yeah, it´s march

Hey Pops!

  so, i cant remember too much, so that means im gonna ramble.

i got some christmas cards fromthe ward last week, it brought the christmas spirit back, until i read some young woman wrote Ï LOVE TACOS and i thought... hmm, i wish i could find some good tacos here in guate. yeah, i love tacos too.

   Hey, when is the Temple in Connecticut going to be finished. (this compu doesnt have question marks) i woudl love to hear that you and mom go to the dedication.

     we had stake conference here, and our awesome investigador came! she brought us in her... CAR!!!!!! it was sweet! I loved stake conference because el Hno.Fajardo dio cincho a todos los miembros porque ellso no nosayudan mucho con encontrando. fue tan chilero! Pues, conferencia de estaca fue muy espiritual! yo aprendi mucho!

   Hey, we had a zone conference with President Watts and Hermana Watts usually bring cookies or cinnamon rolls she makes. but, thats just a gluten fest. so she bought me chocolate Chex! I was so happy!

   Hey, so we teach english here, well, i teach english to the kiddies or beginners, and another sister teaches advanced. I first was frustrated teaching english, but i had to say, i really love it now! I love it! I teach mostly children, but its awesome! i am getting so into it, i bring candy, and i am incorporating church materials into the lessons! I had them leanring I am a Child of God in ingles. es bien chilero, estoy muy feliz ensenandoles.

   So i am curious if you know an elder fatheringham. a sister here said hes serving in the mission there NYNY North.

    We celebrated Elder Sepeda´s birthday! Its was cool! We made pupusas! yes, i have become a really good pupusa maker ! Seriously, my comp (from San Salvador) taught me... well i just watched. Anyway, now she laughs because im like an expert, its pretty cool. its nice to hear that im pilas a haciendo pupusas.

    HEY! POPS! Can you find out some info about fafsa and pell grants for school. I hope you get that show onthe road because i want to study when i get back. Hey, look into some utah state stuff for me, and their business programme and chinese. Im kind of interested in going there. not sure why, but send me some info please onthe school and the grants and fafsa.

    Hey, im reading the miracle of forgivness and its still blowing my mind. I really love that book.

    Dad, sorry that i was a major brat before my mission. Well, more when i was like 13 and 14. anyway, Even in college i was a brat. i think about how i was... even with guys... still a brat, yeah. i was a brat sometimes, sorry. SORRY WORLD. I promise, ill come back better. I realized i was a brat with peoplei really loved, i just didnt want to express how i felt all the time.

    I was thinking about how mormoni visited Joseph, and its was normal profeta stuff, because every Profeta in history in la biblia, passed the authority down, from the past profeta to the following profeta. anyway, it was cool, i love to just think about stuff like that.

    Hey, when you go to the Temple, please get grandma Luisas Endowment card, i lef tit there, and i really want it back! Its filed under Ramirez. Thanks. Hey, i totally want to go do some Temple work with you when i get back. Lets do that!

    Keep reading the scriptures Dad! Keep praying as a family! i know things things are important because these things are the basics!

Take care!

Love,

 Hermana Ramirez

the pics are of pupusas and hermana Watts and I!

El milagro del Perdon... y fe! 24 de febrero

Pops,

 hey, this week was so sick!

Okay, thankfully, first off, i don't have a parasite. Yeah, Monday night, i felt like i had company... possibly a prasite, and Im happy to say, that NO! I didnt have a parasite! It was maybe just too many pupusas we made. I'm good now!

   So we had the goal of finding 20new investigadoes this week. Let me just tell you that last week we found 2, the week before, 4, the week beofre 7, the week before that, 5. So 20 was a huge goal. Well, we found 14 nuevoes! I am so happy. I fulfilled a bunch of our other weekly goals. This area is tough, but with faith, Dad, we conquered!

   Im reading el milagro del perdon, and it is AMAZING! okay, heres a part i relly like. Kimball says:

juzgo yo que cualquier hombre o mujer puede hacer mas para ponerse de conformidad con las leyes de Dios en un ano en esta vida, que lo que pudiera hacer en diez anos dspues de muerto. El espiritu solo puede arrepentirse y cambiar, y entonces tiene que efectuarse la batalla con la crne mas adelante. Es mucho mas facil vencer y servir al Senor cuando los dos, la carne asi como el espiritu, estan integrados en uno.

   WOW! Thanks Spencer W. Kimball! this book is really awesome. If you haven't finished the Book of Mormon yet, FINISH IT! Then re read New Testament... and tehn read, The Miracle of Perdon.

   Hey Dad, remember Gentlemen Broncos? Well, remember how it had the song Winds of Change in the movie and that part where they'e on reindeers in the street? Well, i was crossing the street and there was nobody aboutside, and it was hot, and dusty, and the wind was blowing. Well, everything looked brown and boring, and this guy started playing the song winds of change, and they were so serious (like they could even understand the song), and I just couldnt help but laugh. I love that lame movie so much. anyway, i looked around in slow motion kind of like Benji in the mocve. I know, im a nerd, i just couldnt help but think of you, Brandon, Grant, and the Tousleys. That movie is tan chistoso.

  anyway, heres a pic of the mountin side and the view of the capital. Its not a good pic of the whole capital, but the lady with the wood on her back just makes it puro chapin!

heres a pic of my comp and i when we had to wait in a bus for like an hour in the blazing hot sun. the thing here is that EVERYONE is late in guatemala, sorry... fashionably late (con ropa tipica) we were really tired

Anyway, i love you Dad!

Keep going!

love,

Hermana Ramramramirez!

Fwd: Hermanita A, Valentines Day, and Baptisms... that weren't from our area

DAD!
 HAPPY FREAKING BIRTHDAY!

I hope you don't think i forgot. this morning, I got up, had a half of a tablespoon of peanut butter, put on some David Archuleta.. and then, i had this idea. I wont tell you what it was, but i can tell you, it was pretty amazing... and not boring. anyway, here is the result of that genius idea.

so yes, i remembered that you're doing the diet where you dont eat any wheat or anything other than neat, veggies, fruit, and no processed stuff. sounds a little like gluten free living, but as you can tell, i still get fed tortillas, and thats where that second chin comes in.. .thats misison life. oh, and a ton of platanos. good luck with the diet!

  So, people remember that i know... more like knew, mandarin. well, one of the elders wants to know his chinese name, so now, people are asking me what their chinese name is... I DON'T KNOW, im a half gringa, half nicaraguan girl from New Yrok. anyway, im going to break out my chinese books that i brought (which i dont study) and come up with some names.

   This week was rough. We didnt find many new people to teach, pretty rough. i contacted a bunch, but my comp doesnt like to contact much, so... yeah.

   Our lovely Hermanita A is so sweet. We stopped by her store on Valentines day, to visit her, and she made us these little hearts with a candy on it. The candy had coffee in it, but it was the thought that counts! she said that she now works every Sunday now.

  Hey, i was just told that we need to go in like five minutes. The guy is kicking us out before our time is over. Thats how you really break a missionary's heart.

I started reading the Miracle of Forgiveness by spencer W. Kimball. I asked permission from Pres. watts, and he gave me permission. Im reading it in spanish, so it will take me a little bit longer, but it is really powerful. I just want to apply the atonement of christ to my life in a greater aspect. I really am so thankful for His atonement, that we can be saved. We can return to our Father in Heaven one day. The thing that is so amazing, is that we can return as a family, not just alone. we can be together as a family forever. I can't wait for the day that we are all together as a fmaily in the Temple Dad. It will happen.

   I have learned a lot about faith. It is a principle that is basic, but very important, very essencial to everything. Faith really, just changes to much. Also, i was thinking a lot about charity this last week. My comp hasnt put an effort to try to get to know me, and says things that hurt, but i think i just need to get to know her more. I am trying to compliment the good things she does, and i think i really am learning to appreciate the people the LORD puts in our lives. I know she is a wonderful person, i just and trying to bring that out of her more. she misses her old area. Charity can be applied when we barely know someone. Charity doesn' mean we judge poeple. I think Faith and Charity is my focus this next week, and i love studying about charity.

  Dad, i have seen that i have changed my personality on my mission. the LORD is really helping me become a better person. I am more patient and kind. I am so grateful for the hard times i have had in my mission because He has molded me into a better person. Thankfully i have about eight months left, so i can come back better, i really hope the LORD keeps helping me to improve, because I have a lot to improve on.

  I just want to tell you something that makes me happy when i feel down. I love when people come into church late.. really. I used to be bug me a bit, but i think about it. I bet some of these poele really put their best efforts to come to church, and they could have stayed home, but they still come. Its not an annoyance to me, but i appreciate their presence. Being on time is the best, but its better to just come than not come to Church.

  I love you, heres a picture of some of my best buddies in my district. We went to McD's. I love these guys, p-days are fun with people that just want to chill, but also be a little crazy.
 

i love you you Dad. Keep reading the scriptures!

Hey, i just got christmas letters sent to the South mission. Tell the ward my new address, with mision este.

cambios, aladdin, y una investigadore de oro

This week was interesting, nothing too exciting though, sorry!
     We had changes, and my comp left. my little tica, Hermana Gomez
se fue. she was super sad to leave porque esta area fue su primera
area. the changes meeting was cool i guess, i got my pants. Okay, Dad,
the material around here, that is tipica, like puro guatemaltco, is so
beautiful. Well, these pants are like aladdin pants, and so comfy. i tried
to take a pic in these pants, but, it didnt come out how i
wanted it. also, this comp doesnt send pictures. yes, i feel robbed of
my Q5.
     We have this awesome new investigador, lets call her Hermanita A.
She works in a tienda near the capilla, and is bien pilas. she has
read everything we have left her. We have been meeting with her for a
week, and so far she read all the folletos, and from the introduction of
the book of mormon all the way to 1 nefi 8. she wants to be baptized,
and we put her fecha for 15 de march. we are so excited; she works
every other sunday, so we put the date far ahead. People like her make
me feel so happy, just me da mucho alegria. From all the times we get
rejected, especially in this area, she just makes it so much better to
know there are people out there that want to be better and give their
lives to Christ. We have been getting rejected so much these past few
weeks. i usually dont take it too hard, its normal, but this past
week, people are just rude and mean to the point where its as if they
just really want to hit you deep. ouch, but hey, thats the name of the
game right¡? just some pretty good memories!
     Our inactive sister that we are helping come back to church,
she had an interview with the Bishop and is going to receive her
Patriarchal blessing!!!! I am so pumped! She is the bomb. We can call
her Hermana T. Hermana T is so awesome, she wants to serve a mission
now. I love her so much, she has really touched my heart.
    I thought of you and the fam dad, because my old comp hna.gomez
and i found a korean man who sells fruit en monserrat. Well, my comp said i should go speak mandarin to him, but she doesnt understand that korea and
china are different paises with different languages. so, i talked to him in spanish, and well, i am so grateful that i watched all that arrested developement. i
remembered how to say hello in korean! i dont know how to spell it,
but it sounds like ahnyong. I pass him now and shout it, and we're buds.
thanks arrested developement!
     People here love chicken salad, and well, i cant help but think
of that movie with jason schwartzman, and ... oh man, whats his name,
the blond english actor. dang, anyway, i just laugh a bit when people
offer me chicken salad. Ask brandon about this movie, he'll know. ask
him, he gets it. the bonnet... oh man.
     Our ward mission leader had his birthday party Saturday, and naturally, fuimos. Well, Hno.David is so awesome and has this little girl of about 4 or 5 yrs. well, we had a pinata, and all of us misisonaries dived for the dulces, and i found these dulces to the side so i picked them up, and she said "thats mine!" well, I said "well, then why are they in my hands...?" and she lost it. it was so funny, she just screamed so loud, and i gave her her candy back. she threw it all on the ground, and got a bag, and took all of our dulces. all of us missionaries just watched her in silence take all our candy. it was pretty disturbing. she pushed them into a pile on the floor and picked hem up, one by one, nd put them in the bag. it was terrible... que es este dolor?

     Today we all went to Paiz (a grocery store) and about half of the missionaries weighed themselves. Pobrecita, one of the sisters is new, like 7 days new, and said "yo no creo que yo voy a subir de peso durante mi mision," heh, good luck. i told her how i started my mision with one chin, and i feel a third one coming on, im fighting it, but thats kind of the way it goes.

     I feel like the Lord has really blessed us this Sunday. We prayed for us to meet our goal of bringing four new people to church this week, and sabado we went around contacting all these people we planned on bringing to church. Nobody that we visited showed up. We felt a little crushed. sundays were pretty relaxed for me before my mision, but as a missionary, nothing is more pressuring than those ten of fifteen minutes before church starts. Going to bring people to church, and waiting and knockng on their doors, hoping theyll answer the door. Or worse, waiting outside the chapel, anxiously looking side to side, for someone to come. Well, our dear friend, who also served a mision, brought  neighbor to church! It was a major blessing! She is also a returned missionary, so she gets it.

     A good little week.

Re: Finally

Dad,

 frst off... NO! We don´t get to sleep on Pdays! estoy bien freaking cansada!

      Word up, the Tousleys are going to tbe teaching Temple prep? That is sick! I took Temple prep in my war in Idaho, and honestly, it was good, but i could have done with out it. I hope the Tousleys make it way more exciting. I felt like part of my Temple Prep class time, was taken up by people talking about how they met their spouses, and then sometimes it ws a good class. It just depended on  who showed up. 

     Yáll received my letter! Yay! Sorry, i wrote Brandon like five pages or something, please dont feel unloved, its just, Brandon is my bro, he´s my main g. anyway, yay, you got my letter!

     Brandon wants to move back to socal? Okay, at least he isnt thinking about moving to anywhere north of bakersfield. Yeah, people call that cali... i guess it is, but, lets be real, nothing is better than socal. thats like... Oregon. anyway, i saw that here and peole get ticked. oh well, in from NY, no me importa. But wait, im going to lose my best friend. If brandon goes, i dont know what i will do. Well, i do, but, i wont. Ill stay in NY, i love NY with casi all my heart. Well, the Gospel first, but, NY is second, and i dont think I want to likve anywhere else. Did Brandon hit his head... again? Lets just hope that doesnt work out, i know, that is mean, but, hey - we´re talking about NY.

     So, we found this family last saturday (como, hace una semana) and we invited them to our movie night and they came! We visited them during the week, and the wife is super sweet. Well, saturday they came to our english calss (taught by yours truly, and my Cali bro, elder Corbin), and the wife is interested in learning english. Well, she asked if there were more actividades on saturday in the capilla, and there werent, but... there was a baptism going on! so we swung on by at 4pm and walked with them to the baptism! Theyre bien pilas, but... they didnt come to church. dad, the heart of a missionary hurts so bad when investigadores who have a fecha for baptism dont come to church. it hurts! 

     Good news! Our investigador who had a fecha bautismal, he came! The memebrs were so welcoming, and invited him to play soccer with them on saturdays! He has a fecha bautismal por 15 de Febrero. We are praying so hard that all goes well! He came in late on sunday, and it was great to see him there!

     MORE GOOD NEWS! My comp and i haven´t had a baptism yet, adn were working realy hard. We just want people to chnge and be better! That they can draw closer to Christ and make convenios con Dios. Well, we are reactivating so many people. Four people, who had been inactive for YEARS came to church. it was a major blessing. One sister has been inactive for seven years, another hermano for four years, and a mother and son for three years. They all came and had a sweet time. the members were just amazing yesterday, wso welcoming. I had a great sunday. 

     nothing is more pressuring and da mas nervios, than when its about 8:50, and youre waiting for your investigadores and less actives to come to church. We had a great sunday. 

     So, we saw elder Cook! Miercoles, he came! It was sweet! when he started speaking, he didnt even say anything super moving or profound, just general talking about random things, and Dad, i just started to cry. Not sobbing, just a few lagrimas, and its because when i heard him speak, i just knew, the Spirit was testifying to me, that he really is an apostle of Dios and he was called to serve. He was somany thigns that i really needed to hear that day, in ways i never thought i would receive such info. It was so amazing. Also, Elder amado sopke, and he always just makes me check myself, and how im doing. Well i shook elder Cooks hand, and it was so quick that it was about three seconds. Well, i shook elder amados hand, and oh my gosh, he look me right in the eyes, and gave me this smile, and it was so powerful. He like stopped, and shook my hand, and it was ery powerful. It was a sweet day. 

     I saw my MTC district there. We took this picture! All of us together again!  It was so sweet to see them all!

  I hope everything goes well this week. 

     Oh hey, we went to a sweet park this week! i took a pic of the grafitti because it was awesome!  Enjoy! Its guatemalan grafitti!

Have a good week dad!

ilove you, and I hope you enjoy Temple Prep!

oh, a quote from my comp this week. "es que yo estoy enamorada con mi misma!" wow, so humble. 

llove, 

 Hermana Ramirez

On Mon, Jan 27, 2014 at 3:09 PM, Rudy Ramirez <ramirezr100@gmail.com> wrote:

Si por fin!
  It was announced yesterday that the Temple Prep class is scheduled to start Feb 9th. And it's being taught by none other than John and Christy Tousley. Im so psyched. After sacrament Br. Riachart extended the me the invitation and I said Of Course!

   So that mi hija is the most important part of my week. It was great reading your letter we received it Tuesday. Our missionaries are winding down their tours at least the Elders are the Srs. I think just started. The sisters are so sweet.

   I have an interview with CVS for the assistant manager training program this Friday. Mom is all jazzed up because she ran into Frauline Kim Eichner. Who told her retirees can move into Stuart Terrace. @2000 a month they cover water and electricity all we need is our washer and dryer. I need to see how the CVS thing is going to work out, we would rate a 3br. so when you come back, (woo hoo) until you get sick and tired of us. Your brother is thinking of moving to Kaleefornia with Amanda. He is working at Staples and is doing Computer Base Training (CBT) on computers. So hopefully he will stick to this and his skull will harden. Tu tia Lisa le dijo se puede  quedar con ella hasta que encuentre trabajo y hogar. I don't think he realizes what it takes to survive, hopefully he won't learn the hard way. I think next time I go to the gym I will take a selfie and send it to you, so you can see "I WORK OUT"! I have that song in my head!

   So that's it short and sweet I know you have other things to do, and people to write to and hopefully relax. You guys don't get to sleep in on Pdays? I love you and miss you.

Tu Papi!

Re: 1-20-2014

Pops, 

 yo, i heard Benj is becoming a brat. nice. LET THE LEGACY LIVE ON! I thought it might have died out with me, but, yes, IT LIVES ON!

So, Dad, i heard this song (in English) and it was so stupid. I cant remember the words exactly, but i remember that the man said something about his friends and how cool they are because they have ladies... and they have babies (like kiddies) and i though, ughh, these poor guatemattecos, listening to music in english, and this is what they get. Then.. TEHN i found out that it was by george michael, and i couldn't stop laughing because i just thought of Arrested Developement. oh Dad, that show... i can't get over it still. GOB!

Okay, so we found some new investigadores this week. We put a new fecha with one of our old investigadores, but it turns out... we dont think he really is sincere. He seemed bien pilas when we found him, and now, im not sure, it seems like this is a game. I am not sure, but he still acts like he is into it all, but my comp and i see other intentions. He had some run ins with the law in the past, and we think maybe.. just maybe, he crosses his fingers when he testifys. im not sure, i really hope we're being insane, i hope he is sincere, but... dang it, i dont think so. 

We started to teach an English class! Elder Corbin, Elder Romero, and I and teaching. Elder Corbin is from Cali (SO CAL!!!!!!!!) and Romero is from Honduras and speaks superb english. Well, we had our first class Saturday, and people showed up. This young kid (who is a Nuevo investigador) brought his little brothers and they're bien pilas.  ALSO! We have movie nights here in la capilla every third sabado, and we invite people. Well, this one family we invited while we were contacting in the street, they ACTUALLY CAME! It was like... UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!! 

Hey, I found gluten free pasta last week, i dont rememebr it i told you. I feel super blessed. The gulten free pasta wasnt even super expensive, so i felt super happy!

We're seeing some miracles happen in our area, just a few tiny ones. Things are getting a little bit better. 

 here is a pic of my comp and i. i thought you might have forgotten how i look. Yes, i know, i've gained a ton of weight. don't be hatin'

okie dokie Dad. Elder Cook comes to the Capital this Wednesday! I am so pumped. tomorrow we have a metting with the entire mission! I am so excited, this doesnt happen much. We are all fasting, and we are all going to break our fast together, with pizza. Yes, i hope there is another food option, because thats just a huge gluten nightmare. Anyway, yeah, we'll see what happens. mi compa is super dedicated in making sure i get some yum yums, so if there isnt a gluten free option, 1) que mala onda 2) watch out for my Costa Rican compa, seriously, cuidado!

Well Dad, I love you. I miss you, and hey, family history is awesome. Ask questions a la Tia Mercedes, ella sabe mucho, y con tiempo, ella olvidara muchas cosas (lugares, fechas, nombres, historias, ect.). 

Com mucho amor, 

tu hija, 

 Hermana Ramirez

On Mon, Jan 20, 2014 at 12:01 PM, Rudy Ramirez <ramirezr100@gmail.com> wrote:

Hola mi hija!

 How are you. I was at church yesterday and Sr. gfarner came up to me and said she had received your letter and she seemed very excited and told me to tell you that she will be writing to you soon.

  So how are you doing? health wise I hope everything is better, missionary wise I hope you are finding investigators.

  I need to thank you for the Temple work you did for grandma and grandpa Ramirez. The missionaries were over sat. to teach a lesson. They showed Ben and I a video on family and the temple and how our families are eternal thanks to temple ordinances. After that they asked me what I thought and I was overcome by such emotion, I couldn't speak. I will get to speak to my mom and dad and have the conversations I wish I would of had with them. They'll get to see Benjamin. I knew all of this but it really didn't sink in until I saw that video.

  One of the missionaries is like 3 weeks til he is done with his mission. He's really excited about returning home but is still focused his work.

   Charlotte is no longer working for jack, why I don't know. But I picked up her hours. I will give her a call to see if she needs anything. My day off has changed so it's tough getting out to do splits with the missionaries on Tuesday's. So I will have to make an effort to make it whenever possible.

   The patriots lost to Peyton manning and the Broncos, they limped all the way to the playoffs with so many injured people, I think it was the third stringers playing and they went this far. Anyway that is life. Brandon got a job at Staples hopefully he'll save his money, I think he's contemplating going to live with Aunt lisa for a while and then get his own place. But I need to pray for him so his skull hardens, and he can start acting like an adult. He is customer service and they will be training him to deal with people's computer problems.

   Alaina's lil girl is such a doll. They were the first Mormon family I saw in action. They really lived the Gospel. Mom passed my resume to her manager, because the regional manager is always looking for people to train as assist managers. So he told her to give him a call this week so we can set up an interview next week. So I'll be praying about it to see if that's what's in the future.

  I will let you go so you can read all your other emails and do what you need to do on Pday. I proud of you and what you are doing. I love you.

Tu Papi!

7 Enero - 13 enero

Fatha (english accent),

 there's a snake in my boot! No, noo..., no - not really.

This week we had interviews with Presidente Watts, y su esposa, la Hermana Watts. Fue bien chilero por que hablamos de muchas cosas.

 Cuando yo estuve con Presidente, el me pregunto de mi salud, y despues, me pregunto "de que quiere hablar usted?" Fue primera vez que el me pregunto de que yo quiero hablar. Las otras entrevistas, el usualmente me pregunto de algo, y eso es de que hablamos. Pues, fue chilero por que yo le dije que yo quiero ser una mejor misionera, y quiero ser una lider. Con todas mis problemas con salud, yo quiero terminar mi mision, pero yo le dije, yo no solo quiero terminar mi mision, pero quiero terminarlo bien! A la Hermana Watts, hablamos de salud, y versiculos en el Libro de Mormon. Ella dijo de que como un pueblo, no usamos el Libro de Mormon mucho.

I had the flu, but im getting better. We stayed in yesterday, and i slept. Nothing is better than sleep for amisisonary.

We did a mission activity this weekend. The little jovenes had a mini mission, from Friday to sunday. Friday night, we have a short opening at the capilla, and they were assigned into companarismos, and then satyed at other member's houses, and Saturday we brought them back the the capilla. We taught them how to contact, and then in the afternoon set them loose to visit less actives and contact. We then ended it sunday in Sacrament meeting. The Attendance rose so much this weekend. We are working to hard to get less actives back to church.

We had a nerw investigador, he accepted our invitacion for baptism. he had been in jail for a little whie, and the Bishop said to have a brother from the ward go visit him with us. Anyway, my comp and i have impressions, twice, to not go over this week. We didnt go, and he didnt come to church this Sunday. :(((( Broken misisonary heart. anyway, we're gonna go see him tomorrow. He hasnt answered our calls. Bishop wants to meet him tomorrow.

Hey, i found chocolate on sale, i ate some, and now feel super sick. Freaking LACTOSE!

Anyway, i love you!

Love,

 Hermana Ramirez

ps. Elder Cook comes next week!!!! WERE SO PUMPED!