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

Brixton Pix

This is my "GREAT-grandpa." He is home from the mission but came for a visit. He trained Elder Elmer, who trained Elder Hanks, who trained me.

This is "Grandpa Mitchell." We like to swap stories about our camping/hiking/fishing adventures.

This is me, Hanks, my great grandad DiIuilo, and the two boys are Lynden and Kai

We saw a double decker bus that had caught on fire!

This is me bored, so I tossed on a girl's wig--I would be one ugly woman, hahaha!

No Matter What The Lord Asks

So, it’s P-Day again—yay! I have some things I need: some Cap’n Crunch and Fruit Loops. Some kids that are investigators really would love it if I could get these for them. It would be a great help to me and very much appreciated—Mom and Dad or sisters who can! Thank you!

Well, some sweet things have happened since the last time I wrote. Let’s start from Friday: me and Elder Hanks went out and had some very good experiences. We started to contact at Brixton Hill and we met Edmund. Me and Elder Hanks were walking down Brixton Hill, just contacting on one side. Elder Hanks saw a girl with her son and said, “We need to talk to her.” So we crossed the street, but he never said anything to her. Right when we crossed, a man came out of the shop and we talked to him instead. We told him that God has given us more of His word. He listened to us, and we told him we have a living prophet today, and asked if we could sit with him for ten minutes and share a message with him.

HE ACCEPTED! We crossed the street and taught him in a little garden (or common) there, and recited the First Vision. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, and promised if he would read it and pray, he would know of its truth and by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that he would know that God has restored his one and true church with the proper authority on the earth. He then said, “I usually do not talk to people, but I felt something when I was in the shop. I was going to buy a beer, but then I said ‘no,’ and right when I walked out I saw your badges with the name JESUS CHRIST.” If Hanks did not listen to that prompting to follow the girl across the street, we would not have met Edmund. He accepted a date for the 11th of July, and this truly was a blessing from heaven!

Now whenever we visit him, he tells us that he has cut down smoking already from 60 cigarettes a day to only 5 a day. And he said when we visit he wishes he could have that feeling every time we were there. If we were not being obedient, we would not carry that presence with us. The Lord truly has blessed us with people who know and understand what we teach!

We also started to teach Beverley and her son, Jordan. Beverly is a former investigator and now has time to listen and to hear the message—she wants to be baptized on the 11th of July. We taught her son the next night and he wants to be baptized on the 11th of July as well! These are truly miracles the Lord is blessing us with, and that’s not all the Lord helped us with.

Sunday, we woke up and we were having a really bad morning. We had started fasting for our investigators and praying. All five did not come to church, so we had a really bad morning: stressed and tired and hungry. But the day went on, and testimonies were strong in Fast and Testimony Meeting.

Then, we had an amazing experience . . . we got to go to the London temple! Our investigator Lorena called and said she wanted to go and see the temple with us! She told us her daughter was going to come as well. We were stoked—her daughter never sits in on our lessons, but lately she has been having dinner at her house with us and listening to the discussions, so she wanted to see, too!


We all went and toured the grounds and saw all the amazing things there. We watched the new Joseph Smith video (well newer, anyway). The power of the Spirit that was felt, and the power of the movie truly was amazing! I felt the Spirit as I never have before. It surged through me like a power charging me up—I was on a spiritual high, and it felt so good. Especially at the part when Joseph stands and says, “Silence! Silence, ye fiends of the infernal pit!” to the mob of men who were bragging about the horrible things they had done to the early members of the church. Really powerful and strong!


I know this experience will strengthen Lorena and her daughter—they enjoyed the temple so much and took so many pictures and loved the whole tour and the Visitor Center. They were glad they had the experience to come and to feel. I know the Spirit touched them in their minds and in their hearts!

This work will go forth, and the blessings are still coming. The Lord has blessed me so much with a loving and kind family, with parents who are strong in the Church, and with a desire to share the Gospel with others! I love this work! It is the greatest work, and has brought the most happiness I have ever had in my life. I thank the Lord every day for the blessings I see!

Continue to pray and to study out the scriptures. Build your testimony like an anchor that holds a ship down in the biggest and worst of storms! Go to the Visitor’s Center and invite non-members to see and to feel (check out 3 Nephi 18:25) so they can have that feeling and know that the temple is the Lord’s house.

