Idaho Fall Idaho Mission Sister Missionaries

So Sister Kolo (From Tonga) left today! It was pretty bittersweet- she's really great, and Sister Dodd and I were "babysat" by her Saturday when Sister Mcintosh and Sister Crandall were planning a zone conference. SIster Dodd is in the middle with the blue dress in the group picture! I'm right by here. Sister Kolo is the second to the left in the purple skirt.

Idaho!!

So I have almost been out in Idaho for a week! It's so beautiful here, I really am blown away. The flight was short and sweet, and I happened to sit by an Elder Harwood from the Olathe Stake! He's going Spanish speaking, and it was just so great to talk to someone who knows the same people and places that I do. We found President Nelson right away, so that was such a blessing! We spent that first night in the mission home, did some training, and were assigned to our trainers and first area that night.

I've been assigned to the Sugar City Stake with Sister Crandall as my companion! Sister Crandall is simply amazing- she has been out for a year, and is also a Sister Training Leader. She's from San Diego, California, but grew up in Utah. She's really organized and likes to be productive, which I just love because we get a lot done!

The people in Sugar City are amazing and so incredibly kind! The only downside is that we white washed the area, which means that they took the two missionaries who lived there before and put two new ones into the area. The previous missionaries were only there for a transfer, and before that they didn't have any missionaries serving in the stake for awhile. It's really hard white washing, but Sister Crandall has assured me that even though it's really slow at first, things will pick up. It is also pretty crazy since we are not only white washing and training, but since Sister Crandall is a Sister Training Leader, she has to do a lot of exchanges and attend a lot of meetings with the zone and in the mission office. So, I've already been on a few exchanges, so that has also made things a bit difficult to really get started here in the Sugar City. Last night I was out on a short exchange with Sister Dodd, who flew out with me from the MTC and is here on Visa wait, so we were both driving out and contacting people together- after just being here! But it was good, and we have both gotten pretty close over the flight and seeing each other often because our companions are the Sister Training Leaders of the zone.

Another thing about Sugar City is that it's very rural, but the people are so crazy nice! I'll have to send a picture of all the food members and less actives alike have given us straight from their garden! So we live in this basement to this wonderful Sister who has quite a few cats and some adorable kittens! The kittens are so uplifting to see after a long (but good!) day.

So we do have a few appointments for this week, which I'm super excited for! We also met a fifteen-year-old girl who really wants to take the lessons, so I'm so grateful for that. We also have a pretty good list of referrals that are from the last missionaries in the area, but we have to clarify some more with the Ward Mission Leaders, because a few of the referrals we tried were actually not referrals, but just less actives. But things like that apparently happen when you white wash, so we'll sort things out. :)

Saturday we got up a little bit before 5am to help at a Marathon in Ashton! Our District was asked to help out, but only Sister Crandall, myself, and the Elders who are in that area were able to make it. We stayed and helped out from 6:30 to around 1:30, so it was a pretty long service! We were also asked not to wear p-day clothes, but luckily all Sister Crandall and I did was prepare the food, set up tables, and help the really nice non-member lady who was sort of over the whole thing with odd jobs. People from all over the U.S. came, which was really neat! Also, one of the Elders we worked with, Elder Christensen, was trained by Elder Garcia, who is from the YSA ward back at home in Kansas!

Unfortunately, the computers at the Family History Center are not like the MTC computers, so I won't be able to send in pictures from my camera today without a cord, but hopefully next week!

There is just so much to tell, but everyone should know that I love the work and I feel that I'm learning so much everyday!

Love,

-Sister Hayleigh Cottrell 

Teton, Idaho!

Hayleigh's mom received a couple of short text messages this week that said "Your daughter has made it to Teton, Idaho, along with a photo of her and her new companion, Sister Crandall.

Looking it up, Teton is just north of Rexburg and had 735 people in the 2010 census. The city itself comprises just 0.68 square miles. Looking a map of the city, it literally looks like it's 2-3 blocks tall and about 7-8 blocks wide. There are two wards that meet in a single meeting house in Teton - Teton 1st Ward and Teton 2nd Ward.

Not much more information was shared, so unsure as to how many wards Hayleigh will be serving and how large of an area her and her companion have.

She was able to call us while she was in the Salt Lake City airport waiting for her flight to Idaho Falls. She said that the Missionary Training Center was awesome and that she had an amazing district. They went to the Provo temple a few times and spent a lot of time together. Apparently they played a lot of four-square. She said that she will really miss her district. Several of them went to Idaho Falls and the rest went to Gilbert, Arizona.

