Week 22 ~ July 21, 2014

Hello Family and Friends!

Happy Worldwide Indexing.

This week we had some wonderful experiences with the members that we are working with.

1. We read the Book of Mormon with Jackie. We started at the crowning event in the Book of Mormon which is when the resurrected Jesus Christ comes and visits the people ancient America's, who have been waiting for the Savior to come as the prophets had all testified that he would. I know that Jesus Christ came and visited the people in the ancient America's. And they did touch the nail prints in His hands and feet, and I know this because I have prayed for myself to know this. It is in 3 Nephi 11:7-17. This is one of my favorite parts in the Book of Mormon. After we finished reading together, Jackie said that these were her ancestors. Indeed they were part of her ancestry. She had an 'AHA' moment in the Book of Mormon. I enjoy seeing people have experiences in the Book of Mormon. It truly makes my heart happy.

2. We have been trying for the longest time to introduce family history to another woman named Faye we are teaching, but it just was never the right time. But this week, her visiting teacher, who is an expert on family history, came with us to help her get started. Faye always thought that she wouldn't be able to find any of her family online, but when she got signed up on familysearch.org, she was finding family members left and right. She was hooked on it. Family History is so neat. That was a blessing to be able to be a part of that.

3. We had dinner at another woman's home named Teresa, who we are also teaching. She told us she was going to have her two catholic friends there, whom we have seen before and gotten to know so we were excited to be with them again. We arrived at her home, and we saw seven plates on the table, not five. This member had invited two more friends. What a treat, these women were so funny it was so great to be able to get to know them. We had a great spiritual message all about gratitude. We talked about the story of Jesus and the 10 lepers found in Luke 17 and then talked a little bit about President Uchtdorf's talk all about gratitude. It was a nice message. 

I think all around, having gratitude towards everything at all times tends to bring the result of true joy in one's life. Not just having gratitude for the things that go right, but also the trials we face. They truly are blessings because it is a time for growing and learning and progressing. We aren't alone. We have the power of prayer. We can actually talk to our Heavenly Father. What a blessing. We have our Savior Jesus Christ at all times. 

This reminds me of a scripture I read the other day. 2 Nephi 26:25

"Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price."

This verse talks about Jesus Christ and His Atonement. He already paid the price. His Atonement is free. We can access it at all times. Think of milk and honey- it is sweet and filling, as is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is sweet and filling. It fills in all of the gaps of despair, regret, sorrow; and turns it into hope, relief, everlasting joy. I love how it is a gentle invite, "Come unto me."

Funny story about birds. We were driving and all of a sudden we see all of these cars stop in the middle of traffic for twelve geese that are wanting to cross the road. Two of them made a run for it, the others stayed behind and waited until it was all clear. They walked across the street instead of flying over it. I love the birds of Florida.

We are finally figuring out the bikes. Even the aspect of not being drenched once a day.

We are moving into our area next week! Happy Day.

I love all of you. Missions are the greatest! Florida is the best.

Love, Sister McCook

Week 21 ~ July 14, 2014

Hello Family & Friends!

Great news! We are moving into our area in two weeks. We don't have to drive 25 minutes to get to Fleming Island anymore. This is the best thing ever!

Oh the joys of the bike adventures we have had so far this week! I never thought that I would ever ride a bike in a skirt, but it's not that different! I bought a green beach cruiser and Sister Call got an orange beach cruiser. They are the cutest bikes and definitely stand out when they are together. I will have to attach a picture for you all to see next week. I am thrilled to be riding a bike because not only have I missed it, but there are so many more people we are talking to because of how active the community is. Especially during the summer. For example: we were riding our bikes to a member's home and on the way we see this man walking his dog. He moved off the sidewalk because he saw we were coming and when we biked to where he was, he was taken by surprise because we stopped next to him. By the end of our conversation, he had a Book of Mormon to take home with him. Miracles happen when you talk to everyone. As missionaries, when you don't talk to everyone, it's like we're not giving them the opportunity to accept a wonderful message.

