t1w6

Well....what a week, to say the least.

The week was going on as usual, though we had few appointments that went through. Then came Thursday. We had recieved a call from the assistants to the president. They talked to Hna. Brown for a while and they talked to me about the trainging program and how it differed from the MTC. They also asked how I liked one of the other sisters who had come out with me from the MTC. Well, I didn't think much of it. We then went to talk to a potential investigator. As we were telling him a little about the restoration, the phone rang again. Hna. Brown looked at it and said, I HAVE to take this. So we quickly said goodbye and she said it was the mission president. Okay, I thought. Now I knew something must be going on, but still wasn't sure. A little later the assistants called again and Hna. Brown handed the phone to me, saying, don't be scared. It's going to be okay. Wow. Okay, something definitely was going on. The assistant told me that they were doing an emergency transfer. Hna. Brown would leave the next morning to the neighboring area and the sister they'd asked me about earlier would become my new companion. ... ya. The transfer went off without a hitch.

So, my new companion's name is Hna. Camejo. She is full of life and fire. She talks to EVERYONE! She is just what we needed to jump start this area. She strives so hard to be obediant and to do all she can to forward the work. Thankfully she speaks Spanish fluently. As I said, we came from the MTC at the same time so we are now our own trainers--thankfully we have the new 12-week training program and the other missionaries in our district to guide us. What's funny is that we had talked about getting to work together. We just didn't expect it to be so soon.

We haven't gotten lost, yet. Of course, It has helped to have a map ;) 

Aside from the area benefitting, this transfer has greatly benefitted me.

The last few days have been very humbling. I can't lean on Hna. Brown, who had been in the area for 11 months, anymore, her knowledge of how to get around and where the best places to go are, etc. We have to rely totally on the Lord now, on His spirit and guidance. And as I have humbled myself, I have seen His hand. I am so grateful for this opportunity, for the trust the Lord has in us, even though we are super new still to the mission. It's incredible how He directs His work and how He places us in situations that will help us grow the most and become the type of missionary He wants to be.

This work will move forward. I can feel it. There are many miracles waiting just around the corner :)

The Lord is truly in control. It is His work. and I know that He will guide us to those who are prepared if we but listen and hearken to His Spirit, If we will keep our eyes peeled for them. "Open your mouth and spare not!" He said. Well, that's what we plan to do.

Have a wonderful week.

Yours,

Hna. Cottam

T1-W5

Dear family,

Wow, Time is flying by! A month already! and yet so slowly too :) This week felt extra long. Probably because of the many things that happened.

The highlights were that we had a leadership training on Thursday. All of those in the 12-week training program were invited to come as well. It was so good! We went to the Toronto Stake Center (one of the biggest meeting houses in the church, actually--has 3 or more floors!) and had a day full of meetings. We role-played and were fed by the good word. We also had an open forum on the training program--the good and bad of it. Well, we only came up with one or two bads :). The main one was the amount of time we spend in the apartment watching paint peel...With the training program we add an hour to our companionship study, Which if you include language study and personal study adds up to 4 hours just studying. But it is so worth it! The whole point, even though we may feel like we're wasting time now, is to get us up to speed faster for later. Go slow now, so we can go faster later! And I love everything I am learning from it. I'm so grateful to get to use it! It helps me know where to improve and how! And it helps us focus the training so I get the stuff I need to know to be effective.

Anyway, That night it got pretty down right cold for the next two days, but it warmed up again yesterday. No real snow yet, but I'm kind of glad for that since I don't have boots yet.

Friday, the sisters did an exchange. So I went with Sister Petty and Hna. Brown went with Sister Petty's companion, Sis. Woo. It was different doing English work for a day! But it was good. Sis. Petty is awesome! She is so friendly and upbeat with everyone. You can see that she loves everyone. We taught two lessons and did some door contacting. I've been waiting to work with her to let some of her cheerfulness rub off on me. And it did :). OYM's are a little easier now, because I just try to be happy and interested in the person.

Yesterday we had our first ward council with the new bishop. He is so missionary minded! The Elders who also serve in our ward got to meet with him earlier that day and discuss some things. We are really starting to focus on getting the members more involved. This last week in our studies, that was one of the topics, and I can see how having members more involved would help us in the work. Then the investigators (and new members!) would have someone else to also encourage them and to support them through these hard changes.

One of our investigators wants to be baptized!!! We don't have a date set, but he realized in the last lesson that baptism is key. I'm excited for him! I hope he keeps progressing. With him, it's kind of hard to tell where it's going to end up, but people can surprise you :)

have a great week!

Hna. Cottam

T1, W3

Mi familia,

The highlight of the week is that we have 3 new investigators!!! our efforts to find people to teach are starting to pay off. We've been going through the area book and stopping by old contacts. We've also gotten a couple of referals from others. yesterday's was probably the one I'm most excited about. He is a friend of an in-active member who wants to start coming back to church. He had us over yesterday and invited his friend over. We also brought a recent convert with us. Marcelo, the friend, has been searching for peace in his life for a long time. He's had a rough life. I'm so grateful for the friendship of that in-active member who because of him, lead us to Marcelo. I know this gospel can help him find the peace he seeks. I can't wait to see him really use the atonement in his life. It feels like he's ready. He even committed to come to church next sunday. I feel like he is super ready!

We've been seeing the fruits of our efforts to advertize for our ESL class. our numbers have really gone up since I got here. It's exciting to see, and hopefully something more will come of it. Hna. Brown and I had five students last class!