I love you all, and I know Joseph Smith was a prophet truly called of God! I’m so grateful for him and for the trials he went through. One quote in the movie stuck out to me. Emma asks Joseph, “Do you ever think the lord asks too much of us?” and Joseph replies, “I never let myself.” That’s what we need to do—no matter what the Lord asks. It never is too much, ‘cause He will be with us.


I leave these things with you humbly in the name of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!

ELDER COON

Jumpin' so high to accomplish our work!

Lorena, Caroline (the bishop's wife) Hanna Beatah, Andrea (Lorena's daughter), & Sarah Beatah

Staying in Brixton!

Well, it was Moves Week and our P-day is on Thursday and then we get one on Monday, too--sweet, huh?

Well, I hope all of you missed not getting a letter on Monday. Sorry about that. (Oh, yeah--please update the blog with all my letters--thanks to those of you doing that!) I wanted to let you all know I am staying in Brixton with Elder Hanks, Yay! We are just exploding with success, which I have realized has to do with strict obedience!

So, I hope you loved all the quotes I sent in that last letter from the Apostles' visit here. Really, it was amazing. I hope all is going well for all of you.

I want to tell you about Ronald, a referral from the sisters in London. They gave us the referral, we called him up, and he said he was interested, so we were stoked and excited to meet him. The problem was one of our appointments went too long, and it went into his time, and he was kind of mad, but he scheduled us to come later on that night. So, we jumped on the tube (underground subway) and headed over to Balham (the posh area).

When we arrived, we were looking at the map 'cause we had no idea where this guy lived. All of the sudden, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder--I turned around and this man said, "Are you the elders who are supposed to come meet me at my house?" Sure enough, it was Ronald. He was looking super stressed, but happy to see us. We started out getting to know him--he is a Christian, and studied and majored in Christian theology and took it for eight years, so he was very interested in what we had to offer. We talked for a while, and got to know more about him, then we opened with a prayer and went into the Restoration of the Gospel. He understood all we taught, and was so happy to know that God loves us and would want us to know that He has restored his true church. He was excited to read The Book of Mormon, but said he had exams all week and might not get to it. We promised that if he would read a little each day, he would feel blessings and feel comfort, so he said "I accept." Haha! Then we "soft-committed" and said, "As you come to know these things are true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?" He said, "Of course, I would have no choice if I knew it was true--it would only be reasonable to."

We were about to leave, but I had the strongest prompting to ask to give him a blessing. I kept pushing it out of my mind, and kept thinking that he would think I was weird. Finally, as we stood up, I asked, "Are you stressed because of your exams?" He said, "Yes, very." I told him about blessings, and the priesthood, and he accepted, so we gave him a blessing. We could tell the Spirit was very strong (and I think he recognized it, as well). When we were done, he had a huge smile on his face and was so happy that we gave him a blessing, and he thanked us and was so excited to see us again. So, we see him tomorrow, and we will extend a date to him that we'll pray about!

These are miracles that the Lord gives us, and I take credit for nothing. I am so thankful that I have the Spirit with me and Elder Hanks! I am so proud to have the Gospel in my life, 'cause honestly I would be so lost without it leading and guiding me. I'm grateful for my call to ENGLAND! It has opened my eyes, and helped me realize why I am here! I love the people here, and I ache for them all--especially for those who believe and just do not know what the true path is. I have a great and marvelous work to do, and I have two years for the Lord to refine me, like Joseph or Daniel or David--all young men who the Lord qualified!

I am so excited for my chance to stay in Brixton! I love the Lord, and all the blessings He has given to each and every single one of us. We have the gospel! We have the truth! Don't be afraid to share this, because we are all on the Lord's errand. We were chosen before this life to share the Gospel to all. I have a firm belief that we all have a duty and calling here on earth, and we need to extend out our arms to others.

I love you all, and I say these things humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!

~ELDER ELI JACOB COON
(IN THE LORD'S ARMY)

PS- Here are some pictures!

Members of our district during the district meeting

Me and my "Dad" (the elder who trained me) and my "Grandpa" (the elder who trained him).

A service project we worked on before and after the long letter I sent.
This is us with Javier--the one who fell away from the church for a while but had an amazing experience coming back to the Church!
This is me with some guys who were all in the MTC here together!

Moves Week

So, it's Moves Week. Sorry, I know Mom must have had a heart attack when no e-mail came on Monday--haha. I hope all is going well. It's good to see you're all busy and doing what you need to be doing!

