Livin it up in Lithuania

Hey Team,
Good job on your baptism! It was way fun to hear about your progressing investigator learn and grow and progress towards that covenant with God. Now you just need to keep her active. Maybe talk to the Branch President about giving her a calling. ;) We actually had a baptism ourself here. Lina and Adomas were baptized on Saturday which is just awesome. The daughter Austeja is still thinking about it but we are all certain that she is set on getting baptized. She just wanted her own day probably :) Anyway, everything went well. My companion sang How Great Thou Art with Sister Hall playing the violin. I dodnt know if I told you but Elder Whicker was a trained Opera singer for 8 years. I talked to the Branch Presidency and we are organizing a choir from the Russian and Lithuanian branches. Elder Whicker is going to do a great job leading that. It will be good for him as well.
I am still way amped up about life. Everything is going well. I got a cold last week from all the wetness here but we kept busy. I may have tried a little to hard to not slow down and i kinda crashed and burned but it was no big deal, we still got work done. Everybody was sick last week. This week is new and fresh even though it is pouring outside right now. We are ready to get stuff done. Oh before i forget to tell you. We got a baptismal date this week. His name is Šarunas. He was taught by the Russian speaking elders but he doesn't speak Russian so he was taught in English. That wasn't the most ideal situation so we began teaching him. He is so solid. We invited him to baptism in our first meeting with him and in our last meeting he said he felt that, it is the right decision in his life. He is such a good kid. He is about 23 or so but he is just the man. April 17 right now is his date so pray for him please. When I told the Russian elders about it they almost started to cry. I really feel good about this kid.
I hope all is well back home. I don't have much more to say. I guess just keep close to one another and dont forget to include God in your daily decisions. He cares. Thank you for all you do. I love you all.


Elder Cooke

A Whole New Country

Hey fam
Well, last week 5 elders and a sister left from Lithuania. That was hard considering how long we have all been togeather and how close we have become. Good news is, 4 new elders and 2 new sisters came in to take their place. And I got one of them! Tuesday morning President Dance called me and asked me to be a trainer. I picked up Elder Whicker the next day from the bus station. He is a way solid missionary. He is dedicated and focused. He speaks the language well and is humble and willing to learn. I couldn't ask for a better trainee. It was way fun last week to see him look at his new world for the first time. His first door, his first street contact, his first talk in church. It was just way fun for me to reflect on how in this very area I did all those same things for the first time one year ago. It was weird to think about. Elder Whicker is from Kaysville Utah. He is an English major and an opera singer in which he is double majoring. I was upset that I had to send Elder Graham away (he went to Klaipeda like I did after my own training in Vilnius.) I still am waiting for a transfer in which something doesn't change for my companionship. Thus far that hasn't happened since my first tansfer with Elder Young. If you have realized i have had to update you EVERY single time on some sort of change. Weird. Its is also interesting that Every companionship in my district is training. Elder Cox and sister Hall were also made trainers this transfer. We have a very good district. And I am not just saying that. I am very excited about the work that is going to be done this transfer. Were are ALL committed and are ready to work. In other news I held two baptismal interviews with Elder Cox and Elder Lyshman 's investigators on Sunday. A mother and her son. They are way solid. The baptism should be happening this week. They are way prepared and excited for the baptism. Everything here is going very well. I am happy and healthy. It is so dang wet here right now. Everything is way gross. That's Europe in spring though. Thank you for all that your doing. You all sound great. I am stoked on everybody running so much. Leslie and Travis sound like they are way busy but having fun. The little kids sound like they are doing great. I want a picture of Gabe in his bowl cut. Thanks fam for everything. Love you all.

Vyresnysis Kukukas

Overcoming Giants

Hey Fam,

Sorry. This letter this week wont be very long. We had to go do some visa work for an Elder so I wont have much E-mail time. It sounds like all is wonderful in Teton Valley and elsewhere. That is crazy that Jason is going home. Russia must be on the same transfers as us because this is the last week of our transfer as well. We will find out tomorrow but I am going to stay here most likely. I will probably still be with Elder Graham but who knows. Things went more or less normal this week. This last week was Lithuania's independance day (one of them) There was a big military parade which we happened to be in center during the same time which made contacting interesting. It was really cool to see how Lithuania can come togeather so much in the cause of freedom. If they are happy about anything, its that. Every once in a while you talk to an old person who wants communisim back because it seems easier to just have everything provided for you by the government. However, almost everybody here is very grateful for their independance. It amazes me how little Lithuania pulled it off but they did. They are a strong-willed people for sure.
It reminded me of David and Goliath.
The part I loved most about that story was that David had no fear whatsoever. He just had faith. I would say that that is definately the key to overcoming any giant in our lives. Dont be afraid, just believe. If you are trying to do what is right then just put your faith in Christ and know it will all work out. Maybe not how YOU think it should, but it will.

