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