Sick of being Sick

Hey family,

Man sounds like dad had a rough couple of days with his neck. Thats way crazy. I'm glad to hear that he was able to get a blessing and feel better quickly though. That doesn't sound very fun at all. How's your new callings going? I'm sure they keep you busy.

Wednesday-

Interesting day. We went to Sister Greens and ate, talked and shared a message. Always a good time. I was pretty sick of Elder Hodell's bike breaking on me so I traded it out for his companion's Elder Poemape's until I can get a new one. We ate dinner with the Suarez family but on our way there I had to deal with a not-so-good driver. I was riding my bike pretty fast because we were running a little late. A car to the left of me was going to turn right, into a gas station. I guess he tried to beat me and turn before I passed him but he ended up turning right in front of me. I pulled my brakes as hard as they would go but it didnt stop me from hitting him. I broke his passenger side mirror and scratched his window. I didn't fall off my bike or break it or get hurt or anything. He rolled down his window and was pretty upset at me. I just told him that there is no way that was my fault and that he needs to watch where he's driving. He pulled into the gas station and got out of his car. A black man came running over that saw it happen and started yelling at the guy and saying that if I was hurt he'd be in alot of trouble with the police. The guy just stood there. As well as my companion. I said thank you to the black guy and just rode away. Fun. Well atleast dinner was good - the Suarez family are characters for sure.

Thursday-

I had a headache all day and nothing seemed to get rid of it. We visited the Nickels and talked about their grandson serving in iraq. I told them what we learned in sacrament the week before and we talked about that. Again we tried to contact recent referrals but had no luck getting in touch with them.

Friday-

Woke up with what developed into a migraine. Not very fun. We did our studies and rode to Grand World Buffett to use some certificates a lady in the ward gave us. We ate there and then went to visit a recent convert, Brandon - he was actually the first baptism I went to see on my mission. He is doing very well and about to get a calling in the Elders Quorum. We had correlation at the church and then rode to the fuiavas. One of the family members is less active so we talked to him and challenged him to come to church on sunday.

Saturday-

I got a haircut from Ampelia and bought some flan to support Kazandra's fundraiser for dance. You probably don't know what flan is... or maybe you do. Anyway it was really good. We went with Elder Sung and Elder Apo to help move a piano from the Grovers' house to the Holts'. It wasn't much of a hard time - they rented a moving truck so it took a whole 10 minutes to do. Then the Holt's took us out to Black Angus for lunch. That was nice. We visited Rick and found out that his brother had died the night before. He was on business in France. Rick is the last member of his immediate family and had never had to deal with anything like this. He is out of work and just doesnt know what to do. I talked to the Bishop and arranged a day that a service could be done at the church and then talked to the ward career services lady about finding Rick a job. He was so grateful for the help. I hope things work out for him.

Sunday-

Went to church, things were pretty well. Nothing too exciting happened. When we got home, Ronald from next door asked us to help him move a couple of things down to his truck. I noticed some cramping in my stomach and got really nervous that I was getting my infamous death sickness so I laid down. Long story short I ended up in the emergency room sunday night. Not fun. They did an ultrasound but didnt find anything. I'm going to see a specialist soon I hope.

Monday-

Woke up still not feeling too well after not getting much sleep and being in the hospital. I got feeling a little better and went to nordstrom rack with the zone leaders. We went to a cafe rio - there's only a couple of those in the mission. That was sweet - a member was there and paid for our food. Even sweeter. I was still sick and couldnt eat very much - not so sweet. We went to the Saunders' for dinner. They're a fun family. Brother Saunders gave us a ride home and I tried to get some much needed rest.

Tuesday-

Had a super long night last night, my feet were cold, my hands and my head were on fire. Didnt get almost any sleep. Finally I was able to fall asleep for a little while. When I woke up I had a terrible soreness in my eyes that i've never felt before. It hurt to open or move them. Pretty odd. Dr. Lyman told me to take it easy so I did some studying and went to the Hannemanns later on. We visited with them and I tried to eat some food. The weather has been so strange lately - hot and sunny for a week - raining and cold for a week - now its hot again.