At first, Hayleigh was the only sister going to Idaho Falls from her district but she said 3 other sisters joined them because they had not received their visas for their missions and are going to Idaho Falls until they receive their visas.

Hayleigh's P-Day will be on Mondays. Since her MTC P-Day was Wednesday and she traveled to Idaho Falls this past Tuesday, we're going to miss one of her weekly updates. The next opportunity we will have will be this upcoming Monday.

Her mission does not use iPads, so her only means of communication will be via mail or e-mail that she can send/read on her P-Day. It sounded like she had only heard from a few people while she was in the MTC, so she would probably really love to hear from you if you have a chance to write.

Her new address is: PO BOX 222, Teton, ID 83451.



Sister Cottrell & Sister Crandall (don't they look great?)


The city of Teton, Idaho. Almost as wide as it is tall.

Week 2 in the MTC!

Time is flying by! I already got my flight plans for Idaho Falls, which is just crazy!
I'll be leaving here Tuesday the 23rd, at 4:20am with six other Elders. My flight is at 9:45am, so I'll be in Idaho that same morning. I'm so excited to go, but at the same time it will be so hard to leave Sister Bischoff, Sister Marbery, Sister Miller, and my District! We have all grown so close, but luckily four of the Elders in my district are going to Idaho with me. On that note, I was assigned at the Travel Leader for our group. It's a little bit nerve racking to be in charge, but it won't be for that long so I'm grateful for that.

So germs spread so fast here! Half of my district had colds for most of this week. Thursday Sister Marbery and I got it and it lasted through Monday. It wasn't too bad, so we were still able to teach and go to class, but it wasn't very fun. Talia, one of our investigators we taught last week was so sweet, I apologized to her before we started our lesson that I was slightly sick and had a bad sore throat. She was like, "oh, you must be stressed from being a missionary!" So I explained that I was actually really happy here, but that it could be stress, but a lot of people I knew had colds. At the end of the lesson we asked her say the closing prayer, and she was like "please bless Sister Cottrell, that she won't be stressed.." So I guess I'm struggling here ;)

Actually, I've never been happier! It's so great here, even though there are times when I really miss friends and family! The rest of the week was great! I'm learning so much about teaching and really working through the spirit. The other really eventful thing that happened this week was that I was actually asked to speak in our Branch Sunday! So the way it works is that every missionary has to prepare a talk, and during sacrament meeting President Smith calls on two of us to speak to the Branch right then and there. I had this super strong feeling I was going to be asked, which helped me not be so nervous when I was called up. My throat was still really raspy, but since I wasn't feel 100% it helped me to not be as nervous speaking to a roomful of missionaries! The topic for the week was the Book of Mormon, and it was really nice having that topic, actually!

For Tuesday night Devotional Bonnie L. Oscarson (YW General President) spoke to us! I loved her message about trusting in the Lord that He will grow you into the Missionary you need to be if you let Him!

Today was another wonderful morning at the Temple with my District!

Here are a few scriptures/thoughts that really had an impact on me this week from either personal study, devotionals, or just from classroom time!

- Alma 31:5, Jacob 2:8, John 14:18, D&C 122, Alma 23:5-6 (..and they did never fall away), Alma 26 (we read the whole chapter as a class and thought about what we can sacrifice to become more consecrated).
- Conversion is being constantly true to what you know.
- In your darkest moments, look outward and help others!

I wish I could share my whole study journal! Anyway, I just love it here! It's a lot of work, but I just love how my district can be so focused and happy to learn and discuss the gospel. We typically eat with our District if we can all find each other during meals, and lately we play some intense four square outside with our District (plus Sister Marbery and Sister Miller)!

So this week flew by! I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to, but I'll see if Sister Bischoff can send me some of the pictures she took this week. There's a picture of my District during the Temple walk Sunday that I did take, however!

Love you all!

-Sister Hayleigh Cottrell

Pictures!

The first one is of our trio! We really miss Sister Vliet, but she will keep in touch with us!

The next picture is of our roommates! Sister Miller is to the left and Sister Marbery is to the right. They are both AMAZING! 

So sister Bischoff's 12 year old brother sent her this doll head because he just thought it was funny so now we have this doll head that's super creepy.. and I'm on the top bunk so it's REALLY creepy at night (not really! I seriously don't care, it's all good).

First week in the MTC

Hello everyone!

