Light the World

So to esplain the week I will probably just share with fotos..

1. A few inside scoops of my companion..sleeping. It's a talent if you ask me. We go to bed at 11:00pm during our Christmas schedule so this is a good explanation of what everyone has been feeling the past couple days...

Just a random one..

2. For Thanksgiving we went to a family's home here in Salt Lake. There were so many cute crazy kids and lots of good food and they were so welcoming and sweet, so I felt right at home. We are so incredibly blessed to have this opportunity to still have Thanksgiving dinner even when our mission doesn't have a ward. Bless their souls. 

Also on Thanksgiving morning Elder Dallin H Oaks decided to visit the square so we all took a foto with him. Love that inspired, intelligent apostle of a man. Also, he has really soft hands.

3. She keeps me sane through the chaos of Christmas season :) 

And Sister Evaga is helping me to break my habit of biting my nails (I've tried to break this habit millions of times, it's true what they say...about breaking habits/making habits when you're a kid...)

So this is something we've decided to try out: GLOVES ALL THE TIME. Tbh It's kind of hard to type...lol. 

4. Every night, our different zones will sing Christmas carols either in front of the Tabernacle or in front of the fountain on the square. Last year a sister in my zone fell in the fountain during the coldest part of winter hahaha, so we decided to stay near the Tab:) 

5. We went to the german Christmas market today up at "This is The Place," and we also bumped into President Uchtdorf. 

Trying to finish our Belgian Waffle before the picture. failed.  

 

6. Aaaaand some of the lights, much better in person. My ipad quality could be worse, could be better. 

ALSO, last but not least, there is another new Christmas video LIGHT THE WORLD. It's similar to last year but this year the theme is even more focused on service and the example of Jesus Christ. There is a calendar with scriptures and ideas that are given for each day once it officially starts Dec 1. (Download the Calendar here: https://www.mormon.org/christmas/25-ways-25-days-calendar) Our mission President told us to make this the best Christmas we have ever had, and I plan to do that and I know that by serving and thinking outside myself, this is the best way to make that possible. My companion and I started doing it already and I have noticed a strength in our companionship and love for each other grow as we have been doing this. So I had a thought that I want to share with all of you people that I love so much: families and especially couples and those in a relationship I am inviting you to serve 25 ways EVERY DAY FOR THE 25 DAYS PRECEDING CHRISTMAS for those people in your life. I can promise you that your relationships will be strengthened and you will feel the love that God has for them. President Uchtdorf from the recent general conference said, 

"Those who love and serve God and fellowmen and humbly and actively participate in His work will see wondrous things happen in their lives and in the lives of those they love. Doors that seemed shut will open." 

Jesus Christ is "the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless..." (Mosiah 16:9 in the Book of Mormon) 

One match can light a bonfire my friends, be the one to carry and share the endless, eternal light of Jesus Christ.

Here is the link for the video and you can read more about it on https://www.mormon.org/ as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_VRN7hcL_8#action=share

#LightTheWorld #25waysin25days

Merry Christmas Season Everyone! May your month be full of Christmas Miracles.

Love, Sister Cox

Take care of your colds

This week we had a lot of exchanges so I got to know the Sisters in our zone a lil better and will continue to throughout these next couple weeks. Can't believe Thanksgiving is already next week.. This mission kind of has a lot on the plate, a lot to do, so many people we talk to everyday, (which is a HUGE blessing, but can get tiring at times) a lot of routine and many of the Sisters get really stressed out and need help coping with a lot of things. So often as zone leaders our missionary work involves helping these wonderful Sisters have the strength and guidance that they need to not only have success in this work but also to find joy in it. It's a humbling experience. 

Our zone training meeting this week, the district leaders gave wonderful trainings. And we feasted on excellent food made by all the sisters. one a professional chef.

