January 5, 2014

Hello Family!

Well I may to be quick this week, because I am getting transferred, but not too far away. I´m going to Barrio 2, which actually borders on Barrio 5. So not a whole lot of difficult traveling. Pretty sure now that I´ll be spending my whole mission here in Madrid. I expect one other area after this and I don´t think it´ll be too far away. I don´t have a problem with it though. I love this city! And I know just about all of it now, which is pretty cool. 

I am a little sad to leave B5 though. It has been by far my favorite area so far! I absolutely love this ward! The members are amazing and things improved so much during my time here. Big things and big miracles are going to happen here during the next year, I know it. I can´t wait to see them! Luckily I´m right next door so I can come by and visit. We also have the most amazing investigators here! I´m so sad I didn´t get to see some of them before leaving, but again, I´ll definitely come visit. (My new companion may not like me on p-days :P) 

I´m really excited to go to B2 though. I´ve heard it´s a great ward and I´m excited to get to know new people and places and to face new challenges. I know the Lord has things in store for me that will help me to grow and progress even more. And that´s life. 

Also, I ended my time here in the best way possible: with 2 baptisms! They both turned out so great! Both Ruth and Arthur are amazing! I know they will continue strong in Gospel and both of them have families that will also be blessed by their decision to be baptized. The best part of it all was that Elder Weixler got to baptize Arthur for his first baptism! The two of them have such a special bond, honestly we wouldn´t have been able to teach Arthur if not for that. So it was so special to see them step into the font together. Arthur has come a long, long way. 

I did get my Christmas package, thank you so much!! It was way bigger than I expected too, eh? Thank you all so much for everything and especially for all the love you sent. 

Sorry that is this is so short, but I´m super glad to hear from you and that you are all doing so well. You all are in my prayers everyday. I love you all so, so much!! But really. I´m glad you had a good Christmas. Take care,

Love,

Elder Cousins

December 30, 2013

Well, look whose back. Hey family! 

It´s only been a few days since we last saw each other, but how are y'all doin'? Sorry that we weren´t able to talk for too long, but I hope it was a pretty good Christmas gift anyway. It certainly made my day being able to talk with all of you! I hope you all know how much I love you. A lot. 

Well, as I said this week has been probably the longest of my entire life, but in the end it has turned out to be very rewarding. The biggest reward: 2 baptisms planned for this weekend. Ah yeah!! I´m super stoked!!! Ruth is getting baptized on Sunday. I think I told you about the awesome lesson we had with her when she shared her testimony with us. She has just been such an example to me of faithfully following the Lord´s will, no matter how difficult. She overcame her doubts, prayed to know the Lord´s will, received an answer and has been faithful to it ever since. She is very excited for her baptism and I can´t wait for her to later be able to share the gospel with her children when she goes back to Honduras (she is planning on returning in October next year). She is an amazing woman. Second is Arthur who you met on Christmas. He is getting baptized on the 4th, this Saturday. I am so excited for him!!! My companion and I have formed such a close bond with Arthur over the last few months, he is honestly one of my favorite people in the world! He is the nicest guy, gets along with everyone (as you saw) and has possibly the strongest faith I´ve ever seen in anyone. You remember how he was left without a place to live because of his work changes? All day, even heading to go sleep basically in the street, he was never worried. He said over and over how his Heavenly Father has never let him down. I got a little teary eyed honestly. Not once was he worried. Most impressive of all is the incredible change that has happened in his life. It has been a long road for Arthur and it is an honor to be able to be here to see him take this important step.

There are so many people here I have come to love so much. A couple weeks ago I was thinking that I may leave B5 without seeing any baptisms. I´m super happy that I will now, and with people who are so special to me, but I learned from that situation. I realized what a privilege it is to simply be a part of the story of each person´s life. Even if I never hear form any of them again, even if they never accept the Gospel, what a wonderful experience, what an honor to be able to touch someone´s life. I will have been a part, however small, of each person´s life here and that is something special. 

I´m getting sad thinking about leaving here (changes are on the 6th and I´m pretty sure I´m going. I feel it´s time for a change). I´ve fallen in love with this ward and with the area. There is so much life here! So many people to know, each with their own story. The people I have met are amazing. The Lord is going to preform miracles in this ward in the next year. This is by far the favorite of all my areas so far. I have learned so much and had such incredible experiences and these 2 baptisms will be the perfect end. It´s sad to go, but I´m so excited to put my new talents and new perspective to use in a new area. Who knows, maybe it will end up being my new favorite. I´ve learned that this is the only way to live, in the service of the Lord. It´s not easy, but it´s so much better than just sitting and watching life go by. And so we´ll see what He has in store for me next. The Road goes ever on and on. . .