Riding bikes has definitely been a learning experience for sure. In the aspect of knowing how long it takes to bike somewhere, biking in the rain, as well as putting bike chains back on their tracks-that was a fun experience. We have been drenched two of the days this week. Sometimes you look at the sky and think, 'oh it's not going to rain'. Then two hours later you start ringing the water out of your clothes. Then the sun comes out and all of a sudden, you're dry. Little did we know that one of the days where the thunderstorm was heavy, we were in the lightening magnet neighborhood of Fleming Island. While standing under a member's garage during this storm, she was explaining that almost every single one of her neighbors homes across the street or right next to her have been struck by lightning. Metal bikes + lightening = no good. The lightening is beautiful though. I never thought there was such thing as bright pink lightening until I came to Florida.

Miracle of the week:
We have a visiting teaching route. It's basically a list of sisters in the ward that we are able to visit with at least once a month. It is the best! We were trying to visit a sister, but she must have not been home so we were about to get in the car to go to a dinner appointment. But that just didn't feel right to me. We looked around at the homes and saw this home with the garage open along with a car with its' doors open. We said let's try that home and two more right beside it.  So we go up to this home and this cute mom comes out. We went up to her to see if she needed any help with anything and she started crying. I gave her a hug. She said that her husband is in England until they move out there, she has no friends or family around to talk to, her son just threw up all over the car, and her 9 month old was still strapped in his car seat. She said that she had been needing someone to talk to all day and then the two of us Sister Missionaries showed up in front of her driveway here to talk with her. She allowed us to help carry in her groceries into her house and she started asking questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are meeting with her on Wednesday. Please pray for her! Her name is Kara.

I have been thinking about this scripture in the Book of Mormon lately as I have been studying. "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." 2 Nephi 5:27 I love this scripture. True happiness comes when we are trying to do our best; and trying to live more like the Savior. When we try our best sincerely, we are always blessed.

I must mention something about family history because of how neat it is. Don't forget to join in on the 'Worldwide Indexing Event' happening on July 20-21. Don't miss out! You are all invited!
http://www.facebook.com/events/722157871184202/

If you ever see Missionaries on their bikes or walking, make sure you wave to them! It will make their day.

Love, Sister McCook

Week 20 ~ July 7, 2014

Hello family and friends and Happy late 4th of July!

This week I was able to witness a miracle on Facebook. About a month ago, a man named Zachee from Africa asked me to be his friend on Facebook. I proceeded to message him and share my testimony about the Book of Mormon and asked if he has ever heard of the Book of Mormon. He then started talking about how much he loves the Bible and after another response, he did not reply. During the huge Book of Mormon event happening on Facebook to spread the word about the Book of Mormon across the world, I continued to invite Zachee to these four events about the Book of Mormon and he did attend. A day after the fourth event began, Zachee messaged me and I asked again if he has ever read from the Book of Mormon. He then said, "How can I get this book? Can you send it to me? I need it very much! Thank you for getting my attention!". We are in the process of sending him a Book of Mormon in French and Kirundi. I have no idea if the Book of Mormon is written in Kirundi but I guess we'll find out! The Spirit is touching the hearts of many worldwide. Thank you to all who participated in this event.

The Book of Mormon changes my life everyday and I know it can change your life every day.

The highlight of my week was that we had a great lesson with a woman named Christine. I love her! We were teaching her and her husband the Restoration and when Christine was taught about Joseph Smith's first vision, we held a picture of Joseph Smith seeing God the Father and His son Jesus Christ. She could not peel her eyes from this picture and the experience that she had just heard. While the lesson continued, her caretaker walked in and sat down to hear the message we had to share. She wanted to learn more as well. At the end Christine wanted the pamphlet to keep and started to open it and turn the pages. I told her it had the picture of Joseph seeing God and Jesus Christ and she said, "I know, that is what I'm looking for." 

The vision that Joseph Smith had was a beautiful thing. He was looking for something more and he got down on his knees to pray and find out for himself. I know that he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ on that morning in 1820. He was called to be the next prophet to lead and guide Christ church, with Jesus Christ at the head of it, still leading it today. God truly does answer our prayers.

As of today, we are now biking Sisters! I cannot wait for this!

On the 4th of July, I was on a tradeoff with my Sister Training Leader! Fireworks went off like crazy all night long. The prettiest view that I had ever seen was when we were driving over a huge bridge to get home. The sun was down, but there was still light outside. Off in the distance you could see fireworks everywhere across the water and the islands. It was beautiful. That was my 4th of July! It was the best.

