THE GROWTH CONTINUES 2/3/2014

February 3, 2014

Dear the family of champions!

Best chocolate milk!

Had another great week!  I am so glad to hear that all is going well over there back at the bat cave!  This week a lot of random little things happened, I jotted down a few things, so we will see how this letter turns out.

ADVENTURE:

Okay so on Tuesday we had a lot of stuff we needed to do.  One of those things being english class.  We had a jammed packed schedule.  I woke up that morning and just felt like we should go block knocking again...( you know how that always turns out for me haha )  So through out the day we tried to fit it in where ever we could.  An hour freed up in our schedule so we ran over to go hit up a block.  Now, when you think that I had a prompting you would instantly think that something spectacular was in store.  During that entire time block knocking not a single person answered their door, until we got to the end.  After they opened the door they said go away we are sick.  So I kinda just got thinking.  We went out of our way to try and squeeze this in and nothing really even happened.  So I was confused a bit.  After a while things just started coming to mind.  It is possible it could just have been a little test to see if we would follow the prompting when it wasnt easy.  We could have planted a seed by someone seeing us in that area.  Just anything like that.  It just comes down to we are glad we followed the prompting and went with it.  You get an amazing feeling when you do what you feel God specifically told you to do.

TRABA:

Okay so last p-day after I wrote you guys, we got special permission to go see another movie in the theaters!!  Apparently there had been a big snow storm over Romania and Pres thought it best to let everyone take a good p-day movie.  So we saw Saving Mr. Banks.  It was such a great show!!  If you havent seen it, go see it! haha.  ( now I just need to see Marry Poppins)  the song Let's go fly a kite, has been stuck in my head this whole week!!

So on Tuesday, our super super day, we also had a family night activity planned for the

Working on cooking skills. After losing
20 pounds since being in Romania he
likes to show that he eats.

branch.   The only problem was that not a single branch member showed up!!  It is a good thing that we invited our english students to come or else we would have only had six missionaries there!  We taught them how to make American brownies and how to play some card games.  We tryed to make the best of the situation  It turned out to be a very fun night!

We also had a lesson with G.  It was a good little meeting we had.  He had a tough time at work and was so angry with a person there.  He was asking us what he should do and what not.  I always remembered when I felt that way, and then just vented and talked about it.  It makes you feel so much better just to talk about it.  So that is what we did.  We had a little vent sesh.  At the end of it he said that he was feeling better.  He called us modern monks!!  I love that so much haha!  Instead of missionaries I want to be called modern monks haha :)

SPIRITUAL:

Okay this one might be all over the place.  First I was reading in a general conference talk.  "Lurking within ever priesthood holder is the natural man, prone to wander." This kinda freaked me out haha.  It is so true.  If we are not careful, it is so easy for us to wander and to drift just a bit.  I kept reading and it gave some help.  It basically said to make sure you always pray and to surround your mind with the words of the scriptures.  That is something I have come to love out here.  Just surrounding your mind with the words of the scriptures.  

So I was also reading out of our heritage.  I was at the part where Joseph Smith is imprisoned in Liberty jail for 6 months before he is released.  Being out here for 6 months has really given me a good perspective of how long of a time 6 months actually is.  I cant believe he was falsly there for that long!!  The amount of faith that man had was unreal.  And then in section 121, his cry to Heavenly Father.  I just love how even though times were super difficult and it seemed super hopeless he knew that God was there and knew he would help.  I just have come to really really love Joseph Smith out here, and all the great things he did.

So there is my week in a nut shell.  Days are filled with structured craziness! haha  I am finding a joy out here that I never really thought existed in a setting like this.  I am so grateful for you guys and for your help and support :)  I love you all so much and I hope you can continue to have good attitudes through the crazy hectic weeks!  Until next week!!

Love,

Elder James Anderson Cooper

(I convinced the sisters in my district that my middle name was Rubin for the entire transfers I have been   in Arad... they just found out it is Anderson haha )

PS:  I would really love those CTR socks... they are awesome!  
Also I have need of a shoe polish kit haha turns out shoes can look very bad after a while in the dirt of the streets haha :)


               WE WENT PAINTBALLING AGAIN. WE GOT SOME CHEAP OUTFITS

The building the played in.

Nice outfits Elders!