Danielle Cook Chile Santiago South Mission July 31, 2013-January 27, 2015: SOOO this week was FILLED with service!!!

SERVICE! collecting and filling big

trucks to go help the people in the fires!

SOOO this week was FILLED with service!!! We had so much fun and were humbled by the stories of the people in Valparesio. Over 2,000 houses were eaten by the huge fire 2 hours away. I am so jealous of the Elders because they got to go there and help!! I wanted to so bad but Presidente found it in our best interest to stay. He reminds me of daddy.... Boys get to do all the hard working help stuff and the girls have to stay home in. Yes, it may be justified but I REALLY WANTED TO GO HELP. That’s also a big thing I am learning on my mission.... how to be more dependent on people and I am not as much as a feminist as I used to be. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for woman’s rights, but there is an extent. Women and men are different and I am okay with that (: I don`t know if anyone outside of my family will remember or even knew this but it used to be a big problem for me that men had the priesthood and women could not, but before my mission and every now and then on my mission I pray for a confirmation that this is really how it should be and I receive a loving answer from my Heavenly Father every time. (: So I don`t mind now that we can’t have the priesthood in the same manera (manner) that the men have it. Just as long as I can receive the blessings and help support the Power that Heavenly Father allows them to have, I am a happy woman! ♥

I want to send something that Presidente Cook sent us; it is of course about the Resurrection since it is Easter (By the way we had a fantastic Easter. Hermana Ryback hid eggs for us and we ate SO good♥ she’s an angel!!) Okay here it is♥

SEVEN WORDS FROM THE CROSS

During the agonizing hours that the Savior hung on the cross he only uttered seven statements. They are often viewed only in the context of the event and not their larger significance. Let’s examine each one and how they apply to each of us.

1. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) This is such a powerful statement when we consider that Christ was taking upon himself the sins of all mankind including those who were in the very act of crucifying him. Do you really believe God has forgiven your sins? Do you take time on a regular basis to confess your sins to God so that you might enjoy the freedom of forgiveness?

2. “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) This is one of the most astounding and encouraging verses in all of scripture. Jesus promised the criminal would be with him in Paradise. Yet the text gives us no indication that the man was a follower of Jesus. We do not know the depth of his repentance, still his cry to be remembered seems to be an expression of trust in Christ. Each of us must also trust him, as we cry similarly, “Jesus, remember me.” Have you staked your life on Jesus? Have you put your ultimate trust in him? If so, you shall also one day be in Paradise.

3. “Woman, behold thy son!” (John 19:26) As Jesus was dying, his mother was among those who had remained with him. As far as we know, most of his male disciples had fled, with the exception of one who was called Beloved. The presence of Mary at the cross adds both humanity and horror to the scene. We are reminded that Jesus was a real human being, a man who had once been a boy. Mary may have been reminded of the prophecy of Simeon shortly after Jesus’ birth, when he said to Mary: “a sword shall pierce through thy own soul” (Luke 2:35). It is clear that Jesus was asking his disciple to take care of Mary. Even as he was dying on the cross as the Savior of the world, Jesus was also a son, a role he did not neglect in his last moments. The death of a child is one of the most painful of all parental experiences. To watch one’s beloved child experience the extreme torture of crucifixion must have been unimaginably terrible. Yet, the very act that would cause Mary such pain would be the means whereby her pain would be overcome.

4. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) James E. Talmage wrote of this awful cry: “What mind of man can fathom the significance of that awful cry? It seems, that in addition to the fearful suffering incident to crucifixion, the agony of Gethsemane had recurred, intensified beyond human power to endure. In that bitterest hour the dying Christ was alone, alone in the most terrible reality. That the supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its fullness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediate Presence, leaving the Savior of men the glory of complete victory over the forces of sin and death. The cry from the cross, though heard by all who were near, was understood by few.” At times when we feel alone or forsaken we must remember we are not the first to have felt those feelings. But God’s love for us is not diminished any more than it was for the Savior. Always remember, Jesus was abandoned by the Father in that moment, so that you might not be.

5. “I thirst.” (John 19:28) No doubt Jesus experienced extreme thirst while being crucified. He would have lost a substantial quantity of bodily fluid, both blood and sweat. John notes that Jesus said “I am thirsty,” not only as a statement of physical reality, but also in order to fulfill the Scripture. (Psalm 69:20-21) ,

As you walk the streets of Santiago, you may have experienced the need to relieve your thirst. You must ask yourselves if you feel a similar thirst for the spirit, which is also necessary to sustain you in your labors? Do you yearn for the living water that Jesus supplies? (John 4:10; 7:38-39) And do you yearn to share it with others?

6. “It is finished!” (John 19:30) Surely Jesus was expressing relief that his suffering was over. But the Greek verb translated as “finished” (tetelestai) means more. “It is done . . . complete.” Jesus had accomplished his mission. He had announced and inaugurated the kingdom of God. He had revealed the love and grace of God. And he had embodied that love and grace by dying for the sins of the world, thus opening up the way for all to live again. The keystone of the Father´s plan was now in place. We have the great privilege to declare that great and merciful plan to those Christ died for. Do you live each day with the urgency to share that plan with everyone? Do you likewise strive to complete in every way the mission with which God has entrusted you?

7. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46) Again the Savior was quoting scripture, (Psalm 31) He not only entrusted his future to his Father, but also implied that he would be delivered and exonerated. No, God would not deliver him from death by crucifixion. But beyond this horrific death lay something marvelous; the resurrection. Have you put your mission, your life, and, indeed, your life beyond this world, into God’s hands? Gethsemane, Golgotha and the Garden Tomb combine to bring all mankind the most important event in all of human history. It is the clarion call of Christianity and the Restoration. As the least of the Disciples of Christ, we declare our personal witness that death has been conquered, victory over the tomb has been won. May the words made sacred by him who fulfilled them become actual knowledge to us all. May we all remember them, cherish them and honor them. He is risen. Such is our fervent prayer.

PRESIDENTE COOK IS SO GREAT♥

But we worked hard this week and learned a lot (: I am so grateful for the experiences we have had this week we are truly blessed!

Well have a super sassy week♥

Austin your tractor is the bomb as always!! And enjoy the last few months of school, especially you Landonnnn (: it’s your last! woohoo!

Love you xoxooxox

Hermana Cook