Elder Austin Russell Cook Philippines, Legazpi Mission 8-2016 thru 8-2018: March 2017

Monday, March 27, 2017

So I'll be honest, being transferred here to this new area is a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be

MY FAMILY I have grown to love ♥

Dang there's just so much to say here. So I'll be honest, being transferred here to this new area is a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be. Monday morning I was super excited for it, but when it came time to actually leave, wow that was a sad day. Last Monday night we had a huge family home evening with all of the members in the branch. It was kind of their last time to say goodbye to us. They all had a dance and a song that they had prepared for us (which I'm pretty dang sure Twinkle set up) and they they all gave us letters that they had written for us. Some of them were crying and gosh, it was just so hard to say goodbye. I wanted to hug them so bad. On Tuesday when I left, the bus that I rode passed by their house and I seriously wanted to just smash through the windrow and go see them one last time. I defiantly want to come back and visit after my mission down the road I'll be honest, saying goodbye to them brought up a lot of old feelings that were closely related to saying goodbye to friends and family back in Vegas.

But now here I am in Libon! It took a day or two to get used to the fact that I am in a new area, but it isn't too bad now! Get this.. I am serving in one of Fraser Lefevre's old areas. (Fraser is a young man that served in this area from our Las Vegas ward just about a year ago) I even met some of the people he baptized! My new companion, Elder Nonu, is a great guy and loves to laugh, which makes it pretty easy to get along with him! The apartment is actually super nice too (especially the outside of it) and the area overall is just a beautiful place. It's not too big or too small of a city; it's actually probably a size that's close to the size of Irosin, so I can get used to it easily. The members here are really welcoming to me, and I'm really getting along with them well. There are a TON of potential people here to teach, and I can't wait until Elder Nonu and I get out there and find them!

My flippin Sisters right here! Angelica is on the left

(reminds me of Brooklyn my sister) and Shaira is on the right

That's really all I have to say for now because I haven't been in the area long enough to give a nice update about what's going on. But I hope to have a great update for you all next week! I love you tons, and remember to keep me in your prayers!!

Elder Austin Cook

P.S. This is just a side note from me, Austins mom. I have befriended a few of these sweet people from Austins first area. I wanted to share some conversations that I have had with Twinkle about Austin on Facebook messenger ♥ Just warms my heart

Elder fatty or white giant

is a term of endearment

John Paul (my legitimate brother) He and I went on splits

almost every day. I think he cried a little bit when I left.

Gosh it was hard to leave him


Our last goodbye while waiting for the bus to leave Irosin

My view from the top of my apartment. I thought it was cool

Yep. They found a snake. Killed it. We Ate it. #JungleLife

All of the free space around our apartment.

We have a balcony and a place on the roof to

do whatever we want. It's really sweet

Sunday, March 19, 2017

We need to build our foundation in Christ, we need to trust Him, lean on Him and follow Him. If we do those things we cannot fall. I know for a fact that this is true. If we center our foundation on Christ, we will never fall. We will experience sadness, trials, sickness and whatever else, but we will NEVER fall because He is there to carry us.

Gotta add the GQ pose

So it has been confirmed that I AM leaving this transfer! All of my bags are already packed, and I'll be leaving Irosin on Tuesday, and I will be making my way over to Libon in the Ligao Zone!

The amazing Glorybie's baptism day

I've spent basically my whole mission so far in this area, so I figured that when I finally did leave, I would be absolutely heartbroken. But when the announcement came that I would be leaving, for some reason I got super excited. Don't get me wrong: this place is my home. These people are my family. These places and these streets are second nature to me now. But I am so excited to be able to do this all over again in another area! We have two other missionaries in our district who are also leaving, and they are super sad about it, and they are kinda confused/mad at me because I'm not sad about leaving. But honestly, I can't help it, I'm really excited!

I told basically all of the members here that I was leaving as soon as I could. Back in the states

District activity from last week .

missionaries come and go and it seems like not many people notice, but here it's absolutely different. You aren't just a missionary here. You are these people's best friend, you are their counselor, and you are their life. So it's really sad to be leaving all of them, but I know that they are in the hands of the Lord. We have a huge Family home evening tonight with basically all of the members of the branch as kind of a way to say goodbye to everyone. But yesterday we went to Twinkle and her siblings to teach them, and they had this awesome surprise for me! They really are the best. After we finished teaching them and bearing our last testimonies to them, they started doing this song and dance that all of the little kids had practiced. And then they gave me a bunch of letters and this really cool thing that they made for me (I'll attach a picture).

The last time me and John Paul will get to work on splits together.

These pictures were at Twinkle's house ..

I really will miss this place though. These people have become my family. I'm gonna miss the Porcado's, Twinkle and her family, John Paul (seriously he's like my brother) the Gernali's, and everyone else in the branch. I'm not worried though, I expect to see them if I am able to return someday but definitely I will in the Celestial Kingdom.

That's pretty much it for this email. I can't wait to see where my next area sends me! It's gonna be great, it really is. One thing that always gives me hope, comfort, and peace is a scripture in Helaman. Helaman 5:12 is really a great scripture in the Book of Mormon. It says that we need to build our foundation in Christ, we need to trust Him, lean on Him and follow Him. If we do those things, Helaman says, we cannot fall. I know for a fact that this is true. If we center our foundation on Christ, we will never fall. We will experience sadness, trials, sickness and whatever else, but we will NEVER fall because He is there to carry us.