To Those Who Feel Lonely

A new week and new challenges! We had a good chat with bishop about our FHE night and had to clear up some confusion---it all went well, and hopefully it will all be good. We have to move it to another night and call it "Missionary Night" or "Ward Activity Night." This way, people can bring less-actives and friends, and allow them to play volleyball, basketball, football, and Frisbee. Best of all, it will strengthen the ward. It's a good opportunity for everyone, we hope it all works out great!

Well, trials and struggles---it seems like there are a lot of those from friends going through divorces, to angry wards, to people feeling lonely, to the downright weird scenarios. There are people leaving the mission who feel lonely and afraid, and who need comfort. That is who I want to direct these random, abstract thoughts to . . . and I hope they will penetrate and teach and uplift by the Spirit.

If someone had told me before my mission that my own family would be strengthened and brought closer together and that everything was going to be fine, I think I would have laughed at them! But right now, I tell you, and bear you my solemn testimony of changes I have seen because I CHOSE to serve the Lord! A family member (not mentioning names) has been so amazing and has had a complete change! The couple has been brought closer together as husband and wife and also close to their kids! This has been a blessing that I have seen. They are preparing to baptize their son and all are happy and continuing to endure trials that come!

Another family member who was lost for a time (okay, maybe not far off, but confused) has been waking my parents up to have gospel study which is unheard of and amazing! Another one who was lost and gone for a time, is coming back to the fold and preparing to make sacred covenants and striving to do the best while she fixes and overcomes her trials! The point is that when we choose to serve the Lord, the blessings come. Not always immediately, or in the way one expects, but I promise they come.

I see a friend who has had a deep hurt in going through a sad divorce. It's got to be hard, and I feel so bad. I pray for her, and I hope all goes well. It's not an easy thing and I know how much it can effect people! Here in England, it is hard to even find one out of three people who are actually still married. As we see, something is happening. The times are changing, and the shifts are coming, and it's very sad! For those of you who feel inadequate, alone, afraid, or scared . . . REMEMBER that God and Jesus Christ love you! You can look to the future and be excited about what you choose to do in this life, especially if you do all you can to learn of our Father in Heaven and his living prophets and apostles! As we do this, a new strength comes into our lives: a confidence, and a protective shield against our troubles.

When I think about this, (picture this with me if you can) I see a little boy in the middle of a destroyed city in the rubble. He is standing there crying, looking for any sign of life. He is looking for his family and he's scared, alone, tired, hungry---he needs protection and guidance. Then he sees his Father or his Mother (whatever one applies to you, and if not, a son or sister or close friend). His tears turn from tears of sadness to tears of joy, and he runs into the embrace of his parents' arms! Picture that, and feel what must run through the child's mind when he is alone and abandoned.

We were all given something amazing: the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God to be with us! That's something so spectacular and amazing! We are also given the warm assurance that no matter what happens, Christ has been there for you and me. When we pray and read our scriptures (or I might add, God's words), we are filled with assurance, hope, confidence and we feel his loving arms encircling us.

I have felt the cleansing power of the Atonement and I know it's real. I testify that you too can feel the reassurance that all will be well, if you do those things which matter most. Grow close to our Saviour through diligent study and prayer.

I know there is a safe haven for those of you who feel alone, and for those of you who may feel like no one cares. But there always is someone who does, and we can always try better whilst we help others. I testify this to you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,
Elder Coon

FHE Group

Well, I know in my last letters I have said enough about what we should all be doing, but I want to tell you why. I have been trying to emphasize the most important things of all, and this will explain it, I hope.

As I have moved from town to town, I have seen how hard it is for the youth and their parents. Nothing is easy here. Imagine your kids going to a school where there is only one other member there (if that), and all the kids know you're religious, but they tease or think you're weird because you believe in Christ. Think of your children when they turn eighteen leaving the church because they say they were forced to go to church, and do not want to have anything to do with it. Or daughters who say, "I want to wear mini skirts and low cut shirts--there is no reason why I should not be able to!" Well, welcome to ENGLAND . . . this is how it is raising children over here. This past week, we sat and listened to parents beg us to teach their children and help them see the truth.