To finish (long email today) I just want to let you all know that I am doing so, so good. Better than I ever have in my life. I´ve had some personal experiences lately that have changed me. I am a new person. I have a new conviction to the Lord and to living his Gospel. I know that I have a Saviour. I have felt his redemption work in my life to wipe away my sins and to make a new man. I have felt the joy that comes in knowing that the Lord is pleased with you, like a father is pleased with his son, and there is nothing better in the world. I am filled with His love and with joy! I feel that I need to share that with you, that you know that I have changed for the better. I´m so grateful for the Atonement and for my Saviour. 

I´m also so grateful for all of you, for all you have done for me throughout my life. I realize more and more everyday how blessed I am to have the gospel in my life, to know God and His Son. I am eternally grateful to every member of our family who has made sacrifices to make it possible that I could be raised with this knowledge and this way of life. Thank you. I am so happy to know that we will be an eternal family and that when I have my own family, we will be too. I love you guys so, so much! Remember the importance of the Gospel, remember how blessed you are and keep going forward. Until next week.

Love,

Elder Cousins  

December 16, 2013

Dear Family,

How’s it going? So, I must apologize for the lack of communication lately. There really is no excuse, I’m just having a hard time getting these letters written and sent off. Also, I imagine the mail goes a little slower around this time of year. Anyways, my deepest apologies and I hope you all still love me. :)

So, “nuevas” for this week. We are finding a bunch of new people! Which is good because we are losing some too. Así es la vida. But, we found a family that is amazing! It’s actually a really cool story. A few weeks ago the Elder’s Quorum President was helping us out with some visits, but we got fired from one, so he took us over to try to visit this family. They were being taught before he left on his mission. But they weren’t home. We tried passing by again a few days later and found out that they don’t live there anymore. So we forgot about them for a while. Then this last week we were knocking doors and found this family. We were asking them where they are from and they said the same city that Andrés (EQP) is from in Ecuador. So I mentioned him and they said, “Oh, yeah, we know him.” Turns out that it is the same exact family that he had told us about! What are the odds? I mean there are over 5 million people in Madrid itself and we are in the most densely populated part of town. And we found this same exact family? Not by chance, my friends. And they are golden! In the couple of visits we’ve had with them, they have opened up so much. Thy go all together to a different church and the dad at first said that he couldn’t accept anything not in the Bible, but yesterday we gave them each a Book of Mormon and they all promised to read. They are 4 in the family: Gustavo, the father, Silvia, the mother, Gustavo, 16 years old and Richard, 13 years old. And the sons are awesome! We actually met with them first and they have such strong  simple faith. I have such high hopes for them!

In other news, Ruth is still without a baptismal date. We met with her yesterday and set it all up for this Wednesday, but then she said something that kind of threw us off. She was talking about her church (that she really loves) and she said, “I hope you know that when I go back to Honduras, I will go back to that church.” So, we explained how baptism is a promise to the Lord to follow Him and stay active in the Church. I told her I didn’t think she should get baptized if she didn’t plan to continue in the Church. We looked up the Church closest to her house in Honduras (she said the issue was that there is no church close to her) and it is about 2 hours away by bus. She said she wouldn’t go very often. We explained that sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the Lord and that the real issue lies in her testimony of the Church. So we invited her to pray to know that this is the true church and to know God’s will for her in this issue. We’ll see what she says on Wednesday, hopefully she’ll have made a decision.

On Friday the 13^th, our investigator José dropped us. I mean I guess we knew something bad was going to happen. I called him to confirm an appointment and he said that he couldn’t meet with us anymore. He said he’s going through some hard times, but that someday he’ll come by the Church. It was all really kind and sincere, but it was still a bummer. He has so, so much potential! And a wife who doesn’t like religion. So pray for him.

I think that’s about the major news for this past week. Pretty dramatic week, eh? All the other investigators are pretty much the same. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll see a baptism before leaving B5 (I’m definitely out next transfer). But it doesn’t bother me. I feel really good about the work I’m doing right now. This may be the best time of my mission so far. I absolutely love this area and this ward. Things are really going right now, and even if I’m not here to see any of these amazing people get baptized, I know that I will have helped them. I will have been part of the story of their lives and conversions, and that is what matters. In that is my joy.

I love you guys and I can’t wait to see and talk to you all on Christmas! Thanks for your continued love and support and care. The mission is the best, yo lo SÉ! Take care and I’ll see you soon.

Love,

Elder Cousins