Tuesday 5 March 2013



Time is flying by so very quickly.  There is not a day or a family prayer that goes by that we do not think of Elder Cocker and his companion. We heard from him a few weeks ago, and sent his love and said that he "was doing very well but was very busy." 


I was reminded that in Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
We had received a letter from Salt Lake for Elder Cocker thanking him for accepting his new Mission assignment, and on the same day had received a fantastic letter from his Mission President and his wife which explained where he was sending a map with sticky arrows pointing out his area. He is well.

For those who are writing to him, KEEP IT UP!!   He was asking if we would please send him written letters as well as email.  Which brings me to an awful discovery, the last post made in February i listed the wrong email address.  He can only email back to us, but he can receive your emails. Letters, he can keep with him as they have only like a half hour once a week to check email at the public library, 

So here is the correct email address:  josh.cocker@myldsmail.net

A great idea for Missionary mail, aside from care packages, :0) is to send cards, they are short, and sweet if you dont have time for long letters or not so inclined.  As his family we thank you and know these missionaries really appreciate it.

Elder Cocker will be turning 20 this month on St. Patricks Day. I still have a hard time imagining so many years have gone by. I still remember the day of his blessing on April 4, 1993.  That beautiful fall morning, His nena and papa, Bishop Paki and his wife, Aunty Ofa and Uncle Alfred all came over to the house before our 9a church meeting.  We had prayers together and spent time before heading off to sacrament meeting.  The day before we had gone to the temple, and that evening I had taken material from my box of cut offs, that had been used for making my temple dress and made him white tuxedo pants and a white tux jacket with tails.  Garrick was dismayed that there were no "boy clothes" only blessing gowns. He said, "I dont want my son blessed in a dress". It was pretty fun and still makes me smile thinking of how i waited til Joshua fell asleep and laid him down on top of the material and cut his jacket out around him.  He was a chubby, healthy, baby. We were very blessed.  We knew Joshua was going to be a boy, before the sonograms. He was a special blessing in our lives and bore a special testimony to us as his parents. Part of his being named Joshua is from the lessons learned during this time period. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15.  

The road to where Elder Cocker is today began so very long ago. It began even before he was born.  My conversations with Heavenly Father have been over decades. We are not perfect beings, we are riddled with frailty and flaw.  A side product of the divine and sacred gift of Free agency our Heavenly Father has bestowed us with.  Bearing this powerful and amazing gift of our creator we journey down a path that teaches us as we could learn in no other way, and enables us to be participants to the greatest love of all, given by his only begotten Son---The gift of the atonement.  That saving power that stays the hand of justice, with the redeeming blood, and calls Mercy into play....the price, "Come unto me, all ye who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest".  That is the message that Elder Cocker is out in the world trying to share.....Eternal Life, Eternal Hope.  

....and since I haven't heard from him in over two weeks, I can only imagine he is doing it as he does most things, both feet forward and "strait up the guts"  .  

                    (The picture above age, 15 I think, jumping off the Auckland Harbor bridge) 




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