"If you love Jesus can I get an AMEN!!"

I have had a good week this week. 
We went and sang at the Martil Luther King day gathering at a baptist Church. MLK day is crazy down here. I remember telling y'all last year that it was the most black people that I have ever seen in my life. We walked in the MLK parade on Monday and it was the same craziness as last year. Through all of my experiences with people in the south I can tell you that they scream and shout for their Savior and lord Jesus Christ. They are not shy about praising God. As we walked down the parade we yelled "If you love Jesus can I get an AMEN!!" Everyone would scream AMEN! while clapping. MLK is huge down here and schools come down from all over to walk in the parade and dance.

One of our good friends that is an investigator had his mom just pass away and we have been going over there a lot. He said that he takes one day at a time and that us coming over makes a big influence in his days and weeks.

In the last days men's hearts shall fail them. How deep rooted is your belief? How great of an effect does it have on your actions? Will Your heart fail you? We had a lesson with a pastor about this subject because he asked for our beliefs about it. It is a very interesting thing to think about and study about. When all is stripped and gone... what will be left of you and what kind of person are you in your heart?

​We went and set up an appointment with a lady and two minutes later we returned to our car to see that it was lifted up onto a tow truck haha. We had a chat with the guy and pointed out that we parked in a Visitors parking spot. He told us we need visitor parking passes and we asked him "what is the point of a visitors spot if you need a pass?" We also pointed out that they didn't have signs that were posted well and that didn't explain AT ALL that you needed a special pass. Our President called them and argued our case also. We asked him to just put the car down because we had only been gone for two minutes. We argued that if we came out to our car while someone was robbing it then we wouldn't just say "Oh you beet us to it so we will let you finish robbing it!" Tow truck companies rob people like crazy and are not very kind haha. It is a pitiful way of getting money out of people. We had to pay a fine and drive all the way to down town New Orleans to pick up our car.

This week has been eventful and good. I hope y'all have a blessed week.

Elder Cooley 

The BIG EASY

Hello family and friends.
I just got moved and it has been my first week as a zone leader in New Orleans... I love it. I don't know how to explain it but I just feel different down here. It might just be because my entire day is taught in Spanish once again or that I am with my MTC comp again but I don't know. It was awesome seeing everyone that I had left in the NOLA 2nd ward. It felt like a home coming saying hi to everyone and having to go up and share my testimony during sacrament meeting.

I don't feel any different as a Zone Leader and being a zone leader is even easier than being District Leader. We are over more people but we don't have to hold a meeting with them every week like a District Leaders does. One difference is that I have felt the way that I need to carry myself change so that I can be a better example. Also instead of exchanges we will be having the companionships come to our area for one night and we will be double working the area. I Have learned a lot from Elder Peterson and he is an awesome example. His Spanish has gotten Amazing since the MTC! 

I am also serving with an Elder here named Elder Bown that was served in Albany with me. He is such a stud.

This morning was my first time shaving with a straight razor. It is different and a little bit on the sketchy side but I will get better and faster at it. 

This week it felt like everyone we tried to go visit weren't home. We had some good times and visits with people including an older gentleman that came to sacrament. We ended the week with visiting the old 2nd counselor that has recently gone inactive. We had some heart to heart with him and have found that he has been hurt. He loves the church but feels like whenever he keeps going back he just keeps getting bit. We focused on Empathy and putting ourselves in his situation because it would be VERY EASY to walk in there and chastise the man. After the lesson I can honestly say that he is one of the most Christlike beings that I have met... he has just been hurt a lot.

At times we are able to accept facts and figures but we still get a gut feeling that says "something doesn't feel right." This is because we are human beings and we are able to connect everything that we come in contact with with an emotion. This man accepts the church and the facts and figures that he is less active and needs to go back but he has a build up of hurt feelings connected with going to church. It is EASY to say.. "Oh people aren't perfect so don't get butt hurt so easily by other peoples mistakes and ignorance"... but would that be the Christlike thing to say to him?

