Decmember 1st, 2012

From Allen December 1, 2012

I haven’t gotten the package yet. Actually I leave the CCM a week early because they don’t do transfers on the week of Christmas so I’ll talk to you in the field of the mission home one of the two. It was really nice to read Joshes letter I have only gotten one letter the whole time I have been here and it was sent before I left the last MTC. It’s actually helping me I think because I am staying a lot more focused in the things I need to do. It would be kind of nice to get them every once in a while though. Yeah I have seen Annie a few times.  Yeah she leaves on Tuesday I believe for the field.

This last week we did some cool stuff we got both of our fake investigators to commit to baptism. Our investigators are our teachers and she helped us in our companion study and then when we taught the investigator (who was really her) we used almost exactly what she taught us and we got a baptismal commitment. This week I went to the distribution center. Garments here cost like 60 cents in dollars. It’s pretty awesome so instead of washing I just go buy new ones... just kidding, but I have bought some.

 Also this past week I have been thinking a lot about how hard it is out here but I was reading in D&C 122 where God is talking to Joseph Smith and I remembered in my talk and it also says in there "the Son of Man hath descended below them all, Art though greater then he?" and so I wrote that on my planner and I remember it every single day.

So earlier this week I felt like I had hit a wall with Spanish. Like I couldn’t remember anymore but then literally yesterday we learned the past tenses of all the verbs. If you don’t get that ask ben, cause I don’t have time to explain it. But I just got it and it stuck and I am remembering again and stuff. I really love the mission and I can’t wait to actually get out and start helping real people. I really want to. I hope I can change the life of some people because the best part of my week is always when we do contacts at the temple and it’s with real people and I can help them for real.

Um, I don’t really know for Christmas I guess you could send me some cool ties paisley if you know what that is if not then just some cool ties that you think are cool. Also when you send me stuff for Christmas you’ll have to send it to the field and I guess that’s the mission home.

Also this week I have had some good times me and my companion have really grown together in our lessons and are starting to get along really well. I hope I can do that with all of my companions cause with my first one it was so easy this one has been a little harder but I like it.

Love you guys, gotta go!

Love, Elder Cox

November 24th, 2012

> Im doing well. The spanish comes alot easier here. i have 4 latino
> roomates that all only speak spanish and nothing else so i have to
> speak it so thats good. my companion isnt as good spanish as my last
> one so its making me work harder to understand i think its a blessing
> in disguise. Its great to hear that everyone came for thanksgiving i
> wonder how josh is doing i cant really email him anymore because they
> like monitor who we write and it can only be family now it would be
> nice if you could like forword him my emails and me his if thats
> possible? also the food is so so so good here I love it so much one
> thing i might actually need is contact solution i had one that i
> thought would last me but i leaked on the way here. no damage was done
> but now like theres not as much contact solution i may be able to get
> it here ill have to ask someone to get it for me or ask if anyone has
> any i could buy from them or something but if you could send some that
> would be great. the heat down here right now is like non existent its
> like 75 from like 9-9 but before and after its a little chilly but not
> like jacket status. so i met this Elder from the Dominican Repblic
> that says he knows garret ask him if he know an Alberto Ovalle I
> thought that was pretty cool this past week I think I have learned
> more spanish then i did in the whole time at the provo MTC the latinos
> love to help some of them are sometimes sarcastic with me and tell me
> every thing is an almuada aka pillow, but they usually help me most of
> our roomates are from peru but none of them know chris. Isnt that
> where went? Chris Wood i mean i might be completely wrong but oh well.
> tuesday we went to the temple and they do the whole thing in spanish
> but they gave us headphones but some people didnt use them i did cause
> they told us to but i think next time if i have a choice i wont use
> them. Also we do this thing here were we go over by the temple and
> talk to people as they walk by contacting is what its called. but
> yesterday while we were doing it we talked to this lady and she seemed
> really interested and she gave us here name and number and address and
> said she wanted to learn more. we also gave here a LBM or BOM but in
> spanish. its really encouraging to do that cause it makes me realize
> that i can understand alot of spanish more then i think i can cause i
> was really scared to talk to people cause i was afraid i wouldnt
> understand but i actually undrstand like 3/4 of what the people say.
> sorry for the really crappy grammer, but these keyboards are weird and
> im not used to it yet so im just writing anyway and hoping you
> understand. Oh ive also noticed that i cant spell in english anymore
> so yeah thats kind of somethin thats going wrong. um what else
> happened Oh i play alot of soccer these days actually everyday. I
> didnt realize how much i had learned in my 3 years of soccer but i am
> not to bad of course almost all of the latinos are better then me but
> they said im the best of the nortes here so i guess thats an
> acomplishment. Yes the food is way good i havent even gotten sick yet
> like everyone says i will i hope i dont well i gotta go love
> you bye
>
>