I love all of you and am praying for you!

Love, Sister McCook

Week 19 ~ June 30, 2014

Hello Family and Friends! and Happy 4th of July this Friday.

Quite possibly the best week ever full of miracles, miracles, and more miracles. 

We met with Jackie and Walt last week and talked to them a little bit more about the Premortal Life. Walt loves the Bible so we shared to scriptures all about where we were before we were born. We certainly did live with God, as His Spirit children, before we were born. He created us. He knew us each individually and loved us and we knew Him and loved Him. We were taught of His plan. Our life here on Earth is all part of His perfect Plan. With Walt, we shared Hebrews 12:9 and Jeremiah 1:5. Walt had his Bible out turning to the scriptures as well as Jackie. And if I could capture that moment all over again, watching them turn to those scriptures, I would do it in a heartbeat. They were having 'AHA' moments while reading those scriptures and developing a greater understanding of the Premortal Life. They were drawn to the cross references and mentioned that they were going to do this more often. I love seeing the happiness of others that comes from reading the scriptures. I love Jackie and Walt.

We had our ward Family History event that went really well! It was a great turnout and pilot run for activities that will happen in the future with family history. People came with family names that they wanted to find and add to their tree and sure enough, they were able to find them! A young woman wanted to see how far back she could go on her family tree on familysearch.org and she went all the way back until 2000 b.c. In her line of descent, she was related to a Pharoah! Whoa! That was something to see. Family History is so exciting because you can be bound to these people forever.

I have recently began reading the Book of Mormon with the purpose of studying it to understand God's love for us and Charity, which is the pure love of Christ. One of the very first verses that I read helped me to clearly understand God's love for us. It is 1 Nephi 1:20 "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." 

 'tender mercies of the Lord' are strength, protection, comfort, assurance, guidance, love, support, assistance, etc. These are blessings both small and large that we can recognize everyday in our lives. These are no coincidences. Surely the tender mercies of the Lord are evidence of God's love for us. We can feel His love for us everyday. I know this because I feel His love everyday not only for me, but for those whom I am serving. Faithfulness and obedience invite tender mercies into our lives, God's timing helps us to recognize them. 

Sister Call and I have been walking a lot. I love walking because we are able to smile and wave to all of the cars that drive by. It is the best. Missionary tan lines are possibly the funniest thing ever. The tan goes from the mid-calf down to the top of my foot, but the sides are super white. There is also the common farmer's tan. It is pretty great! I love being a missionary.

Seek always, to find the Tender Mercies of the Lord in your life.

Love,

Sister McCook

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Hi I'm Madyson

I'm from Arizona and I'm a Mormon

   

About Me

I am a full-time missionary for 18 months! I have been called to serve in the Florida Jacksonville mission and it is the greatest experience of my life! I have met and am still meeting some of the most wonderful people. I know that the Lord needs me to serve in this area at this time. College has been put to the side until I return, but I would like to become a nurse. I love trying new things like food, sports, recreational activities, etc. My main hobby is dancing. I've be trained in many styles of dance since the age of 3 like; Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Ballet, Pointe, Acro, etc. I enjoy it so much.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born into the covenant and raised by faithful parents who taught me the gospel, brought me to church, and taught me how to live righteously. I was baptized when I was 8 years old and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I will always remember that special day. In my middle school and high school years, I maintained my standards by keeping the guidelines in the For The Strength of Youth pamphlet. I have a testimony that those guidelines were made for the youth, and also adults, for this day in time. I love reading the Book of Mormon. There is so much information to take in. Every time I read, I feel the Holy Ghost in my life more, I find applications for my life and how I can grow closer to my Father in heaven, and strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ. My testimony is strengthened and I know Jesus Christ lives and that I can live with my Father in heaven again. I know that the Book of Mormon was written for these Latter Days and that Joseph Smith translated it. I love being a member of this church because I have a testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true. I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ in the sacred grove, restored this church and translated the Book of Mormon. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of this church in these Latter Days and that he receives revelation from our Heavenly Father to lead and guide us. I know that the commandments can keep me on the straight and narrow path back to my Father in Heaven. I know that families can be together forever. I am so excited to be a servant of the Lord and bring others into the Gospel. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the first, most important thing in my life.

