores out here opening at 6pm on Thursday. It makes me hopping mad! But enjoy the turkey and stuffing and good company, I know I will. And if you have problems such as Job in that "...his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him," remember AlkaSeltzer is amazing stuff.

Elder Cox

Roadside blessing

Monday, November 18, 2013

 

All,

Let me begin with a story from this last week:

We were on exchanges with the Zone Leaders (meaning we swapped companions for the day) and it was kinda dark and we were walking around. All of a sudden a car pulls up to us and this slurred woman's voice comes out of it and says, "Elders wait, I need your help." We stepped closer to find a woman driving and she is obviously in distress. We ask her what's wrong and she proceeds to tell us that she has just run out on her husband, who has been using their money for...bad habits and that he was beating her earlier that the night and ripped out some of her hair. So she took the keys and ran. She said that she was member and that her bishop was going to go see her in the morning at the motel she was going to; but if we could give her a blessing, she really needed it. Elder Flake and I kinda looked at each other and weren't entirely sure what to do.  She made the decision for us and opened her passenger door and said to just do it right there on the side of the road. So with Elder Flake watching on, I slid into the seat and proceeded to give her a blessing of comfort. Now in my short experience as a missionary, I have been very fortunate to be the mouth piece of our Father in Heaven in many situations, but none as unique as this. And how amazing it was to act as the hymn says:

"Perhaps today there are loving words

Which Jesus would have me speak;

There may be now in the paths of sin

Some wand'rer whom I should seek.

O Savior, if thou wilt be my guide,

Tho dark and rugged the way,

My voice shall echo the message sweet:

I'll say what you want me to say."

It just goes to show that we need to be where the Lord wants us to be to bless the lives of his sons and daughters.

We also taught a lesson on the other side of the ward which was about as golden as it could have gone. He was an honest seeker of truth and as the Doctrine of Covenants says, "For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men...and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it."

That's really all that happened of significance that I feel like telling ya'll, so love you and hope you have a productive week.

Elder Cox

P.S. Schnitzel is amazing!!!

 

One does not simply pick up investigators without faith...

Monday, November 11, 2013

 

All,

Whew!  Okay I have a little more time to type to everyone this week so hopefully I can fill in a couple more gaps in my last email. When I said I was a minority, I wasn't really exaggerating at all. On the East side of my area are a ton of Latinos and I really wished that I knew more than high school Spanish now. And then as you go more west, the blacker it gets, until you hit (whether it's ironic or intentional I don't know) Martin Luther King Jr. Park, which is 100% black and they don't really care for white boys over there, so we kinda stay with the Latinos and nicer black people in the SW corner of our area. But the people are great, when they realize that you aren't with the cops or FBI they are really nice and open up. And I could listen to them talk all day! They sound so different than I'm used to hearing people talk. Like this one old black lady we stopped and asked if she needed help sweeping she said, "Oh no, but thankee child. It's just one-a doughs things that hasta be did." I love it!!!!

The ward is also awesome, they are really good about feeding us and doing work. But like I said last week, there aren't a whole lot of them on our side of the tracks, so that's a little rough to have to keep traveling up and down the ward to dinner and back, but thankfully we have a car and don't have to do it on bikes. Me and Elder Taylor are getting along...well...I guess you could say. There are some things we don't see eye to eye on but we're working on that and just always making sure that the spirit is present when we are teaching and studying. We still don't have any investigators, which actually leads to the spiritual part of my letter.

When Alma went to the city of Ammonihah, the people rejected him and cast him out from their midst. And as he was walking to another city, pondering their wickedness and saddened by it, an angel appeared unto him and commanded him to go back to Ammonihah and cry repentance to them. So what did Alma do? We read, "Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah." So when we couldn't find anyone to teach just like Alma, instead of giving up and going home, we have decided to come at the problem from a different way and trust in the Lord completely to give someone to us who is ready for the gospel.

