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!
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!
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