70’s in November

The week before was chilly. This past week was warm. Some days we don't even know how to dress ;).
I've been working a lot on my faith and striving to look outward. Mom, I loved that you shared that scripture, because I read about that story about the man being dropped through the roof in "Jesus the Christ" this week. All the things we have learned recently have been changing my perspective on this work. Elder Bednar mentioned the "Character of Christ". He described several instances throughout the life of our Savior when, even though he was in pain or suffering or it was inconvenient, he alwayslooked outward. Every single thing he did during his ministry was an act of unselfishness. He gave of himself completely, caring for the individuals, the children of God around him, more than himself. I realized that all too often I'm not thinking of others. All too often I am thinking only of myself, my own comforts, my own needs, my own pride. I'm not here for the world to love me. Hard or not, easy or not, I'm here solely for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm here to invite others to come unto Christ, to give them the truths they need so they can receive eternal life. Right now, my needs don't matter so much. Right now, it's not about me. So, I've been striving to change my thoughts and instead of day dreaming or thinking about myself, I'm trying to insert a question: What does my investigator need? As I show the faith by inviting the Spirit to help me know their needs, then it's easier to teach more clearly in lessons, to help our investigators feel the Spirit and invite them to keep commitments. It's about them, not me, and that faith is key, in my life and in the lives of our investigators. I love the story of the man who was dropped through the roof into the house where Christ was teaching. When they came upon the crowd, some people would give up and say, "There's no way we're getting in there. I guess we'll have to try later." But these 4 friends didn't do that. They knew the Son of God was in that house, the only one who could heal their friend, and so they thought out of the box, found a way to the roof and tore a hole big enough to lower their friend. What great faith. Faith to act. Faith to press forward when there seems to be no answer. Faith enough to not give up on their friend. I would like to have that kind of faith so I won't shy away from knocking one more door; so I won't back quickly off when someone says, We have a church; so I'll share my testimony one more time; so I'll teach what they need, not what they want... so the work can move forward even when we can't see how.
We began teaching a couple of families this week. One of them is a former investigator we contacted a couple weeks ago and as we started to teach her again, one of two of her grand-kids often sat in on the lesson. The two oldest are showing a lot of promise: Ijan'ea and Skeet. They both want to be baptized! We set them on date for the 1st of December. I pray they will gain a deeper understanding of the gospel as we teach them so they'll be ready and willing to make and keep this special covenant and will want to stay active in Christ's church. Their example can truly bless the rest of their family. We met another sweet family yesterday. The parents are also former investigators and they have several teenage kids. Only one of them stayed for our entire lesson and his heart was so prepared. He asked some wonderful questions and felt the Spirit as we taught. He has an eager desire to learn more and found out if the things we taught are true. We're excited to keep working with him and his family, and with enough faith, we'll see miracles happen. The field is white if we let it be.
I hope y'all have another wonderful week!
Love ya!
Love,
Sister Cottam
P.S. I attached a picture of our Sister's training from a couple weeks ago and a picture of a cotton field. Every time I see one that's waiting to be harvested or has been harvested, I think of that scripture in D&C 4: "for the field is white already to harvest...he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might..."