Something bit me

Heyyyyy guys

Hello everyone,

I'll start with the usual and go back through my week. Since I emailed on Tuesday I'll start with wednesday. I remember sharing my "key" experience with you that really touched me and testified of personal revelation. That was awesome. Well the day after that happened I was riding my bike to an apointment when I passed some keys right in the middle of the road. I turned around and picked them up - being in a part of town that I wasn't familiar with at all, I looked to the house in front of me and thought i'd give it a try to see if they were their keys. I knocked on the door and to my surprise and older lady came to the door that is in that Samoan ward I cover. She thought we were just coming by to visit so she invited us in. I showed her the keys and sure enough, they were hers. She couldnt have been more grateful that it was us that found them and not someone else. That was kind of ironic considering my experience with the keys the day before. We went to do service for a man named Jose Morales thats from Cuba after that. I wasn't exactly sure where his house was or what we'd be helping him with. I knew the area where his house would be so we rode there. I saw a moving truck in the driveway of a house and assumed it was the guy. So, we knocked on the door that was wide open only to be greeted by a filipino guy - surely not jose. We said we were there to help and he pointed up the stairs and continued playing the piano ridiculously good, not even really conscious that we were there. We walked up the stairs to find a middle aged black guy and a younger one, taking things apart. We said we were there to help and he kind of got this confused look on his face. I said 'youre jose right?' and he said 'no.. OH, he lives next door I think' oh man was that awkward. But really funny. We ran over to the neighbor's house to find the real Jose. He's remodelling his house/re-finishing his roof. We were carrying everything he threw off of the roof to the dumpster. It was so stinkin hot. This last week was ridiculous. It was really hard to get out of the heat but hey i'm still alive I guess. Today is a little cooler so that's a bonus. I went on splits with Elder Seebeck from Atlanta Georgia on wednesday. That was pretty fun. He played basketball in highschool so we walked to all of the nearby parks looking for people to play with and teach. I love getting right in to what someone else likes (random people) so that you kind of already have a basis for teaching them with. Anything that you have in common with them is a plus. It lightens the mood. We were walking to veterans park and saw all of these film trailors in front of this house. We stopped and talked to a guy that happened to be the lighting director for the show they were filming called 'Clean House' on the Syle Network. He knew who we were right off the bat. We had a really good talk with him about the Church and related it to what he does. Then we went to the park and shot some hoops with a few random guys. We beat them in our church clothes and then gave them some pass along cards and told them why we were dressed in white and teaching people about the Gospel. It was a good experience. Thursday we taught the Ifopo family again. The one's that are being baptized on the 8th. I love teaching that family. They always have so many questions and are so open to what we say. They always follow up on their commitments and are just 'golden' so-to-speak. We taught the whole Plan of Salvation in just over an hour with our translator. Very hard to do... that usually takes a couple of days to sort out. It was a really really good lesson. Friday I did my training that went really well. I had a couple of object lessons that I thought were rather clever. I blindfolded one elder and told him i'd be giving him things to eat, telling him what it was and what it represented. Then he was to tell the class what it tasted like. (here's a smarty, it represents the word of wisdom,the word of wisdom is good for us because it keeps us healthy, its a commandment, etc. Then he'd eat it and describe what it tastes like) I gave him several different things to eat - the last thing I gave him was a tomato. I told him that it was a plum and represented church. I said that church was the coolest thing ever, everyone is so nice there, you'll get lots of new friends and it'll be the best thing you could ever imagine. Then he took a big bite. Discovering that it was a tomato and that I lied to him. I made the point that it's very important for us not to over-exagerate what we tell our investigators. Its a big deal not to let them down. We should tell them positive/TRUE things about the commitments and commandments we should meet and keep with our Heavenly Father - for example - "Church is a place where we can open our hearts and our minds and truly feel of the Holy Spirit. It's a place of peace and comfort. I've always looked forward to going to Church and being taught by experienced and inspired sons and daughters of God."

Friday night something bit my eyelid so when I woke up saturday It was swollen almost shut. That was pretty humorous. Elder Mitillo and I had the chance to visit alot of people with it being a saturday. We talked to a guy that's from hawaii. He sits in his driveway everyday next to his big boat.He loves that stinkin boat. He's real big into fishing and so I had a good long talk with him about that and looked through some of his pictures with him. I explained to him that we (Elder Mitillo and I) are fisherman in another sense. Fishers of men. It made alot of sense to him and he invited us over again this week. I'm excited for that. Sunday we had a good couple of ward blocks. We interviewed a guy for his baptism in San Pedro and then were witnesses for the baptism. We gave the 'missionary moment' in spanish since everyone there was latin. I kind of just stood there and read a couple of scriptures. It was really hot and uncomfortable , we were put on the spot. But that's the life of a missionary I suppose. Last night Ampelia Lopez wanted us to make a bbq for her and her family. Kind of a 'going away' thing for Elder Mitillo. So on Saturday we made a list for her and she went to the store and bought everything for it. After the baptism we went over there and I made Bratwurst's and made a relish tray. We were taught how to and made a drink called Horchata and Jamaica, arroz con leche (rice with milk), cactus salsa and carne asar. (small steak) It was way way good and a fun time. This morning we woke up and went to the Tepper's house. (Before every transfer they have the whole zone over for breakfast) so we ate and sang a couple of songs. Good times. Now i'm here at the Torrance Library,emailing you. We're about to head to some pro-skater's house that's a member. Dont worry,we can't skate but it'll be cool to meet this guy. Well i'm pretty sure that's everything. I love you all and am so grateful to be apart of your family. I pray for you daily and see the blessings of your prayers for me.

Love,

Elder Cottrell