Well, where to start? Many amazing things have happened and lots of miracles--we picked up 11 new investigators this week and we've been having a lot of success! It's been a very, very busy week--our schedule was running bus to bus, just trying to keep up, but I loved it.

Monday: this was P-day, and you heard from me that night. We went to FHE with the Delgados and taught the lesson about Lehi's vision. They have been struggling with getting their kids going to seminary and church, so we are taking a chance and starting to teach FHE to the less-actives and members who have kids (because we can relate to them!). We are also going to start teaching classes once a month at church to the youth, and try to help make the scriptures and church more interesting!

Tuesday: I went on exchanges with Elder Forbes. Literally, we were jumping back and forth from Battersea to Brixton all day (it's a twenty-five minute bus ride). All of our appointments were scattered out back and forth so we were running to buses.

Wednesday: Good ol' Wednesday--me and Elder Hanks were back together and ready to do some work! We went to a common, and there were about five college kids on a park bench, so we started to talk to them and they said "Yeah, but we've got to go to school." So, they invited us back to the park bench the next day, so we came back and they were there. We taught them all and gave them all a Book of Mormon! They accepted the challenge to read and pray. They all loved the book, and all of them have had questions and have read parts throughout the book-- they really enjoy it and really are interested, so this is very good!

Thursday: I was on exchanges with Barnwell. We had a busy day that fell into pieces--people cancelling, and people floggin' us like crazy, so we really had a stressful day. We tried to stay positive, though. We kept happy and played "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," (my personal favorite), and I sang while he played, so that calmed us down and gave us the ambition to push forward and to help out!

Friday: Super busy, wow. Me and Elder Hanks had a very good day of finding and of teaching. We met Stephen, and he is amazing. He's a serious a Bible scholar, but he backs all of the scriptures in the Book of Mormon with scriptures from the Bible--hilarious, huh? I love it! He is so amazing and really ready for baptism on the 27th. We've just got to keep helping him understand the importance of church!

Saturday: FINALLY! An amazing day in the history of us South Londoners! DIETER F. UCHTDORF AND NEIL L. ANDERSON came to England! (Here is an official church news story about their visit). We had a special missionary conference with them in MAIN LONDON, so we got to cross the river and go to HYDE PARK CHAPEL! It was a sweet experience--they taught us and helped us learn the greatest lessons! I love the counsel and stories--they have helped me so much to understand a lot.

The first lesson was about magnifying our callings, and how to lift ourselves up! President Uchtdorf said "Focus all your energy on the day. Remember, the sun will always rise every day no matter what, and so shall we rise and work all the day. As the sun battles the clouds, we battle the world and share the gospel light." Amazing analogy! Then he told us how critical we are and how we are an extended arm of the Apostles. I know that we as missionaries truly are, and we need to magnify our calling, because we need to bring people prepared unto the Lord! He said we are in an amazing time for England: baptisms are at their highest, the entire world will hear the message, and we are a part of the amazing shift of times!

Then Neil L. Anderson spoke. Remember, he is brand new--60 days he has been an apostle, but an amazing one at that. He has traveled with Uchtdorf for the last few weeks all over Europe. He taught us how we need to realize this is "NOT ABOUT US--IT'S ABOUT THEM" This talk was so powerful. Really, I learned so much about how we need to forget ourselves. Literally, this mission is not for me, it is for those I come in contact with--I am just the tool! This really hit home and gave me the strength I've needed to have that courage to go out and to teach people and open my mouth and talk and share the gospel! He told us that every person we see, we need to see them in the future--see what they will become in the church as a leader as a teacher, as all members in the church do. We need to envision what their future is and how great their joy will be!

Then President Uchtdorf spoke again. An amazing power and spirit is with this man. Seriously, you could feel it enter the room when he came in . He said, "Bless lives of many--not just those you find." It's so true. We should always have a smile, and always share the gospel--never be ashamed! He also said, "WORK YOUR HEELS OFF." He said it's okay to do, because you can buy a new pair.

Then he taught a valuable lesson that I felt was specifically for me. This is what he said: "Who cares if you're rejected? Are we better than Jesus or than Joseph Smith? No, we are not, so we need to accept it and move on. We will never have to go through what either of those two went through, so I ask all of you: are you better the JESUS or JOSEPH?" He followed by saying "You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage them." I was just blown away, really. It was so amazing! He also said that we all are called but we are not qualified--God does not call the qualified, he qualifies those he calls. I seriously felt a punch to my spirit on this subject, because I fear talking to people sometimes. But somehow I have had the power to accept the rejection and move past it! We have a sweet Brixton quote: "Offend many, save a few." Haha. Really think about that and really invite your friends to church.