I got to bear my testimony and give a talk this past Sunday in church--I did not know I was giving a talk till around about 4 minutes before I did. A man said, "You know the bishop wants you to give a talk, and he said he felt you would just be ready to share something, so get ready." I said a quick prayer in my mind that the Lord would give me something to say and help me! As I got up, I directed my thoughts to those who felt lonely, or who have so many trials, and I focused on the blessings I have received since I came out.

I talked about how I had given all my stuff away (except a few items of clothing) when I came out on my mission. I gave my computer, Xbox 360, my games, my hoodies that I love, my snowboard, my television--everything I had, I gave away! But I told the Lord that I wanted to serve Him, and asked Him to please look after my family. I shared some of the amazing miracles that have happen back home since I have been out, for my friends and family alike. I said that if we put the Lord first, no matter what happens, He will bless our family. If we do all we can to raise our kids right, they will understand.

I then shared how I used to hate youth activities, and used to fight Family Home Evening nights, but then I left home. All I think about now is the time we spent together as a family--what matters most to me is my family! I feel like it was good . . . the Spirit directed my thoughts and I feel like the message helped some people.

Afterward, they asked, "Elder, could you and your companion run a Family Home Evening night with people who don't have families? You could have less actives and investigators come." I agreed, and said that we would love to start something like that! Well, guess what? Tonight (the first night), I received calls and texts on our phone, and we have 2 investigators who we haven't even met yet coming! We have around 5 youth coming, a single mother who has no family around, and we hope that it will be a fun and exciting thing to do each week. We are looking forward to it and we want to serve!

Well, then we had a good talk with some parents who are excited that their kids who are less-active have decided to come tonight, because they all have hung around with us elders, and enjoy having us here . . . so we have hopes that all of us will have a blast learning and growing from each other! We will play some games, have a sport activity, have a good laugh and joke around--but also have a spiritual message. We hope that it will grow each week and that we can get more and more people to come out. We are really looking forward to it, and are excited to continue to try new things in this area!

I love it, and I love the Spirit that I have felt here. I thank the Lord for watching my family and friends, and I thank all of you for your love and support. It means the world, really--thank you so much for all do! I love you all! I know that families can be strengthened if we do simple things to help, and show our love to our friends and our children. You will all be blessed, I know it. Remember that the hardest things seen today can be better the next day, if you choose to serve the Lord. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!

LOVE, ELDER COON

Thanks for the delicious food, sister Stewart!

The Power of Virtue

Hey, everyone! First, let me tell you all about my new area and my companion (and then I want to talk about something that seems to be creeping in through the cracks into our families).

Well, my new area in Newton Abbot is amazing. I love it down here (okay, well I love the weather . . . I still have not gotten to meet the ward properly so that has been hard). We have had loads of great success--we picked up six new investigators, and we have two preparing for baptism now, which has been such an amazing blessing. My companion is great and I love him. Seriously, he rocks--he has made me realize how much I take things for granted. He has had struggles and still does, but we know that we were put together so we can learn by and through and from the spirit.

The beach is close, and we have loads of parks and have met loads of youth who would love to have us come out and play sports. I showed off some basketball skills (haha--against English kids, that's not saying much!)

Well, let's talk about the important things: why does there have to be trials? There must be opposition in all things, it says in 2nd Nephi. But how do we deal with it? Do you all remember when I told you about the 90/10 principle? Only 10% of what happens each day is from others, and the other 90% is from how we react.

Some things that will help: Are you saying family prayers morning and night? Do we really take time to study the scriptures? I mean, come on, why are we on earth? To prepare for what is to come. We have been given so much power and restored truth, and we can have an armor of protection around our families (physical and spiritual protection) from things that can destroy our lives, our families, and everything we hold most dear.

Look into your children's faces, or your siblings . . . have you done all you can to help them? We need to really take the words of our Savior and use them in our daily lives together as families and as individuals.

The world will never get any better--the opposition will always be there! I feel like President Uchtdorf said it best when he talked about patience in the priesthood session of conference. I have really thought about how impatient I am about dumb things--when McDonalds takes too long, when I get caught in traffic, when I have to wait for an appointment, when I have to wait to hop in the shower, or to e-mail home. We are all so selfish and we need time to relax and change our perspective.


Sister Shamo shared an experience with the zone here. She talked about Joseph Smith--he was asked to bless 23 very ill babies and to heal them. He prayed, and started to bless each one holding them in his arms. After he blessed 19 of them, he turned pale and looked very sickly. He could not proceed with the last blessings. A fellow apostle asked Joseph "Why could you not bless them, what happened?"

