Dear family,
This is going to be a quick one.
We have been doing well as the weather has heated up.
We had a wonderful stake conference (canada-wide) yesterday. Our three recent converts all came and afterward we challenged them to prepare to go to the temple to do baptisms with the youth in July. They all said they would :) We're excited for them.
I hope this finds you all well!
Yours,
Hna. Cottam
Dear family,
We're doing well on our end. Jose came to church and has a date for june 17th. He slipped once on the word of wisdom with the coffee but has recommitted to live it. :)
Raul also came to church for the first time! He was able to come because of the holiday. Everyone had work off. We have a date set for July 1st.
We are working on finding new investigators this week and helping the few we have progress. We want to continue with the list of members we have not yet contacted as well.
We continue on with faith and we will achieve those 65 in June!
Something that touched me recently is Matt. 10:39 which says that he who loses his life for the Lord's sake will find it. Lately I've been having a hard time forgetting myself in this work. But I know that as I strive to do so, to depend on the Spirit and not myself and to put my whole self into the work, then the Lord can make out of me a true missionary and more than I could ever become on my own. I love the Lord and I love this work.
Have a wonderful week
yours,
Hna. Cottam
15 MINUTES LATER
I got a little extra time so here's a little more :)
Yesterday was Victoria day. It sounded like the fourth of July with all the fireworks going off :)
As my half-way mark came and went this last week it has given me cause to stop and ponder how I could improve and progress as a missionary. My time here is really so very short and I'm amazed that I'm already half way. I feel like I have so much more to learn.
Well,
have a great week!
Hna Cottam
Dear family,
Transfers are this week...and we're staying in Black Creek for six more weeks! :) We're happy because of what we've got planned with the fireside and the movie in the park.
We didn't get anyone to church this last week. We will make that part of our focus this week since if they don't get to church they can't progress!
Jose is doing well. He was working a job out of town and wasn't able to come back for church, but he's been reading and praying and has quit drinking coffee! He says he's also been praying about his date and is feeling more at peace about it. He is progressing well. The Diaz family didn't come because their son who's on a mission called during the hour of sacrament meeting. The wife has been reading a praying, but the husband not so much. Raul still hasn't been able to get work off on sundays. We're not sure what more to do with him to help him at this point, but there is still hope that he will make it to his june date.
Our recent converts are doing well. Two of them are coming every week and the other comes every other or so.
It was nice to talk to you all on the phone yesterday. Congrats again Jacob! and enjoy your time in Cali!
The weather has really started to warm up here so this morning we decided to take a jog for our morning exercise. It was beautiful. Many times at night we end up running the last stretch home to make it on time and last night Hna. Camejo said something insightful of how we were running to spread the news of the gospel. In the Bible after Christ's resurrection we see two instances where the disciples ran to tell others. At the end of Matthew, the women who had gone to the tomb were told by the angels to go quickly to tell the others that Christ had risen and was coming. They then ran back. Then we read at the end of John that Peter and John hear of the news and run to see the tomb. They arrive and they see the linens folded neatly and they believe. From this we learn that there should be a sense of urgency in the work. Our time is short, and it's getting shorter, but there's so much yet to do. We can't go about doing it with a slow gait; we must run as fast as we have strength. The Lord wants us to be "anxiously engaged" in a good cause (D&C 58:8-9). What better cause then that of declaring the glad tidings of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Start now, and just as you build up stamina as you run each day physically (which is what I am starting to do), you can build it as you do His work.
I love you all!
Yours,
Hna. Cottam
Dearest family,
Our mission is working on a mission-wide goal right now of 65 baptisms in June. We have to find them this month and so far we have a couple of prospects:
Jose we met last week and he came to church. We taught him again last night with a member and he's doing well. He wants to know if it's true and wants to study and find out for himself. We taught him the word of wisdom last night and he is willing to try to give up coffee. We have a date set for the 20th of May :)
Raul is still having trouble getting work off. He was almost able to come and alternate sundays with his friend Ernesto who just got baptized but than his boss said no again. He is leaving it in the Lord's hands now. He has a strong desire to be baptized and feels that what we are teaching is true. We are praying hard for him. We have a tentative date for June 10th. All things are possible with God :)
The Diaz family have not been progressing much. They have not come to church the last two Sundays and we have a hard time getting ahold of them. We were able to set a baptismal date for june 3rd with them on Wednesday. Now it's up to them.
We also met a few new families this week :) We'll see where it goes.
We alsohave a fireside set for June 3rd!!! We're excited. Sister Padrone (in the stake relief society presidency)and her husband have agreed to speak on the Book of Mormon. We plan to invite all the Spanish members from the stake to bring their friends. It's going to be good :)
I can't wait to talk to ya'll next Sunday!
Make it a great week!
Yours,
Hna. Cottam
P.S. Awesome quote be Bob Moorehead: 的 am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide is reliable..... I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, back up, or let up...until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ! I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." (Romans 1:16)
love you all!
