Miracles CAN Happen!

Hello Family and Friends!

This week has been extrodinary. I have really felt the need to study faith and hope this last week and discovered some interesting things. One of those things is that trust, faith and hope are almost entirely interchangable. I have worried that my faith might not be sufficient for the work I am striving and living to do here in California. At Zone training on Friday we talked about hope. Hope for us is to see miracles, hear the revelations, and feel the spirit. It was such a good training and one that Sister Haws and I both needed. I found it no conicedence I had been studying hope just days before. :D That night we saw a miracle that brought us both to tears. We were visiting a less- active who is just now starting to come back to church after 40 years! 15 minutes into our visit we heard a knock on the door. The member answered it and her neighbor walked in. We found out yesterday that this neighbor hadn't been heard from or seen for 2 months. The neighbor joined us in the lesson we were teaching which just happened to be the Restoration. It was amazing. At first we were totally thrown off. We were not expecting to teach someone we had never expected. So we had to work quickly as we talked to tailor the lesson to both ladies. We gave her a Book of Mormon and a restoration DVD and scheduled another appointment with both on Friday evening. As we walked to the car the facts of the matter started hitting us. We knelt down the soonest moment we had and gave a prayer of gratitude. Chatsworth is a great area but most of the work we do is reactivation and not so much finding. On average we teach about 7-14 less-actives a week. We keep extremely busy with it and we do love it. We know that there are people hear waiting to hear the gospel we just need to find a way to find them. On Saturday Sister Haws decided it was time to plan splits. I was extremly nervous about this since I had been really struggling with door contacts and that was exactly what was planned. ;( However, through the Grace of our Heavenly Father I did just fine. It was fun and I think it helped that I was with someone my age who is a returned missionary. The work is hard but is getting easier. This is week 6 in training which means I have 5 more weeks to go. It would normally be six but with the MTC stays getting shorter with all the new missionaries we have to shorten a transfer to match the MTC schedules. So 5 more weeks. Sister Haws is convinced that either we will stay another transfer after training or that I will stay and she will leave. I don't really know what to think except that it will be whatever the Lord needs it to be. It seems that the typical first area stay is long for our mission. Meaning we have at least 2-3 transfer periods in the area. Our mission is receiving 6 new sisters next week!!!!! Which is so super exciting. We found out that some areas are getting split in half, specifically bike areas so we can accomadate the appox. 60 new missionaries coming in. We are so excited for the changes that are taking place. They only further testify to the fact the Lord is Hastening his work. I am so grateful to be out here. I am learning and growing. I am also learning about all my personality defects too hahahaha. This Tuesday will be an interesting experience. We are having 24 hour exchanges with some Sisters in another area. Since the Assistants to the President can't really do it the President has assigned a companionship of Sisters to do it, of course. ;D I am leaving to go to Granada Hills till Wednesday afternoon. Basically it will be an adventure. I love all of you and hope that you are all doing well. I think of you daily and miss you. Remember that missionary work is not just for the missionaries. I hope you all thought of someone you can introduce the gospel to. Until next week!

Hoorah for Israel!!!

Love,

Sister Cottrell