That's about all I have time for. I love you all and hope that you have a successful week in whatever you do...well...so long as you aren't doing anything illegal or nefarious, then I hope you fail! Otherwise, be strong and sing hymns (that's what we did for sacrament meeting on Sunday was to have many congregational hymns and it was so inspiring).

Elder Cox

 

The last one until Monday:

And loving it!

Monday, November 4, 2013

All -

Okay, let's see how fast I can type. I'm now on a time crunch and don't have the luxury of typing all I want.

I am now serving in the Bakersfield First Ward South, which means that I went from covering two wards, to one ward, and now to half a ward (the other half is covered by Elder Asher from Wyoming and Elder Lund from Maryland). All but three active members live on the north side outside of my designated proselyting area, so I am moving around a lot, and me and my companion (Elder Taylor from Oklahoma City) are 2 of maybe 10 white people. But the ward is great, they love us to death, and the area just got open, so there are no investigators and I'm talking to everyone that I see just so that I can teach somebody the Gospel. I'm in a car share, so I'll be on a bike a couple days out of the week, but my area is pretty much flat as a pancake so I'm not worried.   

This week as I said had a lot of finding and listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. As such, that is where I focused the majority of my personal studies, about how to rely on the Holy Ghost and what to say and do to best utilize his advice. And the biggest thing that I found as I studied is actually very well summarized in D&C 100: 5-8 which says, "Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say. But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things. And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say." Basically, I need to exercise the courage and faith necessary to open my mouth and the Lord will fill it. And trust me, it needs to be filled out here.

That's about all that I have time for, hope everyone is doing well and I'll try and sneak a few more minutes in next week for ya'll.

Or you could send letter via snail mail to the mission office.

Elder Cox

Here's Elder Cox's mission address:

 Elder Ethan L. Cox

California Bakersfield Mission

3512 Coffee Road, Suite B

Bakersfield, CA  93308

And another one:

"Where's he going? I don't know. How do we get there? Come'n let's go!"

Monday, October 28, 2013

All -

Extra brownie points to anyone who knows where the quote is from that's in the title.

Fun stuff first! We had a pumpkin carving activity last Monday, threw a surprise dinner party for a departing Elder (during which I had to use my British accent and make him think he was having dinner with Brother Alfred Mills from Winchester), and got to stay behind while the other two companionships up here went to the temple for birthdays. Bummer deal!

Well, my sojourn in the mountains of Tehachapi is at an end. I've been here 6 months, seen seven Elders come and go in my district, two elders "die" (went home), and four convert baptisms (none of which were mine). I've had tons of fun, made lots of friendships that will last through the eternities, and definitely found out the kind of Elder that I want to be when I come home in 18 months. It will always be my first and all other areas will have to compare to these people out here. But life goes on and there are other live to bless and other souls to bring unto Christ.

Now for the big news: this past week I got to learn at the feet of Elders Golden and Saben (?) of the Seventy and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Twelve. What an incredible experience to hear their words and to shake their hands and feel the power of their priesthood as they entered the room. And wouldn't you know it, I got mainly the same message from all of them, as if they were sent to talk to me and my concerns: allow yourself to be exactly obedient and become the most effective tool that the Lord has to work with in this mission; and trust your mission president completely, his word is law. 

There are two things related to this that I want to share, the first from Elder Golden. He drew our attention to Alma 7 to read and study it as it pertains to being obedient. The verses that stuck out to me (as if Alma was talking right to me) are 15, 22-23 which says: 

     "Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments...

     And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.

     And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive."

As if that couldn't be clearer, President Wilson has been talking about this since he came into the mission field! But I wasn't really sure that I trusted him that he knew what he was talking about, until Sunday (I know, I should know better than to question a mission president). This leads to my second point about listening to your mission President. Elder Christofferson came and for most of the time that he was with us he had a Q&A session, but for the brief time he had prepared material, he talked to us about why we are assigned to specific missions. Many people (myself included) labor under the notion that they are in a mission to bless specific people. While this is true in most cases, many missionaries would be successful no matter where they were assigned. So Elder Christofferson shared a secret with us: missionaries are assigned to missions to learn from specific mission presidents. He went on to say that every mission president is unique and they have their own way of doing things, and as such, missionaries can learn different things from different leaders. Well, I guess I better do what my mission president says with exact obedience then.

