I'm a Mormon. I know it. I live it. I LOVE IT!

Even a midst trials, the Lords blesses us as we work diligently with faith in His work. 

For me, this has been a frustrating week as I pulled a muscle in my lower back (in the shower of all places...). It kept us from doing a lot of the things we needed and wanted to do, but the Lord has helped us. We have a wonderfully strong investigator named Marilyn. Her heart is so prepared. She is a sweet, humble sister in her 50's  and has a thirst for understanding. She has a strong desire to one day be baptized (and I think she has just waited until she could find the right church to do it) and receive the Holy Ghost. We've been able to answer a lot of her questions, and I've watched the Spirit touch her heart when we are there. She's on date with a calendar for Nov. 3, and we're excited to help her prepare. We'll be getting the ball rolling today with the BRP as we help a sister in the ward write a few letters. The longer I'm out on my mission, the more I realize the importance of member-missionary work. When it comes through them, it makes all the difference.

As I was mostly bed-ridden for a couple of days, my appreciation and love for this work grew. I realized what a blessing it is to be a missionary and how much I truly, deeply love this work. All I wanted to do was be out and about, but my injury wouldn't let me (thankfully it was general conference weekend so I was able to still lay down and listen to the wonderful messages shared). I took some of that time to reflect and Sister Jaye helped organize our records. I am so grateful for the gospel, for the precious truths that we have at our finger tips. There's nothing else like it. I love being a missionary! I'm on the mend and we've been able to go out more often to our appointments. I'm still trying to be careful. The Lord is providing.

I loved General Conference. So many of the messages centered around service and deepening our conversion of the gospel. I especially enjoyed Elder Bednar's talk during which he said that testimony is not enough to keep us up in the storms of life. I realized the reason why I feel the way I do about the gospel, the reason why it is so ingrained into my heart and that I have such a huge desire to share it is because somewhere along the line, after a multitude of experiences, my heart has been converted, and I rejoice in it. I love the gospel so much. I know all things really are fulfilled by faith and that true discipleship is truly about doing and becoming. Service is an amazing thing and I am excited to serve not just here on my mission, but in every avenue of life. I loved Elder Ballard's comparison of service to pollinating the world :). My favorite talk by far though, was Elder Holland's. He gave a similar message at the MTC last January. Every apartment in our mission has a copy of it. That call to life-long service is a sacred one. I hope I will always be able to kneel before the Master and say with all my heart, "Yea, Lord I do love thee, and I am willing to do anything you ask me to do." And then have the strength and courage to do it. There's a reflective question in Preach My Gospel under Christlike attributes that says: "I have enough faith to do anything the Lord asks--even miracles if necessary."   Those miracles are great and small with each act of service we do, each prompting we follow...and it all starts with faith.

Have a wonderful week! I love you all lots!

Love,

Sister Cottam

faith…everything depends on it

Guess what...I got to pick a piece of cotton! that's a souvenir I will
treasure for a long time. We were going down a dirt road between
cotton fields to visit a less active member and stopped for a couple
seconds to grab a piece. God's creations are simply amazing.
We are still working hard finding and teaching. We had the wonderful
opportunity to have Sis. Chai and Allen visit us this week. Every few
transfers we'll be having sister exchanges to learn and grow and feel
support. I highly enjoyed it. Sister Chai was in my MTC district :) .
I loved talking with her and seeing how much we had each grown.
While they were here I discovered several things in myself that I need
to improve. Probably the most important lesson I learned is this:
everything depends on faith. If I don't have faith in my
investigators, they won't progress. They can feel if we care about
them, if we expect them to succeed or not, because it shows in our
body language and actions towards them. They can feel if we have
enough faith in our message that we know it is true. They can tell if
we have faith in what we say by our confidence. You can't fake the
Spirit. I found myself this transfer expecting investigators to not be
home, not have read, or to drop us the next time, because we haven't
seen much different. But if, even though I was sort of hoping, I
doubt, then I can't have faith and we won't see miracles. If nothing
else is learned on my mission, faith is the biggest, most important
thing for me to learn and develop. Everything else stems from that one
principle. Because I tried to have faith that day, we met some amazing
people.
The Equation for Success/Growth/Progress/etc:
Faith+Diligence+Patience=Fruit  (Alma 32)
That applies to building faith, gaining a testimony, raising a family,
missionary work...everything. D&C 123:17
The Lord is truly good. I am so grateful for the Atonement and for the
fulness of the gospel on the earth today. It's true! Christ lives! And
this is His same church back on the earth again! I love the gospel,
and I love being a missionary!
Keep on keeping on :)
Have a wonderful week ya'll!
Love,
Sister Cottam

obedience brings blessings!