So in our special Temple Square sister missionary Sacrament meetings that start at 7:30 in the mern, the Sisters who are going home soonish are usually the ones giving the talks. I'll be giving mine next week.....so crazy. Also for those of you who don't know when I am coming home I arrive home the 24th of January in Bismarck, ND. We don't need to think about that yet, but I figure a lot are going to be asking about it in the next few months so I'd rather just let you know now, ok? :) onward. 

We had a zone service project this week and went to help out at Days For Girls. They sew feminine hygiene kits to send all over the world. People always think to give money, food, water, but do they think about those poor women and girls having periods without anything. This is such a beautiful foundation and I want to look into it more after my mission. 

This week re-read the talk "The Truth of All Things" from the Priesthood session of General Conference in October and what he wrote in his journal on his mission really struck a chord with my soul: 

“ I have pledged with my Father in Heaven and with myself to do my very best, to give it 100 percent for the rest of my life, whatever I am asked, I'll do, but for now I have the rest of my mission and I am going to make it a great mission, one that I won't feel bad about, but not for me, for the Lord. I love the Lord, and I love the work, and I just pray that that feeling will never leave me. " -Elder David F. Evans

Panos don't always catch the most accurate depictions eh? Some of the sisters in our zone.

I also pray that feeling will NEVER leave me. I have felt such a fullness being here on my mission that I have found no where else and I am so grateful for that time. But it doesn't just have to be here, that feeling goes everywhere because it's the Holy Ghost and the power of the Atonement that fills the holes, and blows me up like a balloon. But I have to work at it sometimes to keep it, even on a mission. And I was thinking this week, you know how if you run when you start to get a cold it can help to prevent the cold? TBH that's the time in my life when I DEFINITELY don't want to work out, I just want to be a bum. But that's kind of how prayer is sometimes, the times when we don't want to pray, are probably the times when we need to most. Am I right? It's cold season, so drink lots of water, get enough sleep and workout even when you don't want to and pray when you don't want to okay?  Mom, I know you're reading this, so thank you for teaching me everything I know. Love you. 

We got to go the dress rehearsal for "Savior of the World," it's a musical about the Savior's birth and resurrection and starts during the Christmas season at the conference center. It's beautiful would recommend. My comp and I right before. 

Our investigators are doing great. A family in Florida is going to get baptized soon, we have some really wonderful investigators preparing for baptism. And our investigator here who I met before out bound is still on the right track, but he lives with his girlfriend so he can't get baptized yet because Law of Chastity. So they are planning on it soon. He's so ready, and honestly has been from the moment I met him on Temple Square. I think he is truly one of those people I promised I would find on my mission. 

Alrighty, well have a good week I love you all to the moon and back.

Love, Sister Cox

Went hiking again today. Will probably go every pday until it's impossible to:) If you have any good recommendations of hikes within 20 min of Temple Square let me know. 

not much has changed...climbing mountains is still my favourite thing:)

But actually a lot has changed here in this mission, I'll only share a few things later on in the email. This week was crazy! I love being so so busy it keeps my mind focused on where I'm at. 

It's good to be near my favourite Christus statue again.

We had MLC and Sister Evaga and I gave a training with the focus: Converse to Immerse. We talked mainly on how these people we meet everyday have been put in our path for a reason and we can't be robots just preaching at them. Their souls are as real as ours. We focused a lot on Elder Rasband's Talk "By Divine Design" I would recommend 10/10 read it! 

My New Zealander's. Sis Smith and Evaga

Meeting cool people everyday Temple Square is still awesome, but we haven't had as much time out on the square lately or doing teaching center because we have been preparing so many trainings: MLC, our zone training meeting, Welfare Square training (for the new Sisters and ourselves because we are white washing welfare square. Yes white washing is actually a thing here at Temple Square.) It just means we are both starting out new in the area. But Carole was baptized while I was gone and Garrett is still on date he just needs to get married! and we just found a family that are all on date for this month. Miracles.

Describes our relationship pretty well.