How I live my faith

As a missionary, my purpose is to find and teach all people who desire to know of the gospel of Jesus Christ and help them to come unto him. I want everyone to know how much this Gospel can bring the most exquisite happiness to their lives as it has to mine. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's church that is once again on the Earth. I find and teach others during all hours of the day and into the night to help them to know for themselves that this is Jesus Christ's church. I participate in any ward service projects or activities. A ward service project may include cleaning up litter in a park or desert area and improving it's appearance. It is completely voluntary but it is so much fun to work with so many people who also like to improve the community. Serving others reminds me of the perfect example of Jesus Christ, who went throughout his entire life here on Earth serving others. I want to become more like him and help others to follow his example and taste of the joys of serving their friends. Ward activitites are so much fun. Ward activities are a great way to get to know your ward family, make life long friends, learn about their interests, and feel the Spirit. When I graduated high school, I received a calling in my ward. I was given a calling to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to 5 year olds in the primary. It is so wonderful to see these sweet children grow in their knowledge of the Savior and also the Book of Mormon stories. They are so smart and so eager to learn.

 Check out mormon.org! It's a great website to get to know others and how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has changed their lives. You can even create your own profile. You can also find answers to a wide variety of questions.

May 28, 2014

June 3,2014

"Love is the very essence of the gospel, and Jesus Christ is our Exemplar. His life was a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved. At the end the angry mob took His life. And yet there rings from Golgotha's hill the words: 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do'--a crowning expression in mortality of compassion and love." -President Thomas S. Monson
I know that the love that the Savior has for each of us is unconditional and that we can all find true joy from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

June 10, 2014

I 'Discovered the Book' when my faithful parents gave me a Book of Mormon to take to Primary every Sunday, before I even knew how to read. They taught me the importance and power that comes from this book at a very young age and it has carried with me throughout my entire life. This is why I'm serving a mission, because I know that the Book of Mormon is true and I know that any person who reads it will know of the exquisite joy that comes from studying it. #DiscoverTheBook

June 17, 2014

I love searching the book anywhere that is peaceful and can have personal time studying the words of Christ. One of my favorite 'AHA' moments that I have had in the Book of Mormon is in 3 Nephi 12:48 "Therefore I would that ye should be per...fect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." I love this counsel that Jesus Christ gives. The word perfect means to 'strive to become' or 'complete'. It is impossible for us to ever be perfect here on Earth, but we are asked to be our best and through Jesus Christ we can. Perfection is an Eternal Goal. #SearchTheBook #CalledtoShare

June 25, 2014



As a young girl, I was encouraged and taught the importance of balancing everything that I aspire to do in life including precious time to study from the Book the Mormon. This is how I #livethebook This is one of the reasons why I came out here to serve a mission, because I know the Book of Mormon is true.

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Week 18 ~ June 24, 2014

Hello family and friends!

This week is transfers! Yesterday was the night for the big conference call that all of the 250 missionaries get on to find out if they were being moved to a different area in Jacksonville or not. All day yesterday I was thinking about the possibilities of either getting a new companion or both a new area and companion because Sister Call and I have been with each other for 4 1/2 months. I was so grateful that our day was filled with many opportunities to teach and meet with members, because I was able to put the thought of transfer calls in the back of my mind. Sure enough came the time for transfer calls and the big news is that Sister Call and I are staying together in the Fleming Island 2nd Ward for another 6 weeks!!!! Whoa! Best news ever. I love Fleming Island and I love serving with Sister Call!

This week was the Jax West Stake Conference. Sister Call spoke in the Saturday night session and her talk was phenomenal. There was something that President Craig said about the Book of Mormon that really stuck out to me that I wanted to share with you. 

"Don't you wonder what would happen if we treated our Book of Mormon like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets? 

What if we turned back to get it if we forgot it?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we spent an hour or more using it every day?

What if we used it to receive messages from the 'text'?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it as we travelled?

What if we used it in case of an emergency?

Unlike our cell phones, one Plan fits all, unlimited usage. No roaming charges. You always have reception. No weak signals and we don't have to worry about our Book of Mormon being disconnected, because our Savior already paid the bill."