 

Well sounds like i'm dying. Just kidding i'm fine - just getting adjusted im sure. Thank you for your prayers and letters - I love you all

Elder Cottrell

Sam's 4th Transfer Photos

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Oct. 19, 2010 - Little Cat, Big Dog

Hey family!

Things have been good this last week - didn't get transferred - baptism went really well - things have been good. Glad you had a good trip to Chicago and got to see everyone out there - stake conference also sounds like it was pretty good. Intense maybe? You sure sound busy driving all over the place. I've learned how important it is to stay busy - good things happen when you're doing all you can. Shoot I hope dad's neck feels better soon, that doesn't sound like a good time at all. Dunk his head in the tub or something - maybe use a rolling pin ha.

Tuesday- 10-12-10

After email we tried to visit a couple of referrals we received. They weren't home but a thrift shop was near by so we decided to check it out. It ended up being alot like a D.I.. We talked to the owner for a good while and found out that she is a Christian and this was her way of helping God's children. She was taking lightly used things and helping out the poor in the area. We told her who we are and how we also help Gods children. It was a great experience. I gave her a pass along card and she asked us to come tell her more another day. We ate with the Teppers - they have a few CATS. I don't like cats. One of them was pretty alright though - kept coming to me and sitting in my lap. So I started to pet it and play with it (I carry around a laser to mess with animals whenever I have the chance).. It was sitting in my lap again and I was just petting it when suddenly it flipped and scratched the crap out of my arm. It was actually really really funny but scared me to death. I dont like cats. Again. I see quite a few coins on the ground as we're walking so far everyday - so I remembered that was how I used to make money when I was little - I pick up everyone I see now and put it in a plastic bag. We'll see how much I can save over these next 16 months.

Wednesday-

Today we went to Sister Greens. We got there and had forgotten that the week before we told her we'd help to set up her halloween stuff. We told her we would come back tomorrow in different clothes but she still wanted to feed us. So we ate and talked with her for a while - she's always fun to visit. We rode our bikes to Franco's after that and he worked on my back a little bit. We read in the Book of Mormon and talked about it. Then we made our new planners for the transfer - BYU/Utah ones. They're pretty funny. I'm sending you the pictures today so you'll see.

Thursday-

Peanut people day. They live out of our area so we can't go and visit them any other time than thursdays at the farmers maket. I hope we can help them out more. We walked to sister Greens and set up her halloween stuff - she has a ton. We planted some flowers for her and cleaned up her yard a little bit as well. We rode our bikes to Chris's house to get Elder H. a cut. My bike tire popped on the way there. I'm not fixing it this time.. I'm going to give it back to Elder Hodell and take my beach cruiser on monday to a place that trades bikes - hopefully I can get something better. We went to the Nickels home later and watched a church movie with them. Brother Nickel just had back surgery so he wasn't doing too well. It was good to see them though, I think they really enjoyed the movie.

Friday-

District meeting day. First one of the transfer. It went pretty well, I didn't train or anything. We went to Chipotle afterwards and a lady paid for about 8 missionaries to eat there. Elder H. and I were going to lunch with Franco later so we didnt eat but it was still very nice of the lady to offer - that hadn't happened to me yet on my mission. Franco took us to Chili's. While we were waiting for our food he pulled over a waitress and said in spanish "do you guys sing for birthdays? It's my friends' birthday." Obviously not knowing that we speak spanish. As soon as she left we said "who's birthday is it Franco?" he got red and started laughing. He was really embarrased that we understood him. He made us promise not to tell him that he lied. They came out and gave me ice cream and cake and sang to me. Nice. Franco got a kick out of it. It was a late lunch and right after was dinner time. We went to a mexican restraunt with a filipino lady and her family in Wilmington. I was so stinkin full. We walked from there to Gene's house - who we did service for a couple weeks back - crazy, he told us that he woke up at 2 in the morning the day we came over and was BLIND in his right eye. He went to the doctors and they said there was a clot in his optic nerve or something and that its pretty much permanent. That was really crazy to hear.. He's doing good though and handling it ok. He told us some funny stories - a panther pee'd on him once at the zoo when he was younger. And he also saw a UFO with his buddies in New York. We read in the Book of Mormon and tried to relate some of the things back to the gospel. He's a lonely guy and enjoys our company i'm sure.