But one day some missionaries in the Salt Lake City mission came onto the square with a cute old little vietnamese lady and they were trying to find Sisters here at Temple Square who spoke Vietnamese, but we don't have any.... But the closest mission that does is guess where??? San Jose, Ca! And my zone leader there is in the Vietnamese program. Because both missions have facebook the missionaries there in San Jose will hopefully be able to teach her over video chat on FB. TECHNOLOGY IS SO WONDERFUL. Missionaries all over the world unite!! (ultimate punch) Also I met a woman who works for the company my mission President owns, and we will be teaching her more. Through facebook. Also we have smart phones now. So that's also a freaky new change that I don't know how to feel about yet, eventually the mission will transition from ipads to everyone using their own smartphone. 

In 1974 President Kimball shared, "I believe that the Lord is anxious to put into our hands inventions of which we laymen have hardly had a glimpse." You believed right President Kimball. So many things are being used to help move the Lord's work forward. I love that this stuff is teaching me how to use these tools better not only now but also after my mission. TBH I was a little frustrated about it at first because starting my mission, one of the things I looked forward to was escaping my phone and the world of social media. But God knows what he's doing and I have already seen so many miracles through all of these changes. But, "They need to be our servants not our masters." I just want to testify, we DO NOT NEED BE A SLAVE TO OUR SMARTPHONES. 

The most wonderful hiking day ever. 4 hours (at least) long. But so worth it. And we met some South Africans on the way up who are here in Utah for a bit. They're cool and they seem pretty potential. We invited them to come take a tour at Temple Square. 

We went hiking today up to Grandeur Peak Trail. Sister Evaga's first summitt. There were so many different analogies that came to mind but I thought of how much we anticipate that peak, reaching the summit but it is all about the journey up. We start our missions and think about that end point, even though we try not to, it happens. But it is so important to just enjoy the journey and where we are at. It's especially weird to think that I only have two more transfers here, I am almost at the bottom of my mountain. Or maybe I'm almost to the summit who knows. Either way, I am loving the climb. I could go a lot more into depth but I think I have overwhelmed ya'll with my words enough for the night. 

Always good to be in my natural habitat.

love you all have a superb week.

Sister Cox

My companion is literally Beyonce.

Also she was actually a model pre mission life. Just let me show her off:)

Hullo. I'm back in Salt Lake City Utah and it's weeeird

Sometimes I need to make lists when I am trying to organize the chaos of the week so

An update on the past week in San Jose:

• I ate Balut and cow tongue in one day! Balut was gross, lingua was good. I'll try to send a video. 

• We took a trip to the Temple and watched some movies in the visitor center. One of the girls in our ward brought her daughter and it was fun to be able to be with a kiddo again. I'm going to miss Sister Sneddon as my companion. She is an incredible missionary and we had an incredible, spirit soaked transfer together. 

• I had a birthday, we had a last final district breakfast. I love my district. Even when they cream my face. 

• Thanks for the birthday wishes I felt your love! And here was a present from my roommates that night, they put balloons under the covers. It gave me a fright. 

• Said goodbyes to the wonderful branch and had an incredible conversation with a man on the plane back to temple square. Heavenly Father is always putting people in our paths. Shout out to my mom for always doing awesome missionary work on airplanes. (Have to sit and listen because trapped right?:)) 

In Utah:

• Everything feels new all over again, and I am officially back at Temple Square. There are so many new sisters and I know a handful of them because so many new ones came in while I was gone. Lawls
• Sister Evaga and I will be zone leaders at Welfare Square! Yay for cheese and chocolate milk! 

• It's pretty quiet here this time of year at temple square especially in comparison to the San Jose campus, but looking forward to bringing some beautiful souls to Christ. with sister Evaga this transfer (pronounced evanga) 

And I might need to take some time to do this more often this transfer. Thanks for your example Sister Sneddon. 🏼

Love you all, have an incredible week 

Sister Cox