Tues. April 10, 2012

Hello! It's a miracle! I'm alive :) The Easter Pageant was sooooo fun! I saw so many people I knew! It was crazy! I saw my 9th grade semenary teacher, Brother John, Sister Honey and another family from my home ward, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Greg, Cousins- Chelsea and Lindsey, Brett Hadley from school (I went to a dance with him) Jeff Horne and Kaycee Anderson (they came to my farewell) and Mike Tingey's uncle! Probably even a few more than that that I am forgetting.. but it was sooooo awesome! It was a good week over all.

P-day last week wasn't really a p-day. We had zone activity though which was fun. We played a game and then "bahama bucks" and then went and played mini golf. By the time that was over all we had time for was study and head to the pageant. We didn't want to study, but sacrifice brings forth blessings, right? I med a guy named Jake and his friend becky who is a member. I've been working with Jake at the visitors center. We've been having really good conversations but he is one of those people that just likes to get a rise or a reaction out of people. But with the spirit I was able to teach to everyone of his concerns which was a blessing. 

On tuesday we had our investigator run away from us! Literally... We teach like 3 people in one apartment complex, and word gets around. Frankly I don't like teaching people there. It's sketchy and all they do is make fun of us... whatev. 

I got some really REALLY awesome packages from mom and cory for Easter. I was praying for a new Easter outfit. Prayer works. Clothes get REALLY old really fast out here. I can't imagine what Elders feel like. I was able to give out lots of candy too to little kids and make a little Easter surprise for my companion which was really nice! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!! Means so much to me!

We had our zone meeting and i had to give a talk, so I freaked out about it, studied for weeks for it, but then we ran out of time and I only had to talk for a couple minutes.

We also did a training in district meeting that went well i think! That was my first of many i'm sure. 

I've been out a whole month! I can't decide how I feel about that...

The last day of the pageant was on Saturday. I was exhausted! Definitely ups and downs. We woke up extra early and went to the VC and took pictures with a photographer on the Easter pageant stage (I'll send some home) and had a meeting. After we did a primary activity for the kids for easter. It was kinda frustrating because I didn't know the vocabulary in spanish.. but it was ok I suppose. If there is one thing I have learned on my mission, it comes from Ether 12:6 after the trial of your faith comes the blessings! I was chuggin along all day, just tryin to get through and tryin to be diligent (but not wanting to) and I had an impression to call Alex (the kid I committed to baptism in the VC like the second day I got here). I told him to come to the pageant- not thinking he would. But he DID. He came and found me and said that he was thinking about it and he wants to get married to his girlfriend in the temple and he's going to get baptized as soon as he can!! That was a good feeling. I have to turn him over to the missionaries in his area though, but I'll get to go to his baptism i think and hopefully I'll be working at the temple when they get married in a year! That'd be cool :) Also he came with a friend and I committed him to meet with the missionaries too! Prepared people for sure. Sister Fors kept saying to wait and see all the blessings that will come out of sacrificing time in our area for the easter pageant. So I was patient! We hadn't had any success for a while it seemed like. 

Did everyone have a good Easter?! :) We woke up and went to ward counsel but we worked in the VC during our church so we had to find a random sacrament to go to. We found one at the stake center in ENGLISH. It was the first time I actually got something out of church to be honest and I didn't leave with a headache! Refreshing. Mexicans have this special dessert for easter called "capirotado" or something. It was the first time I almost gagged while eating something. It was nuts- peanuts, walnuts and every other kind of nut you can think of and cocunut and sprinkles on top of bread! I'm not a picky eater.. but they picked everything I cant stand and put it on my plate. It was the hardest thing i've ever had to do to eat that thing. 

A guy came in the VC that day and it was really sad. We have a lot of people that are in the middle of getting a divorce come in just to feel peace. Its hard not to counsel people when you're a missionary. His wife cheated on him and he found out on his birthday and he's not aloud to see his kids.. long story.. but I just gave him a conference talk to read and a chapter from the book of mormon that I thought might help.

We had another investigator drop us! Man...  "After the trial of your faith comes the blessings" .... "how true that is" (as Brian Regan would say it" So yesterday we were having a rough day. Our sleeping schedule has been... well.. no sleep and it finally caught up to us. Sister Fors and I wanted to throw in the towel. But.. of course we couldn't. We had our first real "companionship inventory" that didn't go so well but we decided to try and make our weaknesses, strengths. We were diligent and because we kept going, we met 2 girls in a trailer pard and they basically ran up to us and begged us to teach them. They're only in 7th grade but they had some really deep questions and really wanted to learn. We asked them to be baptized and they said yes! :) Afterwards we prayed for guidance on where to go next. We both got the impression to go somewhere we really didn't want to go because last time we went there we had no success. Well.. we went anyway and we met a friend of a former investigator, taught him and we set a date for his baptism!!! We were dancing around the rest of the night. He is so prepared. I told him it wasn't a coincidence that we stopped by and he agreed and said that God sent us there. Good feeling!

Hey! I'm going to start doing a challenge to whoever reads my emails with a chapter to read in the Book of Mormon. I pray for you guys constantly and I want to be a missionary to you guys too! So this week is Mormon 9 :)

Love you,
SFTE :)

Caminar con fe

Ps- sorry this email is so scattered

Love,
Sister Cottrell