Saturday-

Organized our new ward list and walked the whole day finding people (less active and in active). We walked all over a part of Wilmington called "ghost town". It's really quiet and sort of eery. The most ghetto part no doubt. It was pretty successful though, we were able to meet and contact alot of people that have not been affiliated with the church any time as of late. Plus a cat with fleas followed us home for about a mile when we were done so that was nice.

Sunday-

President Baker and the stake president showed up at our church for the confirmation of the Wongs and Javier and Levi's mission farewell talk. It was a really great thing to see and hear. I think Javier will go on a mission - it was awesome for him to see someone leaving and be so excited about serving the Lord. We did alot of walking and visiting today. My legs are getting strong and my shoes are wearing out.

Monday-

We played volleyball and basketball with the zone at the Carson building. We played a game of basketball to 11 that lasted about an hour. My team was down 10 - 4. We played really hard and came back to win 11 - 10. That was sweet. We went to San Pedro afterwards and did some grocery shopping. Elder Hirshberg and I were outside of their apartment and this HUGE greyhound came running up to us. I thought for sure it was about to tear us apart. Turned out it was really nice. We told Elder Hodell to come outside while his companion was in the bathroom. We let the dog in their apartment and watched through the screen door as Elder Poemape came out of the bathroom and was greeted by a huge dog facing him in his apartment. I laughed for a good while. We let the dog out and it ran away - no harm done to anyone. I was sitting in the stairwell later that night, studying the scriptures and waiting for my laundry. I could hear through the wall two people yelling and arguing. After a while a man came outside. I had seen him before. A tall, older, african american man. As he walked past me down the stairs I said "how's it goin?" he said "it's alright" and kept on his way. He got to the bottom of the stairs, turned around and said, "who are you? what do you do?" I told him that I am a missionary and am here to help God's children. He paused for a minute and walked back up the stairs towards me and sat down. His name is Ronald - he works for a motion picture company as a mover - is renting a room from a renter and has a 14 year old daughter. We talked about life and our purpose for about an hour. I was able to bear my testimony of family, faith and trials - how we become stronger with each of those things. I gave him a Book of Mormon with Morgans testimony in it (from the young women) and a Restoration pamphlet. I truly hope things work out for him.

Today it's been raining really hard - I don't have a jacket but was lucky enough to find a winny - the  - poo umbrella on my balcony. Hope it lightens up a bit.

I love you and will talk to you soon! Thank you for everything. Be safe and hold to the rod.

General Conference Week

Dear family,

Conference was way good! It was so nice to be able to clear my mind of everything else and just sit and watch. My favorite talk came from a guy who's name I can't remember and dont have my notes here to tell you. He talked about stepping on a scorpion and having to go to the hospital all because he didn't follow the counsel of his parents. I really like how he related that to us - God's children and following His commandments.That's too bad you weren't able to go! I was lookin for ya. Did you watch inbetween conference on Sunday where they showed the Mormon Helping Hands here in L.A. ? I was apart of that but at a different location so I wasn't on the show.. They also showed our new Visitors Center and some of the Sisters there, etc., that was pretty cool. Sounds like you'll have a good time in Michigan, tell them hello for me. Thanks for the Theo advice... I'll pass it on to him - that means a lot.

Wednesday - 9-29-10

We biked a whole bunch. We've tried to stick to walking mostly but actually had some appointments we needed to be at so we'd need to bike to get to them on time. Did I tell you how hot it has been? Broke the record in L.A. with 113. Solid. Not. Sister Green fed us some sloppy joes (not quite as good as yours or grandma's but still pretty darn good). We visited Theo and asked him about Sunday. He apologized and asked if I was mad that he showed up drunk. I told him no... just disapointed. He got quiet and looked at me and sincerely said "i'm sorry. It wont happen again Elder Cottrell". We'll see. Hopefully he was able to get something out of church that day. We visited the fuifelau's and went to wendy's with them. That was a treat - did I tell you that there are only like 2 wendy's in the mission? 1 Arbys, 1 krispy kream, no arctic circles, 1 dairy queen - all of the places here are local. Which I like.. it was just nice to feel kind of 'utah' for a minute. I'd say this day we put about 50 or 60 miles on the bikes.