The weather has been staying mild. We've had some blue skies the last few days. Oh, It's wonderful. I'm surprised it hasn't snowed yet (knock on wood). The other day, Sis. Dodge, the senior sister in our district, said that it was colder in Idaho than here (that was Wednesday). But it will probably cool off soon.

Since Canadian Thanksgiving was in October, Christmas preparations are already underway here. Hna. Brown and I want to decorate our apartment a little and we've started listening to some christmas music. It's fun :) We might get a Thanksgiving dinner from a member when the American Thanksgiving rolls around. I think we've had two offers so far :).

I have a testimony of the gospel, it's simplicity. I know that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He doesn't change, neither do His commandments and church. I'm so grateful for the restoration and for the gospel in my life, the peace and security it has brought me. I want so much to share it with others so they can find that peace also.

The church is true. It has been restored. And it's up to all of us to get the word out :) The Lord is preparing people to recieve it, we just have to find them and bring them into the gate of baptism.

Have a wonderful week, ya'll!

Yours,

Hna. Cottam

T1-W2 (Transfer 1–Week 2)

Hola! Happy Halloween!

Well, don't have a lot of time right now because my district went to China Town today, so it will be a short e-mail.

The work is still slow but we are pressing forward trying to find the elect, those who have been prepared to receive His gospel. We have contacted some people who may be interested, so we'll see! For my companionship, our vision for November is "As we sow, so shall we reap" so we gotta dig deep to reap :)

Saturday we had a fun activity with the youth. They had a mini mission, with some meetings and then they came out with us for a few hours. We had four of the young women with us. We did some contacting and had an appointment with a recent convert. It was great! I loved working with them. The street contacting was my favorite part.

Well, all the best!

love,

Hna. Cottam

P.S. I do have a winter coat now. It was left by one of the other sisters and fits well. I hope it will be warm.

 

I have a little more time to give you all this thought:

Today as I studied about the Book of Mormon and conversion, I thought about a doubt that we encountered this last week. We started talking to a man on the street and he threw at us Rev. 22: 18-19 that says to not add any words to the book (the Bible as a whole to his mind), and he said that prophets were only a thing of the past and we don't need them now because we have the Spirit to guide us. I tried to find some scriptures to counter it this morning, but I realized that someone like that, even if I found a scripture that said exactly what I needed it to in the Bible, they wouldn't beleive it, or would come up with something else to discount it. In D&C 20 the Lord says how the Book of Mormon is the evidence that we do have prophets today, that he is the same today, yesterday, and forever. So, the best way to counter such doubts is to invite them to read and ask for themselves. I know the Book of Mormon is a powerful tool in conversion. It helps us gain a testimony and learn of Christ.
I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life, to have the knowledge of my Savior and his gospel. I want others to know it too, to have the joy and clearness in their lives. Every door that doesn't open or door that closes, I ache a little because they are missing out on something much bigger than us all. I love the Lord. I love this Gospel. And I hope to share it with as many as I can. Have a great week everyone.

Oh, and we finally have one new investigator! a member referal. I hope it goes well :)

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

Where Sister Cottam Lives

She lives in the house behind the tree and the dumpster…on the right-hand side of the picture.

Sister Cottam

Brother and Sister Russell Cottam

285 Hall Street

Blackfoot, ID  83221

20 October 2011

Dear Brother and Sister Cottam:

We are grateful to receive your daughter, Sister Rebekah Ruth Cottam, as a new missionary in the Canada Toronto Mission.  We are including a picture that we took with her at the mission home when she arrived.  Her testimony and enthusiasm for the work are evident.  As her mission president and wife, we thank you for the sacrifice that was made to prepare her to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As parents who have sent children on missions, we recognize the feelings involved in sending a son or daughter on a full-time mission for the Lord.

A dedicated service to the Lord brings many blessings to many people.  As a full-time servant of the Lord, Sister Cottam, will be blessed with a greater knowledge of the gospel, as well as a stronger testimony.  She will touch the hearts of many people, and those whom she will teach will be able to change their lives as they receive the peace and knowledge that comes through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost.  King Mosiah related the comforting message from the Lord that he received when he inquired about sending his sons into the service of the Lord: “Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life.” (Mosiah 28:7).  The Lord relates in Doctrine and Covenants 84:80-85 that His Elders and Sisters will be taken care of well.  It requires a lot of faith, but we know that the Lord is watching over us all.

After prayerful consideration, Sister Aimee L. Brown, one of the outstanding missionaries in the mission, has been called to be your daughter’s first companion and trainer.  Sister Cottam’s current address is:

75 Upwood Ave.

North York, ON

M6L 3A4

Canada

We are sure that Sister Cottam, will love her mission as she stays dedicated and focused on the Lord’s work.  We promise to love and care for her.  We testify of the truthfulness of this marvellous work of bringing souls to a knowledge of the Savior.

Serving a full time mission can be the most significant and rewarding experience in a young person’s life.  It is rigorous and challenging and requires great spiritual focus.  Successful and happy missionaries abide by a strict code of conduct and obedience.  Enclosed herewith is a copy of some of the conduct expectations of our missionaries that may be helpful for you to have as you support and sustain your missionary in this great work.

Once again, we thank you for the faith you have shown to the Lord and the sacrifices that you are making.  We feel it a great privilege and responsibility to care for your missionary while she serves the Lord and pray daily for her happiness, well being, and success.

With love and gratitude,

  Brent L. Scott

President