New Mission President

So, family, how are all of you? I miss you all so much! I love all of you so much, and you all mean the world to me!

This week was a very hard week--we had to say goodbye to President and Sister Swinton, and it was a really sad experience to say goodbye. Even though it's been hard, I know the Lord will bless them, and that our new president will be just as big an influence as President and Sister Swinton were! I know he will because, as they said: "You are not getting a new leader. Christ will always be your leader. And President Shamo is a man who Christ has qualified to do this work." That brought great peace to me and made me smile a lot more.

I know that the Lord has called President Shamo to be the new leader, and I will obey his counsel because his counsel is from the Lord. If there are any changes, I will adapt to them, because I know that he is called of God to this calling. I'm sure it's not easy for him at all, but he accepted and is as willing as any of us missionaries who God has called to this area for a reason!

I feel so blessed to be able to attend the temple. We got to go for the first time since I arrived here and it was an amazing experience. I encourage you all to go to the temple as much as you can (I would say once every two weeks if you can). It shows the Lord you care about Him and He will bless you as you obey and heed the covenants you make! I love you all so much, and I hope you will take advantage of the amazing opportunity you all have to go to the temple and help those who are without. It is another way of doing missionary work. I hope when I return home my whole family will be there and we can all go through the temple together.


I went to the temple with some questions I needed answers to, and I truly felt the Lord's presence so strongly as I attended. I encourage you all to go. As the scriptures tell us: "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." As we attend, we can feel the Spirit. We will be blessed as we use action as well as faith to do these things.

I know the Lord loves each one of us and knows everything about us. He truly knows everything we go through and what we feel, and He knows how to help us! Use the small steps and go forward with faith and feel the blessings.

I love you all so much, and I'm so grateful for the chance I have to be out serving the Lord. We all need to have faith and courage to weather any storm in our lives. I love the Lord and am grateful for the opportunity I have to be in London, England--to serve the people here, and find those who are lost. I know that as we try our hardest, we can make an impact here that will change people. I love the people here so much and I care about them so much! I know they are my brothers and sisters, and I feel so bad when I let someone pass by.

I love this work, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

~ELDER COON