Joseph then explained, relating the story of Jesus Christ being touched by the woman with the 12-year "issue of blood". When Christ asked, "Who touched me?" the apostles wondered, and said, "Thou seest the multitude thronging and sayest who touched thee?" Well, He continued to explain about how much virtue had drained out of Him--he lost virtue. Virtue is the gift of life and the giver of life! Joseph Smith explained that if we knew how much power God would give to those who are virtuous, we would all try much harder to be virtuous.

We need to do all we can to strengthen virtue in our families--it will be like Kevlar against a bullet! It will protect us day and night and the "alarm systems" within us (the Spirit), will warn us and keep us clear of all danger that comes our way! I testify all this is true, and I say these things humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

ELDER ELI JACOB COON

Sweet Weekend of Conference

Wow, how about conference! It was pretty amazing, huh? I loved it. We all had a sweet weekend of conference . . . we went down to Exeter on Saturday to watch the Saturday morning session, then Sunday we watched the priesthood session from 10-12 AM, then from 1-3 we watched the Saturday afternoon session, then from 4-6 we watched the Sunday morning session, and 9-11 was the final session . . . it's crazy! We had a lot of fun--me and Elder Church hung out together (he is way cool--he is from good ol' Las Vegas, and a very close friend now). The last few days have been conference and hangin' out as missionaries, so it was a lot of fun.

I thought this was honestly the best conference ever! I really loved Elder Holland's talk, and also all of the priesthood session. It was amazing--I hope that I will be able to remember all that I learned! I also really enjoyed hearing all the talks about families . . . I felt the Spirit as they talked about how to strengthen every single one. The world will be strengthened as we strengthen our families, which are under attack. I hope that everyone who listened recognized the need of strengthening families. The speakers told us how, too: have scripture study daily, make time to go to the temple as often as you can, and bear testimony often to your children (not just at fast and testimony meeting, but as often as you can around the home).

The lusts and the damaging things in the world are horrible, and we need to be strong to be able to deal with all the wicked and the evil in the world. We need to do all we can to always carry the Spirit of the Lord with us. I do not want to preach, or tell you things you do not already know, but I know that the prophets are telling us to strengthen families for a reason. I cannot explain how sad it is for so many families. We are teaching at least five families of single parents, and it is so hard for them. Life is just crazy--family structure and family values are crumbling! The foundation of testimony is not there, and people are leaving the truth--they are climbing into deep dark caverns in which there is no light. We need to gain a stronger testimony of the Saviour to fight against these trends.

In our families, how many of us say prayers morning and night? How many sit down at least two times a week and have a FAMILY meal? How often do we pick up the scriptures and actually read them? How often do we bear our testimonies? Now some other questions, how much time do you spend on entertainment? How often are you too busy for family and sit at work? How often do we get too caught up to listen to members of our family? How much time do we all spend on television, computers, games, magazines, how we look, or what others think of us?

I know we all have these issues--but let's make a change now! Let's not just say we will do it, let's make it a daily routine. Write down anything that will remind you do all you can to prepare yourself, for if Christ came tomorrow how would you tell him you had prepared? Could you look Him in the face and say you knew Him? Could you say you adequately studied about the Saviour? Could you really honestly run up and hug Him, or would it be hard for you to even look in His face?

I again echo all the testimonies of the prophets and apostles. They said we need to be more concerned in our homes and families. This is where spiritual growth, family strength, and choices are predetermined--by what you teach and live in your homes. Be the example, and do all you can.

I hope all is going well back home. Let me tell you all a little about my life in good ol' England. It's so crazy down here in the Southwest of England . . . we have rolling hills and we also have the ocean really close! We walk everywhere (that's a bonus to keep me fit and healthy!) Life in Newton Abbott is hard because I have not been able to meet any of the members yet, and we will not get to for a few weeks, because this next week is stake conference. So it's been hard to meet anyone, but I will keep trying to meet the people and get to know them. Until then, I will keep working! I asked ward mission leader about the area. They had only one baptism for the whole of last year! I made some calls to get to know people, and did all I could to meet up with people. I also got lists of less-actives to work with, and lists of who they have visited. We went through old referrals, and old teaching records. We will visit with and try to teach a lot of these people . . . it will be great fun to see what we can do this week!

