it’s warming up

Hey family!!

How's it going? Thanks for all the e-mails!

This week has been awesome! We are working with a lot of good people. Two of which are set with a baptismal date! Miguel and Cecilia. Miguel's sister is an active member in the ward. He is so prepared! Cecilia is his wife. They are sweet!

So we had an awesome Relief Society dinner this last week. Everyone brought a dish typical of their country. There was so much good food! I was full to the brim by the end. There was tamales, papusas, ribs Mexican style, corn cake, and many that I don't know the name for. 

We had an awesome Zone conference this last week. Elder Duncan of the first quorum of the 70 came and gave us some training. The thing that struck me most was probably when we talked about how to love the people who are hard to love--those who yell at us and say things about us that are wrong to other people. We must look at them as the Savior sees them--children of our Heavenly Father who have great potential. He loves them, and when they revile us, we must share that message of love. Service is one way we show it. There is much good that we can do.

I love you all so much! Take care.

Yours,

Hna. Cottam

a white sabbath

Hey all! not much time so it's going to be super short
We had a baptism! Martin, the brother of Eduardo, got baptized yesterday! It was wonderful. He was so prepared.
We found a lot of new people to teach this week as well which has been good.
I hope you all have a great week!
love,
Hna. Cottam

it's getting warmer:)

Dear family,

I don't have a lot of time so this will be short(er than usual).

It's been a good week. We didn't teach a lot but we got some new investigators and referrals so we should be able to teach a lot more this coming week. I'm excited for good things that will come :)

Hna. Camejo had a great birthday! We had lunch with a member and our recent convert Maricruz. It was fun and the food was delicious!

The weather is getting warmer here for the time being. I was able to go to church without a coat on! It was nice.

Church was beautiful on Sunday. I love going each week and partaking of the sacrament. It's so refreshing and allows us to truly take part in the atonement.

I love this work.

Have a wonderful week!

Yours,

Hna. Cottam

charity: the pure love of Christ

Dearest Family,

First of all, here's an update on our investigators:

Martin is still progressing toward baptism. He came to church with his brother (who got baptized last month) and has been very receptive to the message. He has such a sincere heart. He's awesome.

We got a chance to talk to Antonio on Thursday. We tried to find out what his doubt was. Well, he is stuck on poligamy. It's the only thing he says is keeping him from believing that Joseph Smith was a prophet. We told him to read and to pray with sincerity that he can overcome it. I hope he is able to soon.

It's my companion's birthday tomorrow! She has been practically celebrating it since Saturday :) We went to a great Chinese buffet today and many members want to feed us this week to celebrate.

In my education classes back at BYU I learned that understanding doesn't really come until we gain experience with the thing we are trying to understand. That has been very true for me this week in learning about Charity. "charity, which is the pure love of Christ" I'd heard this countless times but never knew just how to develop it.

Charity is looking at others as the Savior sees them (thanks for sharing this, Mom). It is avoiding negative thoughts about them or judging them. It's not something you gain overnight, but must be developed day by day, with fervant prayer and sometimes fasting. It is one of the sweetest of the attributes of Christ and one of the most important. With out it, we are nothing. It is having patience--the Lord is patient with us; we must be patient too. It is seeking and expecting the best of people. "Seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." 

Make it a great week. I love you all!

Sincerely,
Hna. Cottam