November 17th, 2012 Letter

This place is cerazy awesome I love it but it isnt anything like the
 provo mtc they made me cut my hair even thoug it wasnt long. my new
 teachers are hermana Herrera and hermano galvez i have a new district
 and a knew companion my comps name is Elder Brewer he is from
 washington. today we didnt know when our time for computers were so we
 missed our first 10 minutes of it cause no one told us. so i only have
 20 minutes instead of a half an hour. we had some good talks before we
 came here on sunday a guy talked to us about the the main thing is to
 keep the main thing the main thing. he talked about how we want to
 have people get baptized but thats not the main thing the main thing
 is to let them know that you love them and want to develop a stronger
 faith in christ. If you want to send me stuff heres the adress and
 have Ang put it on my face book one more time its

 Bulevar Vista Hermosa 23-71 Vista
 Hermosa I, Zona 15, Guatemala, Guatemala, C.A. and they said you
 don´t need to do anything with pictures and stuff just make sure that
 you put my full name like Elder Allen Cox with both elder and my first
 name when you send stuff because if you do this then they won´t do
 anything bad with it cause they know its for a missionary and so
 they´ll send it to me without stealing stuff. make sure sure everyone
 knows that. I have knew roomates they are latinos they are hilarious
 I already love them they always try to quote movies and stuff in
 english and its so funny it makes me wonder if my accent sounds that
 bad when i speak spanish, but they understand me so i guess its
 alright. I am learning alot i am getting alot faster at knowing
 spanish. but they still talk fast and I don´t get alot of it but when
 they talk slow i get it. well my time is almost up so i gotta go but i
 love you guys. ill have more timenext week to tell you more.

Pictures Again!

1) ( allen) Okay so this is a picture of allen Braxton and his companion i believe. Braxton and Allen are roommates Allen said that Braxton lived in Hurriane and they played soccer together.

2)(allen 2) These are the young men who are in the spanish speaking area with Allen.

3(allen3) These are the young men and women who are in the spanish speaking area.

 

4( allen 4) I love this picture haha, this is Allen with Braxton :).

 

 

Pictures

first one is Hermano Warburton the second is Hermano Roberts two of my teachers.

 

one of them is my whole zone the other is my district.

first me and the district leader Elder Seastrand, then me and elder young. the last one was me and my companion

November 6th Letter

Dear Allen,

Any letter is okay and you’re not horrible at it. My dad said he wasn’t very good at it either, but I liked his letters and I like yours.

What a week. To finish it up we went to Las Vegas to be there when Zachary was blessed. It was pretty cool and several people from the ward asked about you and said they were glad that you had spent time there. Brother Headlee(?) is in the bishopric and conducted. He said hi and God Bless. Brother Carroll and his wife and kids came to the luncheon and he mentioned that he wished you the best.  It was a good experience for me to be there and feel the spirit.

Darren and Tonia came to the blessing, but had to get back to their Primary callings so after the luncheon we went to their house to deliver Halloween Cookies. It was a fun visit.

Friday afternoon I went to the ranch to move cows. The LeFevres said it wasn’t the same without you there. It was hot and dry. Levi had a deer tag for there and I hunted with him for a while. We didn’t see anything. But we had fun.

Saturday morning we turned the cows out and they took off. We made good time and we picked up about 20 cows and calves that belonged to Calvin. Libby came and rode with us. She rode that little gray that we helped Levi with. He was okay for her.

Levi went to Tropic to hunt Saturday morning and Logan brought my truck to Kanab on the way back to the rock house. I was home by 6:30 pm. It was grand time. Steve was there again and he brought only one horse.

Layne mentioned that at your farewell he noticed that you had a missionary glow about you as you bore your testimony.

Today is Election Day and tomorrow we will find out if we have a new president or the same old one. The race I am most interested in is how Brother McCausland will do in the Senate race. I don’t plan on big but maybe.

I have been reading in the New Testament because I didn’t finish it last year. I am amazed how Paul and Peter both teach of faith in their epistles. Faith is the first principle for a reason. With faith we can keep moving forward toward the Savior. With faith our prayers are answered. So like Bishop Edgley said in General Conference last year, “Choose Faith.”

I love you and I pray for you each day.

Love,

Dad

Dear Allen,

I hope you are still having spiritual experiences every day.  I loved that part of your letter and that you didn’t mind the schedule. 

Teresa Gubler’s father passed away the Saturday after you went in the MTC.  Her parents just moved here sometime in the last 6 months I think and her father was only able to come to church a few times.  He had cancer and did not have to endure the effects of that illness for too long, thank goodness.  It said in the newspaper that he delivered mail for the postal service until he was 79.  I cannot even imagine, but it probably kept him healthy longer than just being at home.