A wise Mail man would find a new rout after being bitten by a dog at a specific house. If a tree in the desert didn't offer enough shade for you to rest under then you would keep looking for a different tree. If someone insults you and you return the gesture then you both fall into a repeated cycle of insults that no one can win. The only way to win is to be the bigger man and walk away from the conflict... that is what he has done. We are going to keep seeing him and do the best thing we can for him... love him and offer him shade. We just hope that we can help him understand that the importance of going to church in the first place is the Sacrament. If you are going to endure anything then endure it for the sacrifice that the savior gave to us.

We are going down to the french market today for all of the new people that have never been before. That is where all of the crazy people cultivate and try to sell and steel things haha. Hopefully we see some more funny crazies today. 

Well fam and friends... I love y'all and hope you all have a great week.

Elder Cooley

Movin to New Orleans

Hello family how are y'all doing? 
I have had a good week this week and I feel good. I got transfer calls and have been called to be a Zone Leader in New Orleans Metairie. I will be comps with my Mexico MTC companion too! His name is Elder Peterson. I feel inadequate and asked president if he was sure that he had the right guy. He chatted with me for a bit about my testimony and gave me some motivation to go through with the calling. I am nervous but I feel that it is Gods way of telling me "stay focused for the last quarter of your mission". I will need to be more thorough in my scheduling and be disciplined with myself in certain different area.. (Luck is not real... it is merely being prepared for moments of opportunity). 

We spent a lot of time with a recovering alcoholic this week. she is doing great and is trying hard. I cant even imagine what she has gone through in life. She fell into drinking after her son was murdered by her own father and she has been struggling ever since. We go over there to eat a lot because she says it is her way of contributing, giving back and serving. The purpose to growing ANYTHING is so that there can be more contribution. Only you determine what is grown and where/how you choose contribute. Just like growing to many vegetables in your garden and not knowing a place or someone to share them with.... It will all just go to waste. There is little purpose to your life if you are not making and distributing contributions... it will all just go to waste.

We were in the middle of a lesson the other day when fire trucks came up to the apartment across the street from us. The apartment was smoking like crazy and the firemen went in to check it out. They ended up bringing out the oven which was straight black and melted. I bet that got expensive! I find it funny that all the people come outside to see and they stay there a while to watch. 

This is Rico Francis. He ​is awesome! He has an awesome family. He is the only church member in his family but he has a cool story of how he got baptized. At age 16 he used to sneak out of his house, jump his fence and run down the road to be picked up for church in the morning. This is because his mom forbade him to meet with those Crazy Mormons! He also would tell her that he was going to the catholic mass but would then go to early morning seminary and mutual instead. His mom is fine with it now and actually attended his baptism. He is a big support on the branch down here and is the Elders Quorum President. 

I have learned so much from every area that I have served in and I look forward to more. I know that I have to keep moving to grow and feel good; it is a paradox. 

I hope that y'all have a good week and a happy new year.

Love Elder Cooley

Christmas Cheer in Little Caesars?

Hello fam, I had a good week and an awesome holiday. How about y'all? I enjoyed chatting with y'all. It was different for Christmas but I love change and different perspectives. 

I told the family this but we split up a fight that was about to break out in the middle of little Caesars on Christmas Eve. Two Black Chicks were mad at the store manager for how long the wait was for their pizzas. They tried to get the little white girl store manager to go outside to fight but we stopped her from going outside to fight. After that we called the store owner to tell him what really happened so that no one would get fired unnecessarily. The other people that wanted to fight were calling to complain and You can only imagine what their side of the story would have sounded like. I have learned out here that all problems that occur in a humans life is because of selfishness and pride.

 Some one might ask though, "What about when someone else inflicts pain on you or takes something from you?" "You didn't selfishly do that!" First of all the actions of people doing harm to you can always be traced back to selfishness and pride. The things that people do to you do not have to affect you in a negative way though! It doesn't matter what happens to you in life but what matters is what you do about it. Don't fight fire with fire, selfishness with selfishness. What goes around comes around. 

No one can rob justice whether it be you delivering it short term to an enemy or karma in the future. Learn the difference between justice and revenge because one is doing the right thing and the other is being caught up in selfishness and your own pride that will only result in a continuing cycle of bias opinions and unjust retaliations. Justice, trust in God, Karma and accepting reality such as your own faults will help you role with the punches in life. Realizing problems and weaknesses will only lead you to being able to strengthen them. Everything in life is only borrowed and the only thing that you can take with you is your spiritual mind of experience. Don't be selfish by thinking that anything belongs to you. It is a harsh topic and feels scary to talk/write about but it is undoubtedly true. Stay Close to God and Deal justly and you wont have anything to worry about. 