So, that was our Saturday: packed with the Spirit of the Apostles. Try and top that one! :) Yeah, it was amazing and I loved it. They truly are called of God and are Apostles of the Lord, I know this without a doubt in my mind. I wish you all could feel that shiver and that feeling of light and peace and happiness I felt the whole time they were there! They are both amazing men, called of God, and are being qualified as he said! I love this work so much!

Then, on Saturday night we got back to the church, and something strange happened! All the missionaries had gone and we needed to lock up the church, but we found some bags just sitting there, so we knew someone was in the building! We searched the whole building and found no one, so we looked in the clerk's office and there was a man in there watching the priesthood broadcast. We all had a sick feeling and this kid was very strange--he said he just wanted to watch the broadcast, so we had to wait in the church during our prime time to find people. After he left, we called a few people. Come to find out, he has been trying to live in the church and is very strange, so it was a good thing we stayed and got him out of there!

Sunday: we had an amazing experience. It was stake conference with President Uchtdorf and Elder Anderson again. Their wives were with them, along with Thomas S. Monson's daughter, Ann M. Dibb from the General Young Women Presidency, and Cheryl C. Lant, the General Primary President. It was another amazing session and President Uchtdorf counseled the missionaries and members of the church--so, all of you!

He said we need to find one person every week and them to church. It can be a less-active member--invite them and encourage them. Especially if you know any inactive youth, invite one of them to church. He said there are a lot of missionaries out now (about 55,000), but it's not enough for every less-active member. We would need to have 3 times that many missionaries to reach all the inactives--so we need members to increase the outreach and to invite people to come to church!

Sister Dibb said there are three things all families should do:
1. We must look to the temple: hold a recommend, stay worthy, and go whenever possible. We have time and we are saving lives.
2. We must look to the prophet: listen to talks and counsel. This is all directly through the Lord and is given to us to listen and to heed.
3. We must look to Christ: this is self-explanatory, and we all should be following His example.

Help the missionaries in the ward! Be kind, show others the love you have for them, and do all the work you can to help and to serve others as in Jacob 2. Read the chapter and learn how to develop the charity and kindness for others and accept our Savior's outstretched hand!

President Uchtdorf counseled everyone to hold Family Home Evening every week. Help your kids to listen! Do not let them leave! He said, "Is it easy? No. But important? Yes!" He said all our families will increase in vision and receive more blessings if we always have FHE, so keep it up! One more important thing he stressed: TO FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER. He said, "As you do this, you are developing your Christ-like attributes, and if they do not accept your forgiveness, at least you did the right thing!"


Well, sorry this email is so long, but I hope you all enjoyed hearing about my week. The work is going forward! I feel the Spirit more then ever before, and it feels so good to know that I can always have that constant companionship, as long as I strive to do my best and pray every day! Continue to develop your faith--this church is just as true as it was when Christ was on the Earth it has all the true doctrine! I know it's true.

I invite you all to share this with someone in the next week, and invite them to church--you will see blessings, I promise. A servant of the Lord and an Apostle, President Uchtdorf, also promised it--so heed the counsel and do as he said, you will see blessings! I have a testimony of tithing: continue to pay it and see the blessings you receive.

I am so grateful for all the blessings I have received. I love you all so much, and I know without a doubt in my mind this is the Lord's work. No one can take that from me or you! Continue to read and pray and study. I love you all so much and miss you all, but know I am doing the right thing. I say these things and bear my testimony, humbly, in the name of my Lord and Saviour and Redemer, Jesus Christ. AMEN!

Eighth P-Day Email

Wow! So, this week was crazy, everyone.

Let me start by telling you all about Javier. He is a Spanish-speaking kid from Argentina, and he has seen everything and experienced everything you would think possible in this life--from drugs, to jobs, to girls, to out-of-body experiences, to anything and everything. He was having a hard time and wanted to take his life (I am only telling you this because he really helped me understand why I am here and to help me as well).