I just love it here! I can honestly say that I have never been so happy throughout mos of the day, everyday. It's just wonderful studying and being in a classroom all the time where you just focus on the scriptures and learning how to be a missionary. It's hard work, but I know I'm not doing this alone and that really helps. So I do have some sad news. The hardest thing this week would have to be when one of my companions, Sister Vliet, decided to go home. It was really difficult for me and Sister Bischoff, because we knew she was having a hard time but we were really hopeful that she would stay. Monday Sister Vliet had a meeting with the Branch President, after lunch Sister Bischoff and I were pulled aside and informed that Sister Vliet made the decision to go home, and we have less than half an hour to help her pack and catch her flight back to Michigan. It was really hard, and then right after we helped her pack up, we had half an hour before we taught our first investigator. We just so happened to run into our classroom teacher on the way to our lesson, and after we explained things, he offered to say a prayer with us. It was just what we needed and we were able to teach and have the spirit with us during our lesson.   

Sorry to start off my first e-mail like that, but other than Sister Vliet (she was such a good friend!) going home things have been wonderful! Sister Bischoff is from Alabama and is serving in the Gilbert, Arizona Mission. She's just so wonderful and chill, I seriously have the best companion. Our district is amazing! There are four sets of Elders and then just Sister Bischoff and myself. Three of the Elder are going to Idaho Falls with me, and the rest are going to Arizona. It will be so hard to say goodbye to them. They really have become like family! The Elders in our district are so funny, but they all really care about the work as well. Class discussions are so uplifting! 

Our Branch President is just so inspiring and just great! Thursday night we were all interviewed by him and I just think he's amazingly kind and spiritual. He decided to make me our district online coordinator, which I was so nervous about because anyone who knows me knows that I'm terrible with technology. Luckily for me, I had some training and it's more of a leadership thing to serve my district than anything. 

So fast Sunday was just such an amazing experience! Our meetings were great, and than our district decided to go to choir. The choir director is so super funny, and would tell stories throughout practice that really helped with learning the song. We practiced "Praise to the Man," and he decided to retell the story of Joseph's last day up until he was killed, and it was really powerful.

Sunday night we watched a talk by Elder Bednar given at the MTC a few years back, and it was life changing! It's called "The Character of Christ," and was about how when we, the natural man (Mosiah 3:19), would turn inward, the Savior turns outward, and serves others. The talk was just amazing, hopefully another time I can share more of my notes about it. After the talk, my companions, Sister Miller and Sister Marbery (our amazing roomates!!) and I just sat there in awe. We were literally the last ones to leave! It was such a powerful talk. 

Last night we had our MTC devotional, and while we were singing the opening song "Do What is Right," Elder Neil L. Andersen walked in, and everyone stood. I had at that moment such a powerful witness from the spirit that he is called of God. No one knew he was coming! His main message was that missionary work in itself is not complex, but it's not easy. 

This morning was incredibly! We got to do an endowment session at the Provo Temple, which is right across the MTC. Sister Bischoff and I also did inititories, and I can honestly say that this is such a small world! During the last name I did, the Sister turned to me and asked if I was from around here. I told her that I was a missionary, and when she asked where I was from, I felt like I should tell her Olathe, Kansas instead of just saying Kansas. She turned to me and put her hand of my cheek, explaining that her daughter Amy Kimball lives in Olathe! It's so crazy, for the Kimballs are in my home ward and I was in YWs and Seminary with Ashlynn, who was her granddaughter! That was just so amazing. 

I wish I could say so much more! I'll try to share some more of my notes next week. Thank you so much for the DearElder letters! They are so wonderful! Our district leader picks them up from the mailing room each day, and we are allowed to open them at night! 

I love and miss you all! 

Sister Cottrell's at the MTC!

Before heading off to the MTC, Sister Cottrell had an opportunity to visit Temple Square in Salt Lake City and spend a couple of days with her Great Aunt and Uncle Ovard who live in South Jordan.


 

Apparently all went well at the drop off - they were given about 30 seconds to say their farewells and Sister Cottrell was off with an escort into the MTC.

We have since found out that her preparation day (P-Day) is on Wednesdays, so keep an eye out for updates on Wednesdays or Thursdays. She was able to send a quick e-mail on the day she entered the MTC to let us know that she made it and was doing well. And then on Saturday she sent another short e-mail letting us know that about her p-day. She has two companions, Sister Bischoff and sister Vliet who were described as "wonderful". The also shares a room with two additional sisters, Sister Mauberry and Sister Miller.