JANUARY 13, 2014
I am SO tired...! haha :) in a good
way.
Ok I've only been Zone Leader for a
week, but it's crazy! I'm super grateful for the last three transfers though
because they taught me how to be a good inside worker. Thus far that's
basically all we've done! :)
Zone Leader is a different type of
beast, namely LOTS of planning. We have to come up with things like exchanges
with the whole zone, zone visions, zone numbers, it's everything about a
district leader, but on a bigger scale and more difficult. But we're getting
through :).
I'm glad Elder Bishop at least has 6
weeks of experience as Zone Leader before we came together, otherwise we'd be
completely hopeless! :) We are the youngest Zone Leader Companionship out
there, we are SO inexperienced it's awesome! What I love about Elder Bishop is
how he laughs like me when we're stressed. Sure does make things a lot better
when every time something goes wrong you can laugh at it instead of stress out.
Quite honestly stress doesn't help anything, it just hurts. Super pointless if
it's not motivating if you ask me.
I will say this though- never laughed
so much in my entire mission :D! On the flip side remember what our laughing
means :)? Let me just tell you about something that have already happened.
First day- we get to Alkmaar and we're taking our suitcases through a gate you
have to scan to get through. Well once you scan you have a few seconds before
it closes again...I forgot this...but then I remember. SO I tried to run
through super fast, thus naturally head first. Yeah...the gate shut...got me
right in the head in front of the whole station :) we laughed for like a
straight minute.
Oh yeah and did I mention we have to
give a four hour zone training on Tuesday? And that neither of us have ever
given one before? Oh and that our apartment is being fixed so we have to drive
40 minutes to Hoorn every night to sleep? Oh and today we had District Leader
Counsel and on Firday Jedi Council? Oh yeah and exchanges start Wednesday? And
yes we do still have investigators.
I reiterate: I am SO tired...! :)
But all is well. The Zone Vision for
the next six weeks is "Do What You Do With Jesus Christ". It's all
about figuring out who you are and what type of missionary the Lord has called
you to be. Also applies to what kind of person you are and who you were before
and who the Lord needs and wants you to be after. The second part is all about
finding out the will of the Lord, doing what He wants you to do first, above
all other things. The goal is then to bring the two together into one
unstoppable force for good. We can both testify that it is the missionaries and
the people who understand these three points are the ones who are the most
happiest and excel the most :) because quite honestly if you're doing the will
of the Lord then literally everything you do succeeds and you CAN NOT fail.
Best lesson I ever learned out here.
To do this we have everyone try and
apply the Christlike attribute of the week that they've been learning about as
the whole mission tries to read the Book of Mormon in 90 days. First week is
Hope and we're asking everyone to focus on a specific area of success in their
work or life that they can record, focus on and succeed in. We hope that this
success that they see will give them hope to work even harder and continue on.
But I digress, Sint-Niklaas was hard
to leave but this place is amazing and it was time to go. By the end I had
received the conformation that I had done everything I had come there to do. I
even feel it now as I type. I can't tell you how amazing that feels, to be able
to walk away from a place knowing you did everything Heavenly Father had sent
you there to do. I feel fulfilled and at peace there. I did my part and it's
time to move on to the Lord's next assignment.
SO excited everyone is doing ok :)
Dad got the job! WAHOO! Was praying for that. I hope he's still loving it and
that it continues to be a great thing for him.
There's the other bummer part, I now
officially have to pay for internet, thus my e-mail time is going to be trimmed
down a bit...probably to the appropriate time, but still :(. Know that I still
love you all and that I live breath and die for you and your support :). Thank
you for being my family and for raising me how you did.
I learned recently how much different
my life would be with merely two different changes- location and parents. I
could be the same kid, but I would be SO much more messed up without you two,
without my brothers, and without Utah (ah that blessed state! I miss it SO
much!). Thank you SO much for providing everything I needed to grow the way I
did. I am eternally grateful :).
LOVE YOU!! Keep fighting the good
fight! Even though we lose in almost every other sense at times, we win in the
points that matter and in the end good will triumph :).
Love,
Elder the Jonathon Batman Cooper
OFF TO A GOOD START!
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