I love you all so dearly, and I wish my family could really know the great, deep love I have for all of them! I really do care about all of you and hope and pray that we will be prepared for when the Lord comes again. I know this church is true, and I'm excited for my new area and can't wait to see how the Lord will bless us as we thank Him day by day for all the good He does for us. I hope for and pray for the best for all of you. I say these things humbly in Jesus Christ's name, amen.


Love,
ELDER ELI COON

My Third Area!

Well, it was hard to leave the many families that I have come to know so much and grown so close to . . . it was a really hard thing to do! I just kept a smile on my face, and did all I could to fight the tears. I have such a love for many of the families there in Salisbury, especially the Stewart family--they were amazing and they mean so much to me! They gave me a gift--a picture of Batman with my face superimposed over Batman's face, also an action figure of Batman. It was so thoughtful and made my day. We ended our day with a mutual activity, and all the young men found it hard I was leaving, 'cause they love to have an American around :). But the good news is that Elder Hanks, my trainer, is going in to take my place--so it will not be bad at all.

When I got all packed and left, I did fight tears and I did a pretty good job. Now I am here in Newton Abbot! It's been great. I met Elder O'Faulin--he is really awesome. I am follow-up training him. He says that he feels so inadequate, but I know he will be a great companion to serve and to work with! He is such an amazing kid and was converted to the gospel at 17 years old and came on a mission. I really do look up to him for what he did, it is not easy and he still struggles. I feel the Lord knew we needed to be together, though.

The first day we met was in a zone conference. I went up to him after he bore his testimony and I said, "I will serve with you soon--I know it and I can feel it!" The day before our new calls came, the Zone Leader, Elder Obike, asked me who would you like to serve with? I said, "Elder O'Faulin." The next morning I got the call to serve with him! As we talked, I felt like I have known him before, and this is no lie--I can feel it and I think I know why we will serve together. He feels that he lacks confidence, but is very humble. I am excited--he has a strong testimony and was converted to the Gospel fully and has a strong Spirit with him.

I hope with time me and him will help this area. It's a really struggling area--it feels like day one in Salisbury, when it felt like there was nothing happening! I hope and pray the Lord will guide us and direct us and help us to find out what to do for the area, and how to really make the difference here.

Me and Elder O'Faulin will be close friends. I want to help him--he told me he is struggling and I want to be a good companion and to show him missionary work is and will be fun--that he can just be himself and share his testimony! I pray I can learn humility and diligence from him. He is very keen and sharp--I know he will be a very good missionary in the mission. I look forward to serving with him!

It's funny, this area is tiny, yet has a regular attendance of around 140-150 members. They have a chapel and the youth group is huge here, so it's a complete change form Salisbury . . . but very much the same type of work. I look forward to trying to make a difference here and to do all I can to work with my companion and open it up! We got on the subject of missions and how hard they really are. Also about how you sometimes feel so inadequate. How sometimes you're so tired, yet you still go out and do all you can. We talked for a good two hours and shared photos, exchanged ideas, and really got to know each other fast. It's so amazing and I am so grateful for what this gospel means to me!

I love you all. I hope and pray I can do all I can to really be a blessing and not a burden. I ask for your prayers to help me and to guide me as well! Thank you all for the love and support. I hope you all got the new address and will keep in touch with me--I would love to hear from you all soon!

Look forward and listen to the prophets' voices this weekend! I know what you hear will bless and strengthen your families if you heed to the messages given. I know it, and I feel it. The Spirit has worked through me more and more . . . or I have just begun to understand how to recognize promptings. Do all you can and make prayers meaningful! Learn and grow in the Gospel--it's a blessing, not a burden at all!

We all need to do all the work we can to prepare people to hear and accept the message. I love you all, and I know this church is true, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
LOVE,
ELDER COON

Saying goodbye to the Legges

You can't be too careful . . .

Saying goodbye to the young men!


Hard at work

Two cool dudes

Saying goodbye to Elder Barker--haha!

NEW AREA!

Hey, everybody! I'm in Newton Abbot now! My new address is on the sidebar--please send me mail, I love to hear from you all. More to come soon!

Love you,
ELDER COON
11 Ashwood Cot
St. Mary Church Road
TQ12 4BS ENGLAND