He was a member in Argentina, and left and fell away from the Church, and for the past two years has been in New Zealand, Italy, and here in London. He wanted to take his own life, but he had a dream that he needed to find the missionaries, so he said he sat and prayed for two hours and felt he needed to find the Church! He said everywhere he went he felt people were laughing at him and looking at him funny, but he knew he had to do it! He said he had to travel on the tube (the London underground), and he was scared because he felt Satan would make something bad happen to him, so he said a prayer and when he went down he prayed for angels to help him. When he was on the train, he felt at peace and he said there were kids there smiling at him and a man sitting opposite of him smiling! He felt so much comfort and he thanked the man across from him and told him "Thanks for smiling and helping me make it." He arrived at the church in Hyde Park on the other side of the river, and he met the missionaries there and talked with them--as well as the president of our stake! They left him with The Book of Mormon and gave him a blessing! He then came back to Brickston (which is our primary area) and we received a call to go and see him. So we went on our way rejoicing in the Lord, and when we got there he hugged us and thanked us for coming. We went into his flat and talked with him he said he got rid of all drugs in his flat cause he said "Otherwise, you guys would've never come." We talked to him and he told us of his experiences. We were getting ready to leave and left him with a scripture, but he said he could not read it and understand in English all that much.

LUCKILY (I SAY LUCKILY!) we never have carried a Spanish Book of Mormon until about 4 days ago I decided I would toss one in, just in case we needed one. I pulled this book out for him and he started to cry, he was so happy. We left it with him and as he cried he pleaded with us to forgive him. Luckily, Bishop was with us as well, and that is in his realm, so we left it up to him! Javier has read all the scriptures we have left with him, and he has been trying to help others turn to Christ. On Sunday, he said he wanted to go home but he had no money and he lost his job. He met with Bishop and he truly wanted to do the right thing. Now he is blessed, and he will be returning home to his family to make things right and to help others turn to Christ. He is amazing and I am so grateful for The Book of Mormon and how it has blessed so many people all over the world--and how many languages it comes in (this was a miracle for him especially). Javier is deeply and truly a follower of Christ. He gave up drugs, women, and all his past addictions and he truly is humble! He invited me to Argentina Cordoba whenever I want to go and we are welcome to go any time :). He will truly be a great friend and a leader in the Church--I think that because of his past mistakes he can help so many turn to Christ. His testimony keeps growing and he has changed for the better!

About our other investagators: Judith has been struggling, and she promised to read The Book of Mormon. She's been reading it for a week and a half, and she has been so happy since she started. Christopher is preparing for baptism and Lorena met with bishop and is setting a date to be baptised in three weeks.

The work is going forward, and I love the Spirit that I feel out here, and the love I am staring to have for others and not just myself. I truly am GRATEFUL for the Lord and for all the blessings I have felt. I Love the Lord and I love this work. I am grateful for the chance I have to be in Brickston, and for the love of everyone in the ward!

I gave a talk on Sunday and it went well. It was dircted to parents, and to the children to hearken to their parents'words and learn from them--they truly have been through what we have been through and walked where we have walked. We need to heed their counsel because they only want what is best for us! I realize now more than ever that my parents were right, and they raised me right. I am so grateful for them and truly I love them. They raised us the most perfect way they could have! It is in my prayers that all of the parents raise the bar as well to teach their kids the way of the Lord and help them gain a testimony. If it is to hard, tell them to study the atonement and with that INCREASED VISION will come INCREASED MOTIVAION. I know these things are true--I learned the hard way sometimes. But trust in the scriptures, read and pray continually.

I love you all. The work is going forward. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. AMEN!

PS- A little about our schedule, so you all know. We wake at 6:30 and work out till seven. Then at seven o' clock, we have breakfast, shower, get dressed and ready.Then we have personal study from eight to nine (I have been reviewing lessons this whole time and certain chapters assigned or encouraged by the mission president). Then we have companion study from nine to ten, and that helps us both a lot. Me and Elder Hanks love it--we get to study and review lesson plans, and we help each other with setting goals, review what to do, and make notes for investagators. From ten to eleven (since I am new) we get that extra hour to study some more, but we are usually out by ten-thirty 'cause we have appointments right away! Then we have lunch around one or two and we "find" until night-time (around six). Then we ususally have appointments in these evenings with people, which keeps us super busy. We try to be in our flat and on time for planning for the next day by nine o' clock, but usually we are a little late because of long lessons, or someone decided to cook us food, so we had to eat it . . . hahaha. But I love that part or because they have so many questions!

So, those are our days in the field. We walk around ten to twelve miles a day and we sweat like no other because of how hot and humid it has been here--but I am not complaining, I love it!