That's all for this week. Next week I'm not sure what the internet situation is going to be and how much time I am going to have so hopefully I will be blessed with super typing skills just in case I have to get off the computer fast. So don't anybody take it the wrong way, okay?

Love you all and hope you have a spooky Halloween and an epic sugar hangover!

Elder Cox

Elder Cox carving his pumpkin.

His finished product.  Meet "Jed".

Elder Cox doing his imitation of the "Teletubbies" sun.  Actually, he's looking inside a pumpkin and someone else is taking a picture from the other end.  Freaky!

 

More carved pumpkins.

And more carved pumpkins.

SpongeBob Square pumpkin.

Tehachapi the morning Elder Cox left.  He says the weather was having a "hissy fit" since he was leaving.

Here's another one:

Adventure is Out There!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Fun stuff first. Last Monday we went on a hike up the side of the ridge and let me tell you, I didn't realize how much I was out of shape. My whole side was on fire and my back was so tight I had a hard time breathing. Of course, that might have been the venom moving through my body after I got stung by a bee in the first 5 minutes. Nah, that couldn't have been it. Anyways, we got to the top and had an excellent view of Tehachapi and then it was all down hill from there (literally, not figuratively). It was a lot of fun and this week we are going to try and carve some pumpkins. Man, we should have an Elder going home every transfer, this is lots of fun saying goodbye! 

 

We also had exchanges on Tuesday which were a blast, had the best turkey burger I have ever eaten; and then a tripanionship on Thursday because Elder Flores (the aforementioned departing missionary) had his departing temple trip and was gone all day. I tried some hot sauce called Mega Death on Thursday which just about killed me. I put a drop (less than a drop actually) on my tongue and immediately I started coughing and choking, all the while feeling like my tongue got smashed with a hammer. So I had adventures all this week.

Now for the spiritual. First let me say thank you for all the words of encouragement and support. This week was much better than the last: we picked up two investigators and both of them are progressing! It is a wonderful change from just a short while ago when I was running around trying to find someone (anyone really) to teach. We even had our district blitz the area for an hour or so just so we could get a few more potentials. But what I'm very hopeful for is that my and my companion's talks on Sunday really get the ward fired up and get them praying and searching for those who need the gospel. I gave the members four things to do: 1) Pray for missionary opportunities; 2) Find neighbors/friends/family that are ready for the gospel; 3) Love them and become their friend; 4) Invite them to learn more and have the missionaries over to do the teaching. I got my fingers crossed that they will finally get the message and give me some referrals! 

I love you all and hope that you have a goofy goober week!

Elder Cox

 

Here are the photos Elder Cox took on his hike.  He didn't give me names of the people in the pics or where they went hiking.  All I know is that it's his district and it's in the hills of Tehachapi.  Enjoy!

 

 

So sorry it's taken forever to get this posted!!  Enjoy!!

Here at the Wall

Monday, October 14, 2013

We went on exchanges with the zone leaders on Wednesday, and I was hesitant about it at first. My experience with zone leaders in the past has not been good, so I was expecting a really bad day. I am so glad to be proven wrong. I was with Elder Neff and at first I was very wary of him, just kind of waiting to see it he was going to be like leadership I've had in the past. But as the day went on and we started opening up to each other, I found a much better zone leader than I have encountered my whole mission. We found a few potentials and ministered to some others, but the most important thing that came out of the exchanges was that my suspicion and distrust was replaced by love and respect for him, especially when he counseled me about the area.