I gotta run but know i am happy and healthy.
Last week i lost feeling on the top of my right foot and shin. I had trouble walking because i didnt have as much control over my ankle. It was way wierd. It kinda felt like my foot fell asleep half-way for no reason. I talk to sister Dance who talk to the area doctor. We figure I may have had some nerve damage which might need time to repair itself. I just "walked it off" and after about a week it slowly got back to normal. Right now its all good. Sounds like you are all happy and healthy as well so i guess I will bid you all adieu.

love you

Elder Cooke

p.s. if you wanna know what members feed us then the picture should about sum it up. (actually really good)

United in Purpose

Labas
Well, another wonderful week in good ol' Vilnius. There was a cool story on Sunday. So a man was baptized here a few months ago. He is one of the most solid members in the branch now. His name is Audrys. Absolutely amazing. His family was not baptized with him however they are all 100% active worthy members. His wife and two kids come to church with him every single week. The mom has been hesitant because of various reasons but on Sunday we had fast and testimony meeting. I sat down and as the meeting started I knew that she was going to bear her testimony and tell everybody she had decided to be baptized. At first I thought how cool that would be but didn't really believe it. As the meeting went on I felt it more and more. Then, as the last speaker, she stood up and went to the pulpit where, through tears, she said she had just decided to be baptized with her children. Their date is the 27th. The other Elders here have been teaching them and they weren't upset by that at all. Every missionary in this country has just been waiting for that commitment. We are all very excited.
Also, come to find out, Darius quit drinking! We never official committed him to even do that. I only just mentioned it one day at church. He asked me why I don't drink and I said, "Because a prophet has received inspiration that we shouldn't do it and I know that drinking is a habit that would make it more difficult for me to be the example to my children that i want to be." I want my actions to always be in the positive for my friends and family. Selfishly indulging in habits that don't benefit anybody just perpetuates the problem of increasing selfishness in our society. Apparently he thought about it and decided that right now he doesn't want that for his family either and he quit drinking 2 weeks ago. So that was cool to find out. They are both still progressing but Darius still needs to get an answer about God. He just really cares about his family. He made that change in his life for the mere fact that he wants to help his family. He still has no idea about who God is and what God wants him to do.So. I liked the sending the picture and attaching a thought to it. So i am going to do it again this week. This week Elder Graham and I connected on several levels. He is an amazing missionary and I have been learning tons from him. We have had the privilege of feeling the spirits tender mercies together and learning from its healing power. I am so grateful that no matter how different two boys are from two totally different backgrounds, we can still find common ground on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as we can read The Book of Mormon and Bible and receive totally different revelations from God to help us in our daily lives; we can all read the same words of Christ and improve our FAITH< of="" baptism="">


Elder Cool

Faith is knowing the sun will shine-

Hi team,
How are all of you. It sounds like your doing well. Sounds like the wrestling team did ok. It is starting to feel like track season! It is just so dang wet. I had been doing alright with stuff not breaking down until this week. My briefcase broke in like 3 different places in the same hour. I guess it was all ready to fall apart and then when one broke it just couldn't pick up the extra weight. It's a good thing i have a side bag. Also I found out why feet have been getting wet. I dont know why I never looked but my shoes have huge holes in the bottom. I know that is a regular occurrence amongst missionaries but they just came out of NOwhere. I have some other shoes that I can start wearing though that I found in an apartment in Siauliai so that a blessing as well. Oh yea and I guess I didn't tell you but I left behind one of my suits in Siauliai because it was all sorts of torn up. The suit I am wearing now is doing a way nice job of holding up. If you lift up the collar you can tell that it is a little bit of a different color now but its fine, I like the faded look.
In other news. Our family once again came to church. We still haven't extended a baptisimal commitment because Darius still needs to find out that God exsists. The branch is excited for them. Keep praying for them.
Well, I want to talk a little but about faith right now. I want you all to know that faith always brings blessings. But we need to understand a couple things about faith. First, we are expected to have perfect faith in this life. We so if you feel like your dont, don't worry your not weird. I would sometimes think that I didn't have as much faith as I need to and so I didn't really want to try because I felt guilty. I think we all can say that we sometimes feel that we don;t want to do something because we aren't sure how it will turn out. We feel if we just had a little bit more knowledge it would all be easier. Well, we can;t always control knowledge but we CAN control faith. And as Ether said, "We will not recieve a witness until AFTER the trial of our faith. (12:6) We just need to take the step. I was thinking of Peter this week as he followed Christ onto the water. His faith was such that he could do as Christ did and walk on the water. It was not because he said, "I believe i can walk on water." I would venture to say that he never even had the water on his mind. His only focus was Christ. If Christ is our focus we don't have to go day to day and have all these battles with faith. Will this, or that, be ok, will that go through, how is this going to play out....? If we have our faith centered in Christ then we can just look to Him and weather ANY storm that comes our way. It is too easy in our world to get caught up it the winds and waves of life and then do as Peter did and take our focus away from the Savior. That is when Peter fell and that is when we fall. H elaman 5 :12, who should be our foundation? Who will support us in the storm? Where should our focus be? Christ. I know Christ lives and i know He answers prayers. I love Him and i want to serve him till the day I die. You can all print out this letter and then hit me with it if I ever loose that focus in my life. I love you all and i am so grateful for you.

Laikykites,
Elder JBCooke