new week. new comp.

hello hello

this week has been crazy! my new companion is sister skousen and she is the best! she is from lehi, utah so we have a lot of mutual friends and fun stories! we were so close at home and never met, but we just had to meet on the mission (;

this week we ate dinner with some members in our ward. their 18 year old son has been away from the church for a couple years and we got to know him super well. we invited him to a youth sports event that our ward puts on every friday night where you the youth can invite their friends and it's a simple way to do missionary work! he came and the youth in our ward basically attacked him with love and invitation and he came to church on sunday! it was such a neat experience for us to be apart of. 

we had someone we met with last week that was SUPER prepared and it was great! but we went over the other day and she said she had talked with some other people and left us a note with the book of mormon saying she had changed her mind with all these details why. we were super sad! but you know when the lord closes one door, he opens another one thiiiissss widddeeee (holds arms out as far as possible). we witnessed that as well! we were trying to visit some potentials in our area book and went to try this random person and they must've moved and we were talking to the lady and she let us in. it was super awesome, she has had bad experiences with other churches and said she has been searching for years. we are going back to see her this week!

there is a guy we are working with and he was talking about how he has made poor choices and brought himself super far from the church without realizing it. he now sees that opposition in his life from when he is actively taking the sacrament and when he misses a week. he was saying if people really understood the importance and impact of taking the sacrament, they would crawl on their hands and knees all week to get there. i was thinking of this as i was in sacrament..sometimes i am the one that is grateful i get to take the sacrament and in prayer and deep thought the whole time but sometimes i can get distracted and it's over before i know it. i also had a study that found it's way relating to this same topic for me. matthew 23:37-38 "...how often would i have gathered thy children, together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! behold your house is left unto you desolate"

because the people were unwilling to be gathered by the savior, and to be obedient to his commandments, they were left unprotected. when we use our agency and choose not to be obedient then we are unprotected and satan can more easily attack us. we fall further. but as we strive to become more clean on the inside and do what is asked, it will be reflected in our outward choices and will further protect us and bring us closer to the savior to be gathered and watched over. we will not find ourself down the road and see that we had wandered far off. 

love you all, sister cooper ((: