week 2 in Gaffney

Wow. What a week! More success and more frustrations, but also more love and more spreading of the gospel!

First off, since I never got to it last week, I loved General Conference. We got to watch every session at the church building (which is right across the street behind our basement apartment). So much of what was said pertained to missionary work. I loved it! One of my favorite talks was Elder Carl B. Cook's on Looking up. I love that story of Pres. Monson: "It's better to look up." That is so true. As I struggled last week to overcome the "culture shock" of being on a mission, I knew that if I kept pushing forward I would grow to love it. I had to put my trust in God and look up. As I did that this week, the Lord has blessed me. I have gained a deep love for this work and for the people in the Gaffney area. I can feel God's love for His children, and I want to share that with everyone. We get to go on mormon.org for an hour each week. After spending time reading and watching videos my heart was filled, and I wanted to help others have the joy in life that member of God's church have. I hope I can bring that light to at least one person while I'm out here. That will make it all worth it.

Thank you for the package! It's gotten chilly here already and I am very grateful for the extra warmth. Just so you know, the mission is repaying me for the $60 I spent on luggage. Don't worry, I'll use it wisely. I got a package from Great Uncle Tom that had two small binders and some quotes. I love it and am excited to use them throughout my mission!

Hey Jesse! We have kudzu, that vine stuff, all over here. I need to take some pictures and send it to you. Everytime I see it I think of you. It's also crazy because I'm only and hour away from Charlotte...wow.

So, miracles do happen when you are following up on your assignments...just sayin'.

The bishop here wants us to do a lot of work with less actives (because they consist of over half the ward), so we've been planning people to see and then knock around those areas. A little over half of the LA we try to see don't answer their doors, so we leave a little note and move on. We were in a trailer park looking for one of these LA on Monday evening (also shows the importance of going out to work even on P-Day). We knocking, a woman in her 20's answered and said the LA we were looking for didn't live there. True to the council to talk with everyone, we started to contact her. She allowed us to come in and teach her more. We taught about the restoration and after we shared Joseph Smith's experience, we asked her to pray to know if what we said is true. At first she was scared to pray b/c she was unsure what would happen. We assured her nothing bad would happen. Her prayer was very simple and we had to help through it, but when she finished, the Spirit filled the room and flooded her heart. Her smile was ear to ear and she told us that she felt so happy like the cares of yesterday didn't matter anymore. We extended the baptismal commitment, and she said she would love to be baptised. The Lord truely prepares His children to hear His word. Now we have to convince her boyfriend to marry her, but I know she will be able to take the steps to bring her closer to God when the time is right. Miracles do happen!

I love hearing from you all. Keep writing!

The church is true. This gospel is true! The Book of Mormon is the word of God. This work will go forth boldly and nobly until it is finished. I am so happy I get to be a part of it...even thought it can drag sometimes. The Lord truely blesses us for our efforts and our faith will reap miracles, great or small.

Love you all!

Sister Cottam