October 31st!

Happy Halloween! Today will be really interesting, since we aren't allowed to go proselyting on Halloween night, and it also so happens to be a P-day. So our whole zone is getting together for dinner and just to hang out in the evening, and it will be really weird to have an all day P-day.

Last week was Brian's baptism! So many people were there! We had to move everyone into the chapel again to fit everyone. Brian is such a sweetheart, and we have grown really close to the whole family! His younger brother got to baptize him, which was just a tender thing to see. Brian's other brother gave the talk, and it was really neat because he talked about how even though Brian doesn't need to be baptized because of his special needs, he getting baptized so that he can serve in the church.

This week was a bit slow because we had the baptisms, then Sister Crandall was sick Tuesday, and we also had another exchange. But we did still see miracles! Yesterday, we had a few lessons cancel, and even though we were able to teach a few less actives, every other door we tired no one was home/we weren't able to get in to share anything. We tried so many people and that made it really tiring/discouraging (the rain didn't help, either). In the late evening, we actually knocked at one referral's home and she totally let us in and was very friendly! She had some interesting beliefs and got a little bit heated at one point, but by the end of it we left on a good note and there's room to go back. We also tried one non-member who we have been trying for weeks, and she keeps putting us off and telling us that she will think about it. We have met her less active boyfriend a few times, and he genuinely would be willing to meet with us if she would be on board. Well, we tried her and she seemed so different, and we even set up an appointment with her! This was really big, because at the moment we don't have very many investigators and out of the investigators we do have, so many have been canceling on us lately. It is just amazing how Heavenly Father prepares His children.

Friday was exchanges again, and one of the lessons we taught was to this student from Germany, who is super sweet! Since she has already had all of the lessons but is still investigating, we taught her about Elijah. She wanted to know more about him since she heard mention of Elijah during one of her classes, and it was a really neat lesson! We also taught a lesson over skype to a guy who lives in Organ! He was super curious about prophets and asked really sincere, good questions. The BYU-I area is unique because they are the only area in Idaho where they can have skype lessons. Basically, if someone has a non-member friend/family member, they can invite them to have a lesson over skype where they can be present with the missionaries here. The BYU-I sisters then teach the first two lessons, and then hand them over to the missionaries that cover them wherever they live. It's a really neat way to ease people into the lessons, because they can investigate the church in the comfort of their home with the missionaries teaching them just through skype. It was a really neat experience!

We also had the opportunity to have another church tour! We took this re-activating family to the stake center, and it was really neat because the ward mission leader for their ward joined us to help teach. By the end of the tour, we set a date for their oldest daughter (who is 9-years-old) to be baptized on Dec. 3rd! Her father is trying to quit smoking, so we will be working closely with their family to prepare them for that date.

Lately, I feel that I've been getting way too emotional! Just yesterday, we had one lesson with the less active lady, who opened up to us quite a bit this visit and admitted that she hasn't been active (a lot of the time, people will sort of pretend that they are with us). While we taught her, I felt just so much love for her and I could really feel how deeply Heavenly Father cares about her! It totally chocked me up, and it was just such a tender moment for me. I realized just how much I truly love doing this work, even on the hard days.

Here's some notes from Elder Oak's talk this past conference! I just want to testify that when you pray for missionary opportunities, they do come. So be ready!

"What we call 'member missionary
work' is not a program but an attitude
of love and outreach to help those around us."

We need the help of every member, and every member can help,
since there are many tasks to perform as we share the restored
gospel with every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

1. We can all pray for desire to help with this vital
 part of the work of salvation. All efforts begin with desire.
2. We can keep the commandments ourselves.
3. We can pray for inspiration on what we can do in our individual
circumstances to share the gospel with others. This is different than
praying for the missionaries or praying for what others can do.
We should pray for what we can do personally.

I love you all,

-Sister Cottrell

Pictures: Brian! He was just so thrilled. We made a ton of food last Monday to just have for the rest of the week, and we made a lot of cookies to have as refreshments at Brian's baptism. Also, in case you didn't know, potatoes are kind of a thing here in Idaho.



Barn full of Idaho Potatoes



This is how large the barn is!



Food preparation for the week on p-day



Sister Crandall is so excited about potatoes

A wonderful baptism experience

This week again went by so fast! First off, Tambree's baptism was a wonderful experience. So many people came to support her! Before we could start, we had to move everyone to the chapel because so many people came. Her Dad was there to support her, even though he's not a member. Tambree was just so thrilled and happy!

We are also teaching a boy named Mason, who's almost 13-years-old and is just super sweet. He's Dad is a less-active RM who really wants this for his son, so he's been really doing his best to set up lessons with us and helping Mason in anyway that he can. Our last lesson this week we went on a church tour, and the spirit was really present. Mason just has to talk to him mom for permission to get baptized, so we are praying that she'll give him her consent and support him in this decision.