 

For a while I have felt as if I'm just running into a wall while trying to find a door. And just on the other side of the wall I know there is someone waiting to hear the gospel. But for almost 6 months I have been unable to find the door and my head is starting to hurt from hitting the wall so many times. But Elder Neff just encouraged me and said that I need to let the mission go through me, and when I allow it to work within me that is when the door will open. Just as Alma was told to return (in Alma 8) again to Ammonihah and he did so by a different way and thereby found success, so to do I need to lift up [my] head and rejoice, because there there is much work to be done and I just need to "...labor diligently...that [I] may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest [my soul] in the kingdom of God." - Moroni 9:6.

 

That's really about all I have for this week, we're planning on going on a hike here in a few minutes as a district so I'll have some pictures for everyone next week. 

 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Cox

"...but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."

Monday, October 7, 2013

This week was lots of fun, because I was looking forward to Conference every day. This is the first time in my life that I have been able to watch all 10 hours of it, and it was very uplifting. I was particularly inspired by President Uchtdorf's message about "you can stand now." It was such an awesome reminder that I need to be always reaching out to my Lord and Savior and allow him to help me up. I also found Elder Holland's words of hope to counter depression uplifting too, even though I don't suffer to the degree he was talking about.

Another thing that I like to look for in Conference is a sort of theme, like how when President Monson lowered the age for missionaries, the majority of talks seemed to revolve around missionary work. This Conference I was expecting more about being prepared or to not to worry about warmongering. I was surprised (though not really) to find that they talked a lot about the family, eternal marriage, and about civil governments. I am so grateful for the Gospel and the eternal importance it places on families, and how through them we are able to overcome many of life's difficulties.

That's about it. The work is going a little slow, but I have faith that conference will spark someone into action. I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

Elder Cox

 

Here's a picture of me and Elder Eisele. We helped on the wall in the foreground.  The wall in the mid-ground and the back ground were built entirely by me. Well... my companions helped too, but it was mostly me.

 

We'll pass through the Mines of Moria!

Monday, September 30, 2013

E'erybody -

 

First, some funny stuff that happened this week. On Friday, we (meaning myself, and Elders Eisele, Flores, and Gillies) had to help move some furniture.  During the course of the work, we started referring to ourselves as "Lord of the Rings" characters: Elder Flores is Aragorn because he is the reluctant (district) leader; Elder Gillies is Legalos because he is this quiet, lean figure; Elder Eisele is Pippin because he has nervous energy and a high-pitched voice; and I have the supreme pleasure of being Gimli, son of Gloin, because I'm short and everyone loves me. So now since then, we have been quoting the movies almost nonstop and it is so much fun to geek out with people again. We also got to scrap some paint off a shed at the top of a mountain, which the paint did not want to be scrapped, so it forced us to punch the wood frequently and I got some gnarly abrasions. All for the common good!

 

Also this past week, we had our weekly planning with the Zone Leaders in a large group setting. It was kinda weird to say the least; at times it was difficult to feel the promptings of the spirit because I was distracted by the other missionaries, and I felt that the Zone Leaders were "hovering" sometimes. But we got through it in one piece and actually I had the principle of planning for specific people (not just a vague list) at a specific time (not just a range) reaffirmed to me and have since seen the importance of it in missionary work. Because although the investigator may drop you in the days leading up to when you plan to see them, it is still vital that you show your faith to God that you will be in a specific place and he can put people there that you can reach. 

 

We also went on temporary tripanionship (a group of three elders) exchanges with Elder Gillies while his companion Elder Flores was in leadership training. It was a lot of fun and we had many doors open to us that would have been closed. One guy in particular said that he usually sends us away when we come to his door, but we caught him at just the right time when he was distracted and had his hands full. Increases my testimony of exchanges even more.

 

That's about it for the week. It felt like I did a lot of nothing, because my numbers were really low. And for those of you who aren't familiar, when I say numbers I mean something called "key indicators". They are events in peoples' lives that lead them on the path towards making covenants with their Father in Heaven, and we record them to get a sense of how the area as a whole is faring. They include stuff like how many lessons did you teach with a member present, or how many new investigators did you get this week. However, what is not recorded is how many times you render service, or how many people you plant a seed when you tell them about the Gospel (just not in a formal lesson), and stuff like that. So it's hard sometimes to think that you have done any good in a week when the numbers that are recorded aren't all that great.