Sam (Leon and Teresa’s) came here Trick or Treating alone just before dark last Wednesday.  I was a little concerned and text Teresa to see if that was really okay.  She immediately called and said “NO, it isn’t okay”.  I asked her if she wanted us to go find him and bring him home. She said yes please because his cousins are here waiting for him to go with them.   I am glad we could help, since Teresa had enough on her plate with a funeral coming up on Saturday.

 I helped with the funeral luncheon Saturday.  It seems like a long time since I have done anything like that.  It feels good to do service like that.

Several people asked about you while I was there on Saturday.  It seems like we just have not been to our ward very much for such a long time.  Martha Gubler said she sure enjoyed your talk and she felt like it came from your heart.  There were several there in the kitchen who agreed with her.

We drove to Vegas on Sunday morning to go to Zachary blessing.  It was a very nice day.  Grandpa went but Shirley did not go she said she needed to rest her back.  Becca’s parents were both there, which was very nice considering that Jessica is in England and Nick had to work.  Both Kelcey and Becca bore their testimonies, which was nice.  I wish her parents could make some changes and remember what life is all about, and maybe reconcile.  I know that would make Becca and the girls happy!

We went over to Darren and Tonia’s after since they were not able to go to the luncheon.  We took them some Halloween cookies and had a nice visit.  They are going to Hawaii for their anniversary, which happens to be on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Tonia’s sister Cheryl will go to Henderson on Thanksgiving Day to stay with the kids. 

We have been invited to go to Landon and Erika’s for Thanksgiving.   I think we will probably go but am not sure what will happen with Grandpa and Shirley.  We need to talk a little more about that.   Scott and Tonya are coming down this weekend to go meet with the trust attorney, so we will have to see what their plans are first. 

Shirley called me just as I was leaving work today and they were at the cemetery and Grandpa had fallen down and could not get up again.  I went straight there and was able to help him up this time, but he was not so worn out from trying to get up by himself this time as he was the last time.  Shirley told him to just lay there and rest until I got there this time instead of trying to get up alone.  He was very frustrated with himself and said it is hell to get old.  I said yes it is!

We are going to Manti on Thursday for Chantel’s wedding. Joyce and Glen will be going with us.  We will try to take in a session while we are there.

This Sunday we will be going to Cedar City to watch Angelie’s Primary children sing and do their program.  Maybe after this Sunday we can get back to going to our own ward regularly. 

I pray you are doing well and learning something new each day.  We love you and are excited for you to have this experience. 

Love you lots,  Mom

I'm doing awesome i love to hear about Zacks blessing! I am kinda sad i couldn't come but I'm not that sad cause I know i'm where i need to be.
So I came up with this idea cause I'm not very good at remembering things that happened in my last letter so i decided when something cool happened i write it in a little note book and i read it when i write letters so this one will probably be alot better.
So the elders in our zone that have been here longer are so funny, one set just left, but the other ones are hilarious! one is elder red and for halloween he dressed up as a laminate he wore a towel and a belt and a bunch of things and shoes that someone left that he cut up into sandles. we taught a fake investigator in spanish it was cool even though we couldn't speak very well we got him to be fake baptized. then he ended up being our other teacher so it was pretty cool.

I also got travel plans i leave next tuesday from the mtc at like 5 and we leave from the airport at like 8 something im going to be able to call you then so sometime between 5 and 8 tuesday the 13th. i am travel leader, but i dont really know what that means? ill figure it out though. so next week at this time i'll be in guatemala. i don't know when next p-day is though cause it  might change. we learned alot about the doctrine of christ. we also taught a new investigator and we did it without notes! it was way better! the spirit was way stronger.

On sunday we had a devontional about how one of the strongest things we have is the name tag so we always need to cherish it! it was by presidant seamons. after that i watched a talk by Tadd Mccalaster about the apostasy cause thats like the thing in the first lesson that I know the least amount about.

On monday 6 of us in my district did the tower challenge which is were you down a whole tower of cereal which is like 5 or 6 boxes I ate like 9 and a half bowels of cereal i felt a little sick after but its okay.

yesterday i was having a bad day, feeling like i wasn't good enough and what not. i prayed alot for strength and stuff and then during workshop we watched a little thing on a lady and then we had to find a scripture and teach. so looked one up and used it and i didn't feel i did really well. but then we watched what actually happened to the lady and and she was touched by the exact scriputre i used it was awesome i loved it i know that was Gods way of telling me you can do it you just need confidence so now im just going to do everthing with confidence no matter what it is.

also yesterday we had a devotional and he used a scripture in helaman 3:35 it was a really good one cause thats what everyone needs to continually do over and over and never stop.

well hope that one was better then last weeks love you guys sorry i suck at spelling.

Love
        Elder Cox