I just have to brag a little bit....we just washed our car...in 4 minutes!!! Soaped down and all...yeah we find joy in even the littlest things :)
This week we've been working hard and pressing through and forward. Both Sister Jaye and I have come down with colds (hers is a lot worse than mine), but we are enduring and working hard. We been trying to contact our investigators and working on finding others. We seem to find a lot of people, and then struggle to teach them after the 1st lesson. I guess that's part of the weeding process :) We're seeking for those elect souls who want the gospel and will not harden their hearts.
I had an important lesson reiterated for me at church yesterday. The primary did a program in Sacrament meeting on Choosing the Right and then in Sunday School we talked about obedience. The spirit was so strong as the primary children sang and shared simple truths about obedience and it's blessings and then in Sunday school a poignant story was shared by our new bishop from his mission. As a zone leader he was challenged by his mission president to do everything they could in their zone to reach their goals. As he talked with all the missionaries in his zone, he felt prompted to promise one set of sisters that if they would be exactly obedient and work hard, they would have a baptism that weekend. These sisters had already had multiple baptisms that month and had an empty teaching pool. They had no idea how it would happen, but they worked like they had never worked before and were exactly obedient. Sunday morning came, they had no one, but as their meetings started that afternoon, a young woman came inside. The sisters sat with her through sacrament meeting. Afterwards, this woman told them she had felt something and wasn't going to leave the building that day before she could join that church. They realized she was their miracle, taught her everything that day, and she was baptized that evening....all because of their faith in a young missionary's promise and a willingness to do everything they could to make it happen.
I feel like there are a couple of things in which I have become casual, and try as I might, I haven't overcome them yet. Yesterday the Spirit bore witness to me that I need to try harder as it whispered to me that "Today is the day you need to change and be exactly obedient. Don't wait." It testified to me that only then will I feel the Spirit more abundantly and see the miracles happen here that we desire so dearly. One of the sisters in the Relief Society presidency was there for the lesson, and in Relief Society reiterated the need the members to help us be obedient by doing meals before 6 pm (which we have been heavily encouraging). What a tender mercy.
I'm so grateful for the truths of the gospel. I love being a missionary and want to serve to best of my ability, which includes being exactly obedient.
Have a wonderful week! Love ya!
Love,
Sister Cottam

proselyting the truth...among the cotton fields (Monday, September 17, 2012)

Something I love about Hartsville is all the fields...no not of
potatoes or sugar beets, but of cotton and corn. Every time I see a
cotton field, I feel like I've stepped into my history books. It's
amazing.
This week we've done a lot of trying-to-catch-investigators-home work.
We have several amazing people that we've only been able to teach
once, but we keep being a little persistant by trying their doors and
leaving a post-it note here or there with the faith that one day we'll
get to teach them more about the restored gospel. We gained a couple
new investigators this week. One of them is Veronica. She has three
young girls (two of which are twins!). She's quiet, but you can tell
she is searching deep in her soul for something. Yesterday we taught
her about the plan of salvation and invited her to be baptized by
God's authority and she accepted! We're excited to continue teaching
her and to help her reach her goals using a calendar(Hna. Cottam, what
a small world...yay calendars! they really do help).
Interviews and the fireside went well. One of the ward's recent
converts, David, was able to come. He loved it and felt the spirit
strongly. We were hoping to get a couple of investigators there, but
we couldn't get a hold of them... Pres. and Sis. Holm talked about the
Restoration and how it was seen by many prophets of the Old Testiment
and Book of Mormon. They also talked about the blessings of living the
gospel.
The bishopric in the ward just changed this last week. As I listened
to the old bishopric bear their testimonies and the new one as well,
my thoughts went back to when Dad was called to be bishop. It was a
strong testimony to me that Christ runs this church through true
revelation. The Spirit was so strong and confirmed that the men called
to those positions were called of God.
That witness to my heart was truly a blessing, because the night
before we had a trying experience that tested our faith. We were at an
investigator's home to teach her about the restoration and her dad,
who is a strong Holiness/ Church of God member was there. He had a few
questions, which at first was fine, but as we continued on with the
lesson, his questions got deeper and we could tell that these were
points he was not willing to accept. After we shared the first vision
and testified that God has called a prophet today, he completely
denied that anyone can see God and that God would call only one
prophet. Then he complained that we were getting upset because of his
questions. We appologized for not being perfect teachers with our
emotions, said a prayer, and left. Our investigator walked out with us
and appologized sincerely for her father's stubborness and asked that
we do come back (she would make sure it was a time when he wasn't
there). Needless to say, we walked away a little shaken and without
the Spirit in our hearts. Both of us poured out our souls that night
in our prayers. I am so grateful the the truths of the Restored Gospel
of Jesus Christ. I know that this is His church, the original church
He set up when He was on the earth. I know, without a shadow or doubt,
that there is a prophet of God on the earth, Jesus Christ is our
Savior, the Book of Mormon really is the word of God, and the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contains the fulness of the
gospel and the priesthood power of God. Try as they might, no man will
disway me from these truths. I have had too many experiences with the
Spirit to doubt that these things are true, and I am so grateful that
it all makes sense.
I love ya'll so much. Have a great week!
Love,
Sister Cottam

lessons on the Spirit

Well, it's been almost two weeks in Hartsville, and we're doing well. I'm am so grateful for the spiritual help the Lord has given me. These past couple of weeks have really strengthened my testimony that the qualifies those he calls. I'm reminded of the sons of Mosiah, and their missionary work. They were greatly successful, even though they had many trials, because the Lord made a way for them and they followed the Spirit. Likewise, He has helped us rise to the occasion as we strive to learn the members and the area quickly. My heart is full thinking about the ways he has strengthened and blessed us. We have found 4 new investigators this week and many more leads! It's been a long time since I've taught so many 1st lessons in one week. I've realized as we have taught so much that I have areas in which I need to improve my teaching. Being thrown into it so much, I haven't allowed the Spirit to be as integral a part of the lessons as he needs to be. Even with this being the case, I have seen it touch their hearts. Which reminds me of another scripture (I think it's in the D&C somewhere) that talks about how the Lord uses his servants in their weaknesses to accomplish great things. I feel much like that. One of our new investigators is William. He's in the Marines and is so prepared! We've been trying to teach him since we first met him a week and a half ago, but things always came up. We finally were able to sit down with him on Saturday with one of our members Sis. Solomon. He is so humble, and deep down, his spirit is looking for the truth. I'm excited to keep teaching him.
I have loved serving with Sis. Jaye. She is a wonderful missionary and is striving to do the best she can. I love her sincere desire.
This coming week we have interviews and another "No more strangers" missionary fireside. I can't wait to learn how to be a better missionary. We're praying and working hard to get someone to come to the fireside so they can feel the Spirit there and have their questions answered. Last time Pres. and Sis. Holm bore fervent testimonies on the blessings of the gospel, and I know this fireside will be just as good.
I know the Lord's hand is in this work. I love being a missionary and witnessing it first hand :)
I hope all ya'll have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Cottam

my heart is in Hartsville...

The library was closed yesterday, so we're emailing today :)

It has truly been a busy week. I said my goodbyes to many people back in Greenville...several of those were hard to do (especially with our investigator Brian and with my recent convert Chelsea) and then packed everything up. I am now serving in the Hartsville ward with Sister Jaye. We "white washed" in (or "pink washed" as one of the elders in our zone calls it when sisters replace elders). They haven't had sisters here for 17 years! The ward was sad to see the elders go, but they are excited to have sisters. We moved apartments this weekend. The one we were in has been an elders' apartment for 10 years, and little did they realize, it has mold up the wazoo in the ventillation and ceiling. Sis. Jaye and I are both allergic and started having problems breathing. After several phone calls and one very wonderful member's efforts, we found another apartment and moved the essentials on Friday night (right after the previous tenant moved out) and finished moving yesterday.

Needless to say, we are very grateful things are beginning to settle down. 

The members here in Hartsville are so warm and welcoming. I love them already. They have been so supportive and helpful as we have moved apartments and strived to get familiar with the area. We've been trying to meet our current investigators and find others to teach. Even though it was a little frustrating to be without miles for several days (the elders left us with 3 miles to finish out the month...just enough to drive the car to our new apartment), it was a great opportunity to get out and meet people. It also gave a couple of members great opportunities to take us out for several hours.

I know we've been called to this area for a reason. The start was rough, yet the field is ripe and there are precious souls waiting to be found here in Hartsville. We want to do all we can to bring souls to Christ.

I love being a missionary.

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Cottam

T is for Temple... and Transfers

So...

My wonderful service in the good old Greenville 1st ward will soon come to an end. I'm being transfered on Wednesday. It's always bitter-sweet to leave an area. I've grown to love the people here, especially several of our investigators who we've been working with for quite some time and my recent converts. But change is part of God's plan, and I'm excited to see where He will send me.

Our zone met their baptism goal this month! I'm sad we were unable to contribute to the goal, but we face the future with faith. Because we met our goal we have the amazing opportunity to go to the temple! We're going Tuesday afternoon to do baptisms for the dead (so we can experience something similar to what our investigators do), staying in Irmo that night, and getting transfered Wednesday morning. It's going to be a crazy and amazing couple of days.

I've been reflecting a lot on our purpose in this life and specifically my purpose here as a missionary and in the future. Over the past couple of weeks our sacrament meetings have been centered around the Plan of Salvation, and our last week of training was concentrated on our purpose as missionaries. These two things run hand and hand. There's more to missionary work than spending all day knocking on doors. We are here to bring souls to Christ through His restored gospel. God really does have a purpose for His children. His ultimate goal is to help His children become like Him. This life is the time of testing and growth during which we can work on developing godly attributes. All of our experiences help us do just that. Many are hard and trying. Others are joyful and fulfilling. All of them are shaping us into our potential. When we look deep within and then high above to our Heavenly Father, we can find there is more there than meets the eye. These people we meet on the street, knocking on doors, in the store; they have the same divine potential that we do. They are all special to God and He loves them dearly. Our purpose is to help them gain faith in Christ unto repentance, to help them make changes in their lives, to help them realize their potential and work towards it.

Love ya lots!!!!

- Sister Cottam