Sveiki

Hey Family-
Well it has been a fun week. Thank you for all of your letters it really helps to hear from you all. We had an interesting experience this week. My companion and I were walking across a street when we saw a VERY large bald man on the other side. We were about halfway across when he motioned for us to come to him. We got over to him very apprehensively and he told us to give him our phone. We did what we usually do when we are unsure about a situation. We said WHAT!? WE DONT SPEAK LITHUANIAN! WE CANT UNDERSTAND YOU! If people can't communicate then they usually dont give you much trouble. Even though we were speaking english he kept talking to us in Lithuanian. He said we shouldn't be afraid of him and that he just needed our phone for a second. He even pulled out some money for us. I wanted to trust him but with the crisis going on crime rates are out of control. So my companion just turned and walked away. The man then turned to me and said, "ARE YOU IDIOTS???" I just looked blankly into his big bald face and shrugged my shoulders, then walked away. He started chasing us down yelling at us and then I said in Lithuanian that we are not from here and don't speak Lithuanian (kind of ironic) but then he stopped and just yelled in frustration.

Here are some pictures-
This is from our last transfer with Elder Fitzgerald when we biked to Kryziu Kalnas or
"The Hill of Crosses"

The Lithuanians put up a bunch of crosses on a hill. The Soviets then mowed them down with tanks. Over the night people went and brought in hundreds upon hundreds more. They were again mowed down. This happened numerous times but the Lithuanians would not stop. Now thousands upon thousands of crosses have been brought to this hill by people from all over the world.

Also a pict of the scale showing how much I weigh now 160lbs
(it is actually me, you can tell because I have the Cooke toes)


So other than that it wasn't a very eventful week. They had a big party called "Siauliai days" which was kind of crazy. There was traditional Lithuanian dancers and people from surrounding villages in the streets selling little things. We got woken up in the middle of the night to fireworks. We figured that Russia was invading again. The next morning I felt as though it was the "DAWN OF THE DEAD" the whole city was all but abandoned except for lots of trash blowing in the wind and a shopping cart overturned on a fountain outside our house. It must have been quite the party. Good thing we missionaries were safe in our beds at 10:30.

Oh yeah, and transfers are next week (probably will stay here but who knows, i havent stayed in a city for more than 2 transfers yet and i havent had the same companion for more that 1 since my trainer, we will see) so i wont write until THURSDAY. thanks again, love you!

Well everyone thats about all I have time for Thank you for all your support. I hope you all know I have recieved inspiration more than once to fall on my knees and pray for each one of you. I am truly grateful for the restored living church that can guide us and give us the help that we need when we need it. If you feel down this week try and see who can serve. Then go and serve your butts off. I love you all.

Elder Cooke

Howdy

Well...
Im here and still alive. Elder Newman and I are still hard at work here in Siauliai. Some fruits of previous labors showed up this week. One was showed by a man who we had met with a couple weeks previously unexpectedly coming to church. Also a man that I had contacted the first day of the transfer met with us yesterday. Both men are actually showing some real interest in the church. It was nice to see some actual progress. We took some major opposition this week from hosts of Jehovah Witnesses and from a wave of Baptists that have overrun the streets handing out pamphlets. As I was talking with one of them a woman came and said they shouldn't be talking to us because it "gives them a bad name." Other than that we just had a ton of people make fun of us this week and try to fight. The young men here usually don't have a problem trying to call us out and make us look foolish. But we learn to live with them. I guess what I learned this week is that as long as I get rid of pride people cant really have an affect on me.
It sounds like life in Idaho is just crazy right now. Everybody sounds way busy. Thats good. I am getting excited for conference again.(i can't really believe its already another conference.) I hope all is well. The package still hasn't come but I am definately waiting for it. Thanks for everything you all do.

