01.30.17

So there are some new changes in the missionary schedule! The biggest change is that instead of daily planning at night, we are now planning in the morning, which allows us to go to bed early if we want to after we get home. We also have only half and hour of both the 12 week program for new missionaries, and for lunch (instead of the hour for each). They also changed the "key Indicators," which are basically the numbers that we send in every week and make every day, to only four that we need to report. Those four are baptisms and confirmations, new investigators, investigators to sacrament, and investigators on date. That is a huge change from before, when we would report all of the different kinds of lessons we would teach. We also have two more hours on preparation day so we can have more time to clean and do laundry, which will be nice, but it wasn't a change that any of us were expecting!

This week we had some amazing things happen! At church, we had a whole less active family come to church this week (parents included!), in addition to three more individuals, one of them for the first time in years. One thing that me and my companion were talking about the other day was how hard it can be when those you grow to love and care about don't keep commitments and change their lives. We just have to remind ourselves in those moments the importance of doing all we can to teach with the spirit and teach repentance, but to remember that everyone has their own agency. Yet, it's so wonderful when we are able to witness others using their agency for good, and truly repenting and acting on their faith.

We have had to move both of our baptisms for next week back, but I feel just at peace with it, and we really want to make sure they are ready! It will just be pushed back a few weeks for one, just so the father who's baptizing her can be fully ready, and about a month back for our other investigator, who is a sweetie and is really excited, but his Grandparents want to make sure he is really ready. But it will happen, and so we are just thrilled for the both of them!

Yesterday was pretty busy! Spoke in one ward about fellow shipping and including others in the community, and in another ward we taught a combined adult and youth 5th Sunday lesson with our awesome Ward Mission Leader. We taught about how to use Preach My Gospel to strength families. I've been changing so much since I've been out, for even though I'm still learning (there's a lot I need to learn!), and I couldn't do anything without the Spirit, I've learned so much about teaching and it seems so natural when you do trust in Heavenly Father after you have done all you can to prepare. One thing that I would encourage everyone to do is find a way to incorporate Preach My Gospel in your daily scripture study. Even though it is centered on missionary work, there are some amazing chapters about developing Christ-like attributes, enhancing your personal study, and it hold the doctrine that every member needs to know! We really can all benefit from it, and even though I studied it a bit before coming out, I wish as a youth I dived into it more. 

I was thinking about how long I've been honored to serve in the Sugar City Stake, and I've meet so many wonderful people. I've been a bit nervous with transfer calls coming up next week, and I just have grown to deeply love everyone I've been able to meet.

With love,

-Sister Cottrell

01.16.17

This week we had our Zone Conference, and I feel that I just learned so much (as always)! One of the main things that they focused on is cleansing the "inner vessel", and making sure you yourself are converted, so that you can help convert others.

Thursday I was sick for the entire day, which is really hard as a missionary. One of the "tender mercies" I received is that I literally slept the entire day, which helped me not to be left to my thoughts of wishing things were different. I was able to even get back to work the next day without feeling too bad, which is a blessing in itself!

We were also able to schedule a dinner appointment with this family who has a foreign exchange student living with them, who is from Austria. He is just a sweetheart and super friendly! He's Catholic, but has been going to church with the family and has really loved it. He just loves it here, and even got an extension to stay for the rest of the school year. He even mentioned to us that even though he loves school, the people, and just Idaho in general, he feels that if he didn't get his extension, he would have been missing something that he expressed that he gets out of church. He agreed to meet with us and wants to learn more, and we are excited for him! So, the husband of the one couple we taught the other day at one of our Bishop's homes, actually was in a car accident just this past week, but luckily he will be alright. They actually still want to continue to meet with us, and want to bring along their 6-year-old boy with them next time as well! It will be such a neat experience teaching a whole family, and they really are just so great and very sweet people, who have been through a lot.