This is one of the goals that I made right when I began my mission, for when I come home in 2015. To study from the Book of Mormon just as much as I use my phone. I realized right then when I came out that when I was not a missionary, I had been spending too much time on my phone when I had it. It is possible to balance every little thing in life. Whenever we need answers, turn to the Book of Mormon, Heavenly Father is our first source. I find all of my answers from reading and praying about the Book of Mormon.

I love the Book of Mormon. I love it because I feel closer to the Savior. Anyone who reads and prays about the Book of Mormon can feel the most exquisite love from our Father in Heaven and have hope because of Jesus Christ. I finished reading it and have begun reading it again. The Book of Mormon is true. 

There were the craziest storms this week. Power went out in almost every neighborhood in Fleming Island. We were at the library parking lot about to leave and all of a sudden there was a down pour. Even when our windshield wipers were on full speed, we still could not see anything. The thunder was cracking. And then it started hailing. The size of small stones. That confused me. The temperature went from 95 to 75 in five minutes. And after the storm, there was steam coming from the road. I can live with this, except we were kinda stuck in our car.

This Sunday we are going to have a Family History fireside. We are so excited for this! To help everyone begin or continue their family tree and find their ancestors. I can't wait to tell you all about this. It's such an exciting time. The Spirit of Elijah is real. Families can be together forever, through Heavenly Father's Plan. 

I love being a missionary!

Love, Sister McCook



Sister McCook and her companion Sister Call.  They have been companions for the past 4 months.


  

Week 17 ~ June 16, 2014

Dear family and friends,

Happy Fathers Day!

There is a family who has been praying for missionary opportunities and sure enough, Heavenly Father answered their prayers with a missionary opportunity. They both felt impressed to invite their friend Nancy to learn more about the gospel, how, why, and what they believe. She accepted. They were planning on visiting her one night and they called us up asking for a scripture from the Book of Mormon about hope in the world. The first scripture that came to mind was Ether 12:4 "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the should of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." They went to her home and shared that scripture with her and she asked when she could come to church with them. She did come, and the word she described with how she felt when she attending was very peaceful. Church truly is a place where everyone can feel peace. When someone reads the Book of Mormon. It does the same.

If there's one thing out of the many that I love to do, it would be to share my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I had that opportunity while teaching a lesson yesterday. He wanted to know of experiences that Sister Call and I have had with the Book of Mormon. The feeling that I have whenever I study and pray from the Book of Mormon is indescribable. A feeling overcome with warmth throughout my heart. A witness by the power of the Holy Ghost that this record is true. And the best part is that we get to hold this record in our hands and study it today. We get to have our own experiences, or 'AHA' moments in the Book of Mormon. Know of things that we didn't know before. Relate to the people within the Book of Mormon even though it is a record written over 2500 years ago. I love the Book of Mormon with all my heart.

I would like to share with you all the miracle of the week. Family history has really sparked an interest with everyone that we talk with; people are drawn in to how they can find their ancestors and where they came from. It is the Spirit of Elijah that touches their hearts. They have this hunger to learn more about their family. Sister Call and I did a family history presentation with a member at a nursing home. It was the first time that we had ever done this before so we did not know how it would go because we don't know very much about family history; but we knew that if we put our faith and trust in the Lord, that all things would work out in the way that they were suppose to. The member hooked up her computer to a flat screen TV and pulled up family search. She asked the nice man, who is a survivor of WWII and was part of D-Day, what his father's name was. After finding his information on family search and pulling up a Census record from the 1900s, this man was able to find his family for the first time ever and the excitement that he had was the happiest thing to watch. Soon after, nurses were coming in and insisting that we search for their family members and it became a frenzy of finding family names! The Spirit was there. They asked us to come back and the elderly people were mentioning that this family history would be the talk of the nursing home. My testimony of family history has grown so much. It is so fun to do your own family history work, but there is something special about helping others do their own family history work. I encourage all of you to start now or continue on with where you're at with family history, on familyseach.org 

'Discover the Book' on facebook was incredible! Don't forget to do 'Search the Book' tomorrow. Share your testimonies of the Book of Mormon. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/582496388515589/?ref=br_tf

 Expect a letter from me on Tuesday because next week is transfers. Already! That was fast.

I find myself saying that phrase frequently. Missions fly by too fast.

Love, Sister McCook