Speaking of dealing justly with folks...

We had a meeting after church with the branch council (PEC) and we were there to offer our opinions. The meeting was going great and the topic of the entire meeting was focused on Christ and helping others. The discussion of a service project came up about helping out the Syrian refugees as a stake and combining with other wards to help out. Three people in the room raised their hands and said they had reservations about it until they knew the details of the project. I didn't think much of this, I was thinking that they were concerned about carpool and technical difficulties. They then said that they weren't sure if they wanted to support such a people that want to kill us. The spirit of the meeting was instantly gone after that. We disagreed and shared an example of working with Alligators (an animal that is dangerous)... I said that you keep your distance from dangers but that doesn't mean that you stop feeding them and caring for them. I'm not telling you to trust EVERYONE but I'm telling you to be smart about it. They are still human beings and not all of them are wanting war and killing.One of the people who shall remain nameless said, "I think that we are dealing with things that are a lot worse than animals Elder!" I kept my cool and the branch president quickly changed the subject. The spirit was gone from the meeting and turned into a complaint department after that. We kept quiet for the rest of the meeting and just listened. The president called us into his office after and asked us for our opinions on the meeting. We told him that Church meetings aren't a good place for Economic opinions. He explained how we were completely correct about the situation and he told us that the people that are skeptical to help with the project are scared to help and that is because they are scared to die. Our lives are here for but a moment and are only borrowed for such a short time so why not give our lives for others? Charity never faileth!  He explained how One of the twelve apostles addressed the church saying that we should help them.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-11-1070-syrian-refugee-emergency-response?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-10-001-syrian-refugee-the-moment-i-was-shot-i-knew-i-would-never-walk-again?lang=eng

We fight for the freedoms of ALL of God's Children. having that said... you cant please everyone.

We had a good week though teaching and working with some wonderful people. We were able to give gifts and celebrate the holidays. I love life and I hope that I can one day offer more than what is asked of me towards this wonderful life. I know that times can get hard but don't stop running. I know that to some readers my paragraphs may seem bold but It is what I know to be correct. I will do my best not to be a hypocrite and try to empathize and relate to other people's circumstances .... that in itself is hard to do. ONE STEP AT A TIME... That is all that God asks of you. Please reply your opinion of these perspectives

I love you family and friends.

Love Elder Cooley

God is just and you cant rob justice, therefore you can not rob God. Stay close to God and all will be well. 

Love y'all and Happy Holidays!

This week was good. I just keep chugging away. I cant complain because I realize how good life is. This week we had a Christmas party in our branch and it was very nice. I got to enjoy some good food and good company with some folks. They didn't have a Santa or games there because they just wanted it to be a nice dinner and social gathering. The Wednesday before that was the primary Christmas party and they asked us to help out with that. We made ornaments and stuff like that. I included the ornaments in the package that I sent for Christmas. I'm not to sure if it will make it on time but we can cross our fingers.

This week at one of the baptist churches an awesome thing happened. It was during their Christmas mass that a Santa Claus walked into the doors, he walked down through the pews up to the front at the prayer alter, knelt down at the feet of Christ and prayed and when he left he put a small wrapped gift at the feet of the savior. They said that the place was dead silent and that the spirit was strong. It made everyone think that it isn't about the presents; It is about Jesus and Giving. I like those kinds of stories.

This week we were checking out of at the Lowes cash register outside by all of the gardening supplies. The lady there was very nice and we asked how she was. We asked her if she was ready for Christmas and if she was excited. She gave a nice response but seemed a little unconvincing but then she asked about our name tags. We had a nice conversation with her about Christ and how Christmas isn't about the presents but it is about Christ and Giving and what is truly in your heart. We read Luke 2 with her and she asked if we would pray with her. We held hands right there at the cash register and she said a prayed with us. She was in tears after and she said "I needed that, especially in this tough season" "God is good, he sends good people to help me out." Christmas is a tough time for a lot of families. Christmas actually even has a higher suicide rate. It hurts when you cant give back or receive like you want to. But that doesn't have to be the case... If you have the right perspective and the right things in your heart then Christmas can be the most beautiful time. To do this you have to see Christmas for what it really is. 

We will be hanging out with a few families during Christmas and Christmas Eve. We are skyping at brother Stanley's house. He has 3 tablets and all the time in the world for us to use them. I got Jesse's information for me to be able to set up a video chat on google. I look forward to talking to y'all. 

After our Christmas party we sat there and watched this drunk lady scream her head off in the middle of a grass field near our church haha. It was funny to watch but i feel bad for those people. Drunk people are some of the most powerful people out there. They are so tender hearted and they are all or nothing people. They are strong willed and most of them are dreamers that are highly motivated. Think of all of those awesome qualities that can be found in a person except for they are being used for the wrong things... like drinking. something drastic can happen in their lives and they become problem drinkers to drown out the pain. We meet a lot of Hispanics that are alcoholics because they have left their family to work and provide for them but it becomes lonely and painful for them to be away. They are amazing people that are trapped and probably dont want to be there in the first place.

I just want to end my email by saying this: find some way to contribute beyond yourself this season. There was a study done with a bunch of little kids this year. They were told to go into toys r us and choose any gift that they wanted. Once they came out of the store they were told that they have two options... they can either keep the toy for themselves or give a gift for someone else that wont have presents to open on Christmas. 92% of the kids went back in to chose a gift for someone else instead. Giving makes you feel good. Try to be child-like this season and remember what it is truly about.

Love y'all and happy Holidays!

Elder Cooley

Please send some Chirstmas lovin

Hi Ana fields Friends,
I'm sending out a blog S.O.S-
All Elder COOLEY has asked for Christmas is letters & support...
So, if you can find a minute to drop him a Christmas letter filled with holiday cheer and lovin you'd be helping make his Christmas wish come true.
Elder Shane Cooley
1001 E. Dale st.
#1010
New Iberia, LA 70560

Merry Christmas!
May God bless your way!
Momma COOLEY

Hunting with Blow Guns

Hey fam. I have had a good week. It felt a lil slow again but thats alright. We did exchanges and we continued to go and visit with people. Our friend Nick has stopped contacting us. We had a talk with him and we had to be straight forward with him. It does no one any good just beating around the bush. He had sent us a text about killing himself and so we straight up told him "Let us help you". We told him "you need help.. When A man that was in the Army that has a non quitting attitude texts you about suicide quitting then there is something that is not right with this picture. We will keep trying to see him but Im not sure how effective it is to force a horse to drink the water that you have brought it. Falling- getting up and becoming stronger... I just hope our friend can get up and become stronger than ever. Only God knows how far he will fall until that happens... hopefully we can be of help.

We went around to a lot of different churches in our area that were of all different faiths. We are handing out a gift that includes the living Christ, The Proclamation of the Family, and a Picture of Jesus Christ. It was very fun and we have A LOT more to do... Bible Belt. We walked into a big church called "Trinity Baptist" and there was a dude that asked us right when we walked in if we wanted to be baptized haha. "We can do it RIGHT NOW!" There are some good people out there. Bless his heart.

I taught a few of the elders in my district how to make blow guns and they love them. They are shooting them all the time and are trying to shoot squirrels every time they go out to check the mail. The only difference is that would eat them if we actually get one haha. One of my buddies out here is from Canada and is a big hunter. I want to get into that when I get home.

It sounds like a mad house in the Cooley casa these days. I hope Grandma is doing good and is happy. Tell her that I love her. It must be just like old times though with a bunch of little kids running all over the house. It inst a mad house.. we have just forgotten what reality speed is like haha. That is the blessing that I would want to see for my family "for things to always be moving and an adventure". Risk taking, never settling and going forever. 

I got an email just barely from Joel Cardenas and he said that he just received his mission call. Sister Cardenas's son is called to serve in the Mexico, Monterrey East Mission. He is stoked out of his mind and has come a long way to get where he is now. I am excited for him.

I cant think of anything else to write about. I just hope you know that I am doing fine. I have found that living on my own has really helped me a lot in life and has changed my perspective of life a lot. I am grateful for my life and all that I have been blessed for. I look forward to chatting on Christmas coming up soon. I hope y'all have an awesome week. God bless.

Elder Cooley