sudie
Vyresnysis Kukas
(Dzesys Kukas)
jesse cooke

p.s. I wont have a chance to write Leslie and her fam this week but I wanted to say that I had the coolest dream ever. I was talking to Tillie and Gabe in Lithuanian! It was way cool. anyway, BYE

Lab dien

Hey everyone.
Wow, it sounds as though a lot is going on back home. I hope everybody is healthy. I pray for all of you all the time.
Well another week here in Siauliai. We had zone conference yesterday. It was really awesome. Learned a lot about how I need to improve as a teacher. Other than that it was a normal week. I went on exchanges with Elder Johnson. He gave his last testimony in Zone conference. He with be the first Lithuanian Elder to go home since I got here. The mission is down to 82 missionaries from 112. Still no sighn of new Elders comming to Lithuania. They are going to have to close another city to sisters next transfer wich is sad because WE NEED SISTERS MISSIONARIES. Anyway, I hate to say it but I dont really have any investigators to talk about. That has been one of the most frustrating parts about this transfer. I have been working harder than I think I have my whole mission and we are getting lessons but nothing is coming from it. It is really just a kick in the pants sometimes. But as long as I can say I did the will of the Lord I dont have to worry about what results come about. Everything is according to HIS time and HIS will. It is just hard when you work harder and results go down. I guess I just got to work harder then. I know somebody is here. Well fam I got to go. I love you all.

Elder Cooke

p.s. It feels like Cross Country season here. I tell people that all the time and they have no clue what I am talking about :)

Sveiks

Hey Fam
That is so crazy and sad about Liz's dad. I hope everyone is doing alright.
On this side of the pond it was a good week. We had an unexpected mission conference!!! The way this misson is set up, we usually dont have opportunities to see all the missionaries from the mission. HOWEVER, this week President Razband from the presidency of the 70, Elder Powell from the 70 and Elder Perry from the quorm of the twelve all were in Riga to speak to the members there. But thursday we found out that on Saturday the whole mission could travel to Riga, Latvia and The general authorities were going to have a special meeting for all of us. It was just absolutly amazing. We were all so excited. All the Lithuanian missionaries were there about 2 hours before everyone else. The talks were amazing. Elder Perry is so funny. He shook all the missionaries hands also. It was a great expieriance. We took a picture as a whole mission. It was wierd because before that day I had never set eyes on 2/3rds of my mission. But it was way neat to see the other missionaries. We have a lot in common but also alot of differences. Each country has a whole different culture with different major religions (Lithuanian-Catholic, Latvia-Lutheran, Estonia-Athiest). Not to mention all of us missionaries together speak 5 different languages (english included). It was just such an awesome expieriance and I am so thankful we got to go.
This week was also way good for the work. We took this area, which was getting an average of about 6 lessons a week and we got 16! MY companion and I are working around the clock. I swear we hardly waste one second of time. Its way good but it makes the days go by to fast. We found a beutiful family who just got married. We were so excited and they were so prepared and ready but then they told us they are going to Norway. That is what everybody here is doing. Nobody can find work in the Baltics to they are all leaving. I know the unemployment rate in Riga is aroud 40% right now. Thats just crazy. Anyway that was kind of frustrating but we found some other really good investigators who we are really excited about. I guess I dont have to say it but I still havn't seen one baptism come from me being here. I have the temptation to let that get to me but I know I am doing what I am supposed to be doing and that is good enough for the lord. It seems like the other cities have been seeing some succes. There was a babtisim in Kaunas (the only city i havent served in) wich ended a dry spell that had lasted for over a year. So that was exciting. Thats one thing I love about this mission. The missionaries are never competitve with baptisms. If anybody gets one in the country then thet whole country is SO EXCITED. It really brings us all together. I cant express enough how much I love this mission and the Elders and sisters serving here, especially in Lithuania. We all get to see each other every zone conference because we do both zones in the country together. It really just makes us one big family. I love it. Anyway I love you all. THank you so much for the support. I know it would be impossible to keep going without it.

su meile
Vyresnysis Kukas