Transfer 1, week 1

Hola from Toronto!!!

I'm in an area just outside downtown Toronto called Black Creek. We get to ride the buses and I rode the subway for the first time the other day! We also do a fair amount of walking.

My first impression as we came in for landing was that this place looked like a mix of Seattle and Alaska--big city, but foreign land. They weren't kidding when they said it is a melting pot here! There are so many different cultures and we meet so many different cultures. Ukranians, Hungarians, Muslims, many Hispanics, Jamiacans, Philipinos :), and Koreans, Vietnamese, along with the Canadians. It was a bit of a culture shock but I'm getting used to it now.

We spent the first night in the Mission home. I loved it there. I felt comfortable right away. I love Pres. and Sis. Scott. They are awesome. And there is a senior couple who cooked our meals while there named the Rotos. They are from Argentina. :) Tuesday morning we went through some orientation, had lunch, and met our trainers. My companion is Hna Brown. She's from Payson, UT and this is her second to last transfer. She's been in this area for most of her mission so she knows it really well and knows the people really well. It's been nice to have that anchor. We get along really well and encourage eachother in improving.

As to the work, we are doing a ton of finding right now and trying to get the members aquainted with me. We have one official investigator right now--Juan. He is soft set for the 20th of Nov. He is golden (when we can get ahold of him...). He has stopped drinking alcohol and coffee (he stopped drinking coffee on the spot when we told him we don't drink it!). He even bought a suit for church. Hopefully we can get him there next week!

The weather is chilly here. There are some very rainy days and cloudy days and now and then we see some blue sky. I did get to see Lake Ontario the other day! We were down in a building near the lake trying to visit an in-active member and decided to knock some doors, so we went to the top floor. The view from the window was awesome. I didn't realize we were so close to the lake at that point. It's big :)

We also teach an English Class here. We don't have very many students at the moment so Hna Brown and I have been doing some blitzing (putting up flyers) to try to get more students. I loved going to church yesterday as well. I love the members here! and I learned the word for welcome: bienvenido. :) pretty much all of them have said it to me.

Anyway, thanks for the e-mails ya'll! I am only just beginning to see the potential here and in me for the work to progress. I love the Lord and I know that when we have faith in Him, all things are possible.

Keep in touch!

Yours,

Hna Cottam