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Monday, June 10, 2013

Bring on the Heat!

Well as you can guess the heat has come for summer! This last weekend we had over 100 degree weather. It was insane. I am so grateful for my camel bak!
This week I requested to have a meeting with President Hall. It was great! He helped me work through some of my concerns with my companion. I wish I had a lifetime to learn from him. He is such a shining example to me. Something he taught me was about correction. Take for example someone who is on a no sugar diet. When you go to lunch with them and they order dessert you might say "are you sure you want to do that?" We think we are helping them but they already know that they shouldn't be eating that. If it happens again and we question them again we start to set an expectation that they will always break the diet rules. So it is with obedience to missionary rules. When a person knows the standard of the mission rules they have the choice to follow them. As a companion if we constantly remind them they are breaking the rules we are setting the expectation they will always break them. So you help them remember the rules once and then let them choose. All we can do to help them with correction is controlling the things that we can control and which effect us.

We have had this investigator we have been teaching since we got here. We just found out that he is leaving for the summer to do summer sales. When we went to go meet with him one last time before he leaves he told us that he had a dream where his questions of the book of mormon was answered. He said that in his dream he was playing basketball in a church building with a figure. Suddenly he stopped playing and asked this figure if the book of mormon was true. The figure responded, "That is the most honest book I have ever read." Um what?!!!! It was so cool when he told us! He also asked if he could get baptized before he left which meant that we had 4 days to get a baptism ready for him and we still had 2 lessons to teach him. Luckily we got everything ready to go on Saturday night. When it came time for is baptismal interview he didn't pass. I felt so bad when I heard that. The reason why he didn't pass was because he had smoked marijuana that week. Grrr.... we thought he had given it up. Oh well... he is headed to one of the best places he could go for work....UTAH! hahahaha I am confident that he will get baptized eventually and that as he is in Utah he will solidify the knowledge he has of the gospel. The rest of our investigators are struggling with coming to church but we have this really awesome idea of making a calendar that the investigator fills out so they know what days we are coming and what we are teaching. This is a new idea from President Hall. I am super excited to try it out. I think it should really help some of our people.

We taught a 13 year old at a bus stop one day this week. It was an awesome lesson. When we were getting ready to get on our bikes this kid hugged us out of no where. It was a little awkward but it said a lot about him. 1. he needed to feel loved that day 2. he has an open heart. He is such a cute kid and we are looking forward to continue to teach him.

Tomorrow is Temple Day and I am so excited! President Hall sent some info and advice that President Packer had given to people about receiving revelation while at the temple. I am so excited because I have a lot of questions to take with me to the temple that I am hoping to have answered.

This next week is crazy and it just happens to be the last week of this transfer. CRAZY! Why does time keep flying by so fast? I know this is the Lords work and that he is preparing His children to receive the gospel so that they may return to live with Him for all eternity.

If you haven't heard yet on June 23 its the worldwide leadership broadcast titled "The work of Salvation." Our mission President has required us to make plans to attend this training. We have also been told that it will be a historic event. I am so excited!!!! Please do all you can to attend this training from our wonderful First Presidency.

I love you all and I miss you!

until next week....

Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Sister Cottrell