Thursday

Went to our farmers market down the road and met up with the peanut people. I swear they're Mormon.. but they aren't. We had a good talk with them, they gave us a huge bag of peanuts and then we grabbed some lunch. Get this - I got a bacon wrapped hot dog with mayonaise, onions, mustard, ketchup and jalepenos. Thought you'd like that. Elder Hodell picked us up to take me to my doctors apt. in San Pedro. We did another xray and found that my finger is doin really well but that I did in fact break the bone AND the tendon but things are healing well. I still have to wear this little brace for a few more weeks just to hold it in place. My companion loved the Utah shirt... I don't know how your hands didnt melt when you touched it. Shame. He told me to tell you that 'you're the coolest ever' so there you go. My BYU shirt is hanging on the wall by my bed and his utah shirt is by his bed. Funny. Later that night I got in an argument with some guys outside our apartment about the church. I was really really frustrated .. it was bad. We ended up leaving - i'm sure you could see the steem coming out of my ears. I walked to the room, sat in my desk and looked up. There was a picture of Christ there. The thought came to my mind "How did you represent me today?" As you can imagine I felt really bad for what had just happened. I wrote our number on a pass along card and walked back outside. I apologized for the dispute and told them that if they ever really wanted to know about the church to call that number. Afterall, we're all just trying to get closer to the same person - Christ. Their attitude changed, we talked a little more and then I left. I felt a lot better this time.

Friday

District Meeting day. I gave a spiritual thought on Love and shared the experience I had the night before with the guys outside my apartment. I went on splits with my best bro Elder Hodell in san pedro. We went to a Chilean house and had 'completos' (bacon wrapped hot dogs with guacamole) -man it sounds like i've been eating really bad lately. We talked with them for a good while along with some other Elders. Elder Hodell and I did a lot of tracting in his area and visited some people that him and his companion are teaching. Elder Hodell said that his aunt told him that she used to babysit ME when I was little... she babysat a Sam Cottrell in Layton, UT.  .. does that last name ring a bell?

Saturday

We went to conference at the Palos Verdes building. It was us, about 8 other Elders and maybe 5 other people. I hope everyone else was watching it on tv! We stayed there the whole day and then after priesthood we all went to a pizza place in San Pedro called Niko's. I missed the Crown Burger tradition but it was still really good.

Sunday

Went to conference all day at the Carson building and again there was almost no one there! Crazy to me but I guess people have other ways of watching or listening to conference at home - hope that's what they were doing. We walked to the Romo's for dinner afterwards and had taquito's (real taquito's ;)) and then tracted on the way home.

Monday

We did laundry and relaxed at the apartment until about 1 and then Elder Hodell came and picked us up. We went to the mall and ate and walked around for a little while. Got some groceries and then had them drop us off at our dinner apointment (Elder Poemape broke my bike when I was on splits with Elder Hodell. I fixed it today.) We ate with the Bishop and his family - he's been bishop for close to a year now. It's been really fun to see him take on all different sorts of challenges and interesting people that just show up at church off the street. He's a really good guy and will continue to do well in his calling. Then Bishop Adams drove us over to Franco's. We read some scriptures with him and had a good talk. He STILL talks about that ring. Jeez. Told me to tell you and dad thank you AGAIN. Thanks. We plugged in my ipod to his computer to update it and somehow conviniently lost all of the pictures you had on there and just about everything else. We got most of the stuff back but not the pictures. BUMMER.

Well that was my week - today a man came to do some re-bath in our apartment and we had to stay the whole time. That was boring but I got some really good studying in. Thank you so so much for your letters and everything you do for me. Talk to you next week!

Love you

Elder Cottrell

Zone Conference Sept 2010 Peninsula Zone