 

At times like that, it is always important to remember Doctrine and Covenants 18:15 which says, "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" And when the going is rough remember, you can count as that one soul.

 

I love you all and hope you have an excellent week -

 

Elder Cox

Surely, you must be joking...

 

Monday, September 23, 2013

 

Let me start off with a disclaimer: if this email comes off as angry or ungrateful, I apologize in advance. It is not intended that way. I merely wish to let you know of some things that happened this week that, while they might not seem that important in your eyes, impacted me a great deal.

 

So as you may or may not know, transfer calls were Saturday the 14th; and they are usually made to this area around 10:30-11:00AM. However, on Saturday, we waited and waited; but the calls never came. So around 1:00PM we texted the Zone Leaders and asked them if we were still getting transfer calls that day. A few minutes later they called us and said that we were both staying... and that was it. So Elder Eisele and I were really excited and began to solidify our goals and plans for the upcoming transfer with the notion that we would be working in Bear Valley and in Golden Hills.

 

However, on Tuesday (the day of transfer meeting) Elder Flores (our district leader) texted me and told me that there were now Sisters in Bear Valley and that my area was split. I regret to say that I did not believe him.  We like to joke around a bit and I thought he was just trying to "punk" me. Also the fact that the Zone Leaders mentioned nothing when they called on Saturday, only solidified my belief that it wasn't true, and that I still covered both wards. But when he kept insisting and I kept denying it, we finally agreed to call the assistants and get to the bottom of if. Elder Scott plainly said that yes, Sisters were in Bear Valley and that the Zone Leaders should have told me when they called on Saturday.

 

I was devastated to say the least. Not so much that I had lost Bear Valley (because it would have been no different than if I was transferred out of the area) but that I was not told in advance that I was losing a whole ward of people that I love. Again I regret to say that my devastation quickly turned to anger towards the Zone Leaders, and their apparent lack of candor in this matter. I was of the mind-set that they were incompetent, ineffective leaders and my faith was very shaken regarding the Elder-leadership of this mission. Because if something as important as an area split "slipped their minds," how could I put my trust in them? Here I was with a plan for two wards and twice the teaching pool and all of a sudden everything is cut into half. I felt like I had the rug pulled out from under me and then knocked upside the head. I was so disoriented. So for a few days after that I was very belligerent, confused and spiteful: the spirit was gone from the work. I was unable to get myself out of the hole of wrath that I had dug myself into, and my drive to do anything worthwhile was utterly spent.

 

Then I read in Isaiah 40:28-31 which says, "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

 

I was very bluntly told by God that it doesn't matter what happens to you, and that young men (Elders maybe?) will fail. But if I always put my trust in the Lord and serve him only, then I will have the strength to do all things. This really snapped me out of my stupor of thought and reminded me to keep things in the eternal perspective. So I picked myself up, dusted off my shirt, and got back to work. It'll take a little time to fully heal, but just as was talked about in the East Bakersfield Stake conference, through the Atonement all wounds (physical or spiritual) can be healed, and when we serve others we can be as the hymn says, "I had myself a wound concealed, But from that hour forgot the smart, And peace bound up my broken heart."

 

Then for icing on the cake, Golden Hills had their primary program yesterday and let me just say, that only in the temple have I felt a stronger spirit. The Holy Ghost testified to me that God loves me, and that He wants me to serve him to the end so that in the last day, when I'm able to kneel at his feet He can say, "well done my good and faithful servant." I love this work, and I know that I have had a rough couple of weeks.. But I know there is much work to be done and that every able-bodied young man is needed to further the work of salvation. So in closing, I just want to say that I'm okay now.  I've moved on from these trials, and I have my eye fixed upon the glory of God.