We were able to work a lot this week with some less-actives who know that the church is true and do not have any problem with the actual doctrine, so now we are just helping them come back. Saturday, we watched Joseph Smith: The Prophet of The Restoration with a less-active young couple. Cindy really wants to come back and even watched conference! Austin is the boyfriend and is really great, but Cindy has expressed that he doesn't really have a testimony. They both are really friendly towards us, and even fed us dinner a few weeks ago. They also have a room-mate, Jake, who is less active(and has been about his whole life,) but gets into all kinds of stuff and they told us that he wouldn't be interested. Shortly after we started the movie, he came up to grab a beer and so we met him and he kept coming back to watch the movie and saying things like how upset he was that he was so intrigued, and that he swears he's seen the movie before. He kept popping in and out, and Cindy was making fun of him for being so interested. Eventually he joined us! After the movie we talked about it, and when we invited Austin and Cindy to read 2 Nephi 31 before we came back, Austin and Cindy happily said yes! Austin especially seemed like he really changed and wanted to learn more. We were also talking to Jake, and he kept telling us that he had more "doubts" than questions. But we got him to open up, and one thing that bothered him was that Joseph Smith died, when plenty of other prophets lived (he named some even, like Samuel the Lamanite). I told him that I had a few scriptures for him, and told him briefly about how they would help and asked which of the two scriptures I found he would like to hear, and he actually said both. So I read D&c 122:7-9, and D&C 135:3, which defiantly came through divine guidance! He didn't bring up that concern again, and agreed to read a chapter of the Book of Mormon and have us over just to see him next week! It's amazing to see people change, and I know that change is because they feel the spirit. That experience really was neat, especially since that same day, we were going to take two of our investigators to the Visitor Center, but we couldn't get a hold of them in the end so that fell through. I know that miracles will happen! I'm looking forward to this week, and I am just more and more convinced that when one door closes, another opens!

Tonight we are thrilled to see Brian get baptized! During his interview yesterday, we all were not sure how it would go, but he actually said "yes" to all of the questions, when normally it's harder to communicate to him, since his expressive language isn't as good as his recessive. But that was really neat to hear about, and we are going to be a bit busy today, since we promised to make 5 dozen cookies for after the baptism! (Brian's mother is the RS president, so we offered to take a little bit off her plate).  

I love you all :)

-Sister Cottrell 

October 10, 2016 update

Hi everyone! This week has was wonderful, and a few really neat things happened! We got a text from Tiana and Gavin asking us if we would go to their ward with them, which was really funny, because normally it's the missionaries and not the investigator asking if you'll go to church (we were planning on attending their ward with them anyway, but still)! After sacrament meeting, Gavin kept talking about how so many of his questions had been answered, and he also thanked us for sharing our testimonies. We are so very happy for them! The only bad news is that they have to move out from where they're staying, so they might leave to Rexberg this week. It's still up in the air, but in any case, I know that they will be fine and will keep progressing!

Tambree is super excited for her Baptism! It's such an neat experience teaching her, and I know that she really wants this for herself. We also have a baptismal date for Brian, who's such a sweetheart! Brain is 29 years-old and has down syndrome, but has recently wanted to help with preparing the sacrament. So they talked to our mission president and we get to teach him the lessons and prepare him for baptism! There is such a sweet spirit in the room whenever we teach him with his family. Last Wednesday night, we were teaching this really great boy named Tate with his less active mom. Tate had a friend over, who's also not a member. We were going to show the video "Because of Him," and Tate's mother asked his friend if it was alright if we showed the video, since his parents might not be okay with it. He said that should be fine, but then asked "does it have any swearing in the video?" Tate's mom just laughed and explained that we were the sister missionaries, and wouldn't show anything that wasn't appropriate. The lesson was really wonderful, and both boys were so engaged! We get to teach a variety of ages, and I have to admit that I really just love teaching kids! They can get so excited, and light just radiates from them.

We also had our Zone Training this week, and we talked a lot about having high expectations in the mission, but also making sure you have a high love for others. When we teach, you have to make sure you establish your purpose as a missionary, but at the same time, you must be able to love the people you teach. In addition to making sure you always remember your purpose and having a love for those you teach, I really have learned that you can't teach anything without the spirit to lead and guide you.

One thing that really stood out to me this week in personal scripture study was Ether 6:30, 7:27, and 10:2- There is this pattern in Ether where the righteous remember all of the tender mercies of the Lord to their fathers. Even among the Nephites, the prophets tell the people when calling them to repentence to remember how merciful the Lord was in bringing their fathers across to the promised land. I really feel that this can apply to us, for I find that the stories and miracles of my ancestors really help me with my testimony. We can even reflect back to our own lives, and find times when we have been blessed and strengthened through those tender mercies of the Lord. "..But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance" (1 Nephi 1:20). In seminary during my sophomore year, my teachers had us look for the hand of the Lord each day and to write those tender mercies down. When you do that, you'll find His hand more in your life than you think!

I love you all,

-Sister Cottrell

More Yellowstone pics!

