Elder Austin Russell Cook Philippines, Legazpi Mission 8-2016 thru 8-2018: I know that through obedience to the principles of this church the Lord will bless us beyond our comprehension.

So this week has probably been one of the most productive and miraculous weeks in my mission so

The Elders in our district

far. So first, we interviewed Edna's 3 kids for baptism, and they are all ready now for their baptism next week! But there story is the best, and they are literally so excited to share the gospel. They have neighbor friends (Like three houses down) that they ALWAYS invite over when we teach. So we are teaching Edna, her three kids, and like 8 or 9 other kids as well, all in the age range of like 6 to14. But then one of Edna's kids' friends invited their older sister, Twinkle, who is 18, to our lesson. She absolutely loves listening to our lessons, so she invited the rest of her family. So now, when we teach Edna's kids, we are teaching about 18 people all at once, seriously it's awesome! And all of Twinkle's family LOVES listening to our lessons! They all read from the Book of Mormon by themselves and as a family, even the little 8 year old girl, they all have family prayer, and overall they are just insanely prepared to receive everything we have to teach. They all have set baptism dates for the 25th of February, which they are very excited for.

I love this Mission!

This week we also found the Cadena family. They are a family of about 8 people, and they too welcomed us with open arms. The mom and dad say they were first Born Again Christians, then they converted to Catholic, but they just don't think that those churches are 100% correct. They tell us that a lot of the things taught in those churches just don't make sense, and that when we shared with them the Restoration lesson, they just said it made total sense. They all accepted baptism dates for the 25th of February as well, which they are also super excited for!

Our best miracle was on Sunday. Normally we get about 4 or 5 new investigators coming to church every Sunday, which is pretty good. But this week, we had 16 new people come to church! Edna's kids, Twinkle's family, the Cadena family, and all of them invited their own friends to come as well! Seriously, this week alone we have had SO MANY new people who just love what we teach. I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for them!

My Companion Elder Bangal and I entering the Bee Farm

This work has been making me so happy. Every time I think about these people and the happiness that they are going to bring into their lives, I smile. Our gospel is just so different, and it really shows. I know that this work, this church, and this gospel are true. And this isn't a gospel that's "for some people, but not for everyone." No, this Gospel IS for everyone. Everyone who wants happiness and freedom in their lives needs this gospel. I know that through obedience to the principles of this church the Lord will bless us beyond our comprehension. I am just so grateful for this opportunity to be serving a mission.

Me with some super dope piggies. They were at this

lady's house that we did a service project for

Well that's all for this week! Next Tuesday I hit my 6 month mark already! Things are moving pretty dang quickly, so that's a blessing as well! Alright I love you all and will talk to you next week!

Elder Austin Cook