 

I hope that I have not discouraged anyone out there, but I just wanted you all to know what's been going on and that all's well now. The Gospel is still true and this is the restored Church that Christ is the head of. The Atonement is real and forgiveness is an amazing attribute that we should all strive to develop.

 

I love you all and pray that you have a most excellent week.

Elder Cox

 

 

Elder Cox getting a much needed haircut!

 

 

Sorry this is later than normal.  I've also attached a sweet email I received from a woman that Elder Cox has been teaching.  Her husband is a member, but she isn't.  Hope that can change with my son's help.  :)

Guess I need to work on my revelatory skills

Monday, September 16, 2013

First and foremost, I am staying in Tehachapi (and my powers of revelation are less than reliable), at least until the end of October. And I still have Elder Eisele as well. And believe it or not, I am glad that I'm staying because I have a vision for the work here that I haven't quite been able to realize, and I was hoping that I would have more time to see it come to fruition. President and Sister Wilson's words on Sunday during Stake Conference should definitely help the wards get more enthusiastic about giving referrals, and we should be seeing an increase in numbers.  I have faith. I am also grateful that I still have Elder Eisele, because I am learning so much from him. He requires a bit of effort to be patient with, but nevertheless I am glad he is with me so I can learn these things from him, and also to discover what a complex young man he is. That is not so say that we always are "clicking," our minds work in very different ways. But it's good for both of us to be with someone so different, and I know that this transfer is going to be even better than the last. 

 

The biggest lesson that I was able to learn this week was that I need to be more forgiving of myself, because thoughts of inadequacy and anger are not from God, but from Satan. On Friday the 13th (wouldn't you know it), I woke up very angry with myself and all the faults that I had. I don't know why these thoughts crept into my mind, but all I know is that they started festering and made me more than a little cranky. That is, until I read 2 Nephi 4:27-30 which says: 

 

"And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy? Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation." 

 

I am so thankful for the Lord's atonement and for the ability that we have to bring all our troubles and shortcomings to him so that he is able to make us strong and mighty. Just like President Young (?) talked about forgiving those who have offended us, when often we need to first forgive ourselves and allow the atonement of Jesus Christ to work within our hearts and heal our cankered souls. That is always something that I need to remind myself. 

 

Stake President Russell also gave a really good talk on eternal marriages, and how in every other temple ordinance, it is between you and God. But temple sealings are the only covenant that we make with another mortal and God. Many times we think that we are only covenanting with our spouse, when really it is a three-way contract. I have never made that connection before; and although marriage is a long way off for me, the principle is still the same - my companion and I have to work with God in missionary work and it never works if only one of the companions is working, you have to both be on the same page with God to further the work of salvation.

 

Love you all and hope that you all have a good week and look forward to another awesome 6 weeks in the land of four seasons.

Elder Cox

Elder Cox's mission district:  (from L to R)  Elders Angles, Flores, Eisele (Ethan's companion), Kasper, Page, Duckworth, Fernandez, and Cox

 

 

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September 14, 2013

Hi Erin!

 

It's L writing to thank you first of all for a wonderful son. He is truly a special young man that B and I are so grateful to have in our lives. He was the voice of calm and reassurance when I called him from the hospital after B came out of surgery. I was hysterical with grief and panic because B was so angry and in pain. The person I called was Elder Cox, he was the voice I needed to hear to tell me that we would both be okay. He said he would contact the rest of the Elders and they would be praying for us.

 

Elder Cox and Elder Eisele were waiting for us when we got home. They have been here almost every day since making sure that we are okay and helping with B's garden because he can't be on uneven ground.

 

The second thank you is for the meat loaf recipe which is fabulous. I fixed it for the Elders and they both liked it, Elder Eisele actually had seconds and that kid is a skinny rail!

 

Thank you again for your amazing Son and the recipe. I hope that we will be able to meet when his mission is over. 

 

Warmly,
L