One neat experience I had this week was when we were teaching one of our less-actives, and before we started the conversation led to a certain gospel principle, and she asked if a future lesson we could focus on that, since she feels at this point in her life she really needs to hear it again. I thought about how often we focus on "teaching people, not lessons" and changing what we might have planned to whatever the Spirit directs. We could have changed our lesson to focusing on the topic she brought up right there, but I felt that we needed to stick with what we had planned, so I presented the topic, and she just started tearing up. She told us that actually what we were going to teach that day has been pressing on her mind that whole week, and that we must had been truly inspired. Later, when talking with my companion, she said that her first thought was also to change what we had planned, but that something felt right about not changing the lesson, and sticking to the topic prepared for her. It just really added to my testimony that the Holy Ghost really will direct us to exactly what we need to teach, and just how mindful Heavenly Father is of each and everyone of His children's needs.

So this week, I thought I would just share something that really stood out to me about missionary work, and I think it can be applied to everyone's "life mission"! So in Mosiah 8:7-8, King Limhi sends out a group to try and find the people in the land of Zarahemla, and they then discovered the remains of the Jaredites, and the records they left behind. They must have felt that they failed in their purpose, for the searched "for the space of many days, yet they were diligent," and yet, they thought that perhaps the people of the land of Zarahemla had been destroyed. Often I feel that we may think that we are failing in some way in our own lives, but we might just not realize what The Lord has in store for us. Because of this group's diligence, they were able to find the plates that contained the records of the Jaredites. We need to remember that through out our journey, even when we think that we are failing at one thing, we need to just continue to trust in what Heavenly Father has in store for us. As long as we are striving to follow our Savior, I know that He will lead us to fulfill our life missions.

Here are some scriptures on trust that I just love and thought I would share really quick: Proverbs 16:20, Nahum 1:7, Jacob 7:25, and Alma 38:5!

I have such a testimony of the gospel and I know that as we each strive to change for the better, even if it just is a little bit at a time, we can see amazing blessings.
I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

-Sister Cottrell

A picture that one of our Ward Mission Leaders sent to us, which I thought was ridiculous!

Saturday we helped this family we have been teaching move, which was really bittersweet! But they are just leaving to go to Rexberg, which is not too far away! A lot of the missionaries nearby came to help!

Sister Cottrell's photos from her mission

Sister Cottrell with her companion Sister Camarena

01.09.17

So, a Bishop invited us and the non-member couple I mentioned last week for dinner and a lesson! They are both just so amazingly sweet and friendly. They are from Michigan and really are interested in learning and drawing closer to God. They enthusiastically accepted our invitation to read the Book of Mormon and meet with us again! This is the second time I've been able to teach someone in a Bishop's home, and it really is just so great. They are always so warm and gracious, and really add to the discussion. The couple we taught both have had a lot of trials and hardships in their lives, and again, are just at this point where they are feeling like something is missing. They only recently moved up here, and so far they love the people.We also have two more investigators in addition to the two we taught at one of our Bishop's homes, which really is amazing. Both of which are actually children, but their family is also willing to listen in and progress, which is really exciting for them! The best situation is when you get to teach whole families, and help them on their journey to come closer to our Redeemer together. 

Thursday was exchanges, so I went to Rexberg again with Sister Settle, another Sister in the Zone. I learned a lot, and we were able to teach really well together, which was really neat for the both of us! One thing I learned in particular is that you really are a successful missionary when you're obedient, stick to Preach My Gospel, and teach through the spirit. 