Here are some more pics of Sister Cottrell visiting Yellowstone Park with some of the other sister missionaries from the Idaho Falls Mission.

Another 6 weeks in Sugar City!

First off, we just got transfer calls! I'm staying in the Sugar City Stake with Sister Crandall! I'm really so glad nothing is changing. Well, I guess that is only partly true, because Sister Dodd got her Visa last Tuesday and left just yesterday morning. She'll be wonderful in Samoa, but I'll defiantly miss her a ton!

This week was pretty crazy, for we had quite a few of our appointments fall through, and we had exchanges on two different days this week! Sister McIntosh (Sister Dodd's trainer) went on a exchange with me to work in my area on Wednesday, which was just a really neat experience. I learned a lot from her and we had a great time, even though we pretty much walked the entire day. On that note, since our miles were cut half way through the month, we hit our millage limit Tuesday. So we had to rely a few times on the amazing members to give us rides to Newdale, Sugar City, and Teton. Walking however was really nice, and we felt like hardcore missionaries! Friday, Sister McIntosh and Sister Crandall had another meeting, so Sister Dodd and I worked on the Campus half of the day and the rest in Sugar. Twice a week, from 10am till 1pm, the sisters serving on Campus have a booth set up to help get referrals, members to attend lessons with us, and so let the students know about Skype lessons! Being on Campus was really different, but we were able to set up a few lessons and we got some referrals. I actually ran into a few people I knew from my home YSA ward! It is such a small world!

We also got to help glean a field of potatoes! The brother who owns the land has a contract with a few companies, one of which is 5 guys! He also let us ride in the tracker they use to dig the potatoes up. We have been giving away the potatoes we collected to some of the people we teach and want to teach. Potatoes and cookies we have discovered softens hearts!

General Conference was really just amazing, as always! I learned so much and I really am glad I was able to receive all of the strength that I did. This weekend was seriously an emotional roller coaster, just with experiencing conference without my family, Sister Dodd leaving, and the general uncertainty of staying in my area or not. General Conference was just what I needed though, and I just was able to re-focus on my purpose as a missionary.

All of the talks had such a profound impact on me! I'll try to just share a few things that really stood out.

-Alma 5:23 "If you have received this mighty change of heart, can you feel so now?" I really loved how President Uchtdorf focused on the basic truths of the Plan of Salvation, and how all of us chose at the beginning to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior in our pre-mortal life. We work with a lot of less actives, and I feel that they just need to remember back to when they first gained a testimony, and focus on those simple truths that President Uchtdorf talked about. I think we can each evaluate our own testimonies, and see if we still feel the spirit strongly in our lives.

-Elder Neil L. Andersen and Elder Dallin H. Oaks! I liked their talks for hopefully obvious reasons... ;)
 I would really encourage everyone to prayerfully think about how they can apply the things they taught into their own lives!

-President Nelson's talk- "When we focus our lives on the Plan of Salvation and the gospel, joy enters into our lives."  "Missionaries teach and baptize to bring joy into the world!" President Russel M. Nelson really helped me more strongly remember in my purpose as a missionary and servant of the Lord! I can honestly say that this is the hardest thing I've ever done, but I'm also just so happy. I know that the joy I feel despite the stresses of missionary life is because I'm striving to serve others!

-If I had to pick a talk that hit me the most, I would have to say it was Elder Bednar's. The message of how selflessly serving others helps us give up our selfish desires and submit to his will really was just so powerful. I've been asking myself ever since yesterday if I truly know my Savior. We come to know the Lord when we are filled with his love and serve others, as Elder Bednar taught.

In my personal study, I've been really trying to think about what it truly means to "bear up your cross." 2 Nephi 9:18- they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it. (They are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ). It made me think about 1 Nephi 8:24-28, when one group of people were on the path, but became ashamed and fell away. In 3 Nephi 12:29-30, after Christ teaches the people the be-attitudes and to live the higher law, He then tells them to take up their cross. D&C 23:6 (the scripture that first made me want to study this more) is council to Joseph Knight to take up his cross and pray vocally before the world. In Mark 10:38-39 is the story of the rich young man, who Christ also councils to take up his cross. Those who take upon their cross and loses their life for Christ's sake shall find it. To me, taking up your cross is to give up that which might be hardest for you to give up or do, and follow Christ. I think we each have our own different crosses that we have to recognize. We can't take up our cross by ourselves. We need to use the enabling power of the Atonement and have faith in our Savior!

I love you all! I love this work, and I'm so thankful for the blessing of a latter-day Prophet. I'm ever hopeful for the work here, as I get to serve another 6 weeks in Sugar City!

-Sister Cottrell

P-Day Visit to Yellowstone Park

The missionaries in the Idaho Falls mission get to visit Yellowstone Park once during their mission and we received these wonderful photos of some awesome sister missionaries at Yellowstone on their P-Day. Thanks to the family who gave them a ride, took photos, and were amazing tour guides!