Last night, we tried this one part member family, which I never have only once been in with before. The mother is super super sweet, they have five kids at home, and recently the father was deported. She has strong feelings against the Book of Mormon, and tells every missionary that has ever been in to only share from the Bible. She even tells her home teacher (who is absolutely awesome!) that they are not allowed to share from the Book of Mormon, either. While we were there though, she opened up about her problems with the church (or even if God is really there), and that she never has felt that she has ever received an answer to her prayers before. She joked that if God is there, she must be the "forgotten child". She also has read the Book of Mormon five times, and has really done her research about the Church. I was even impressed by how well she knew the history of the church. As we talked, I was careful not to share anything from the Book of Mormon, but finally there was a scripture that really needed to be shared, and when asked, she said we could read it to them. She kept saying things like "I have no idea what's going on, I have never told any of the past missionaries any of my concerns or any of this, and I've never let anyone share from the Book of Mormon in my home before. It must have been something I ate." But I think Heavenly Father really is looking after her and her wonderful family, and she seems like she's at a point in her life where she's open. We left on a good note, and she said that she would think about meeting with us regularly, to try once again to pray to Heavenly Father. After our invitation, she did say that they would have family prayers. She was so funny, telling us not to get our hopes up, but to check in with her Mondays, when she puts together her schedule, and gave us her number. She also said that if we were to meet with her, we were more than welcomed to invite her home teacher over as well, who the family is super close to. 

Spiritual thought: In Matt. 16:26, it talks a little bit about what a man would give for his own soul. I like to cross reference that with Alma 22:15, when King Limoni's father tells Aaron that he would give up all that he possessed, even the whole kingdom. It made me thing about what I would actually give up, and if I could give it all. I love this gospel, and I'm preparing myself each and every day to be a worthy servant, and to be willing to lose my life to find it (Matt. 16:25). 

I love each and everyone of you! 

-Sister Cottrell 

P.S. Anyone who knows me well knows that I get cold easily... but it's alright, I'm only doing my best to survive Antarctic-like weather. You grow to love the  -20 degree, dry, Idaho climate, but at least we have snow! ;)  

01.02.17!

Happy New Year! It's amazing to think about how I'll be on a mission the entire year of 2017! I definitely want to improve all I can as a missionary, so hopefully by the end of this year, I'll have things figured out! On a serious note, I really do feel so blessed to be here, and I can't believe that I'll be back in a little over a year. So, for New Year's eve we of course weren't allowed to go out and proselyte, or on New Year's Day. So we mostly just hung out with our zone and with members, which was great!  

Last Tuesday, when we met with our new investigator, we invited her to be baptized on Jan. 28th, and she said she would prepare herself for that date! We will also have two baptisms set for that following week, which will be such an exciting day! I feel like now that I'm looking for those miracles that occur everyday, I'm starting to see more and more of Heavenly Father's hand in the work. Just yesterday, we received a call from one of our Bishops, telling us that he had talked to this young non-member family that moved into the ward a few weeks ago, and they are in a point in their lives where they just feel like they need direction. They also have had very little interaction with the church, and so he has slowly brought up the subject of religion, and just recently he invited them to take the discussions from us, and they said yes! Also, apparently for the last two weeks this other non-member family has been attending their ward, which is again just amazing. 

So, here is a fun story from this week. This one home we tried (they ended up not being home), like 10 cute little puppies came out from the back yard, and they just kept jumping on us and yipping like crazy, which was adorable and all, until we had to go- so it was hard to walk with a swarm of puppies around you, and when we got in the car (which was a struggle in itself), they were all just still jumping up and down, and we didn't want to drive away and maybe squish one of them. So Sister Camarena got out to have them run after her, and I would drive away a bit, and then she would run and jump in. But she couldn't out run them, so we struggled for a good 5 minutes trying to figure out how to get the puppies off our our backs, when finally another car drove by, and the puppies followed that car, which helped us make our escape! I never thought I would have that kind of dog story on my mission! Although, we had a good laugh about it. :)

-2 Nephi 4

Shortly after Lehi passes away, Nephi writes the things of his soul, in which he talks about in verse 20 how the Lord as been his support. One question that I thought about to go along with this, is just how has the Lord been your support through your own afflictions? I have found that it really is through those hard times and trials that I realize just how aware Heavenly Father is of me personally. I would just invite everyone to think about how they can draw closer to the Savior this year, and see His hand more in their lives.

I love you all!

-Sister Cottrell