Transfer PHOTOS #9 Lynwood/South Gate 3-30 to 5-11-11

Brian & Sarah @ church

My Jalepeno plant

All American lunch that we made for Jose & Jennifer

Elder Watkins w/ Fixie Gang

 This is a church I sometimes attend:

 Me trying to look cool....

Circus in town

Sign says: If you're illegal, it's ok, we'll still sell you a car!......

 Bummer!

 Look at Jayden (Sister Munoz)

Concrete Jungle at the edge of my mission.

Pretty flower tree...

The Hood....

The Famous CANNON Clam Dip!

Beach Day for our Zone in the Mission

Failed pyramid 

85 yr. old deaf man we helped digging our a tree stump.

Chula and a grip of dogs...

Hermano Flores and carving of Christ that he did.

The Flores'

CHEESE

The Transfer letter 5-16-11

Tuesday 5-10-11

Today we saw Maria-under-freeway with sister munoz - actually we tried to see her but she wasn't home. Sister Munoz predicted (received and answer to her prayers) that I was getting transferred so she bought me a gift. That lady is the most in-tune with the spirit out of many people that I know and have met. We made a tabacco tea for Leo to quit smoking. We boiled water and broke up his ciggarette's inside of it. We strained it and made him drink it all. He thought he was going to have a heart attack - that would have been interesting. He was ok though - I hope he quits. We went to go to a lesson with Sister Cortez but Cecilia wasn't home. We had a good lesson with Ivett and I said goodbye to her. We had 'the last supper' with the Recinos' family. That was a good way to end my time in Lynwood and South Gate.

5-11-11

Made my way over to Gardena where i'll be helping with the singles ward at El Camino College and the family ward Gardena. My companion is Elder Allred from Rigby, ID and just got here to the mission. He's probably one of the most humble kids i've met. I really think I'll enjoy my time with him. We spent a good deal of the day cleaning out the apartment because the Elder that was there before, just went home and left a ton of crap. Nice. I still don't have a bike so we walked to the area - which we live a mile or so away from. I live on Normandie and our border starts at the 110 freeway. We went to some Samoan members' house - I have really missed the Island people. I almost forgot how amazing they are - they took us right in, cleared the table and made us food. That was awesome and a great welcome to the area. I cover mostly Compton and the top part of Carson. My area is HUGE and I don't even have a bike. Bummer. We talked with a less active member that had a stroke - he can understand everything you say but just can't get words out of his mouth. It's really sad and you can tell the frustration he has from this great ailment. His name is T.A.. I'm borrowing a bike from another missionary until monday when I can get a new one. Good first day in the new area.

5-12-11

We did some planning today until 12:30 and then rode our bikes to 'feast and feast' at the El Camino College institute. Every thursday they play a talk (feed your mind) and give you food (and your stomach). It was good to see some of the kids from the former wards i've served in. We rode some members that live in our area but go to the Carson ward - the lei's - you might remember me mentioning them a year ago. Levi went on a mission to Chicago 6 months ago. When I knocked on the door, he answered. I wasn't expecting to see him, as you can imagine. He's home for a while - trying to do the same thing I did. I promised to help him in any way I could to get back asap. We taught a really stubborn less active kid - believes in the BOM and Bible but doesn't believe in organized religion... ? Doesn't make sense. We'll see if we can fix that. James had his baptismal interview tonight and passed - we had dinner at his house afterwards. It was a good day.

5-13-11

Today we had trainings with the zone. Elder Ferrin - one of my old companions- is in my zone. It's good to see him again. The trainings were good and we all ate at the mall afterwards. We did some fishing in Compton afterwards. The first door I knocked on was a black lady that said she sings in her own church - I asked her to sing. She sang for us through the ghetto door. It was really cool. We biked to our dinner appointment with some members - the Davidsons. That was a good time - Brother Davidson can talk. Probably forever. My area is way too big to cover just on a bike. But i'm way glad to be back in this 'hood'.

5-14-11

Today we fished. A lot. It was good - we have a couple referrals we've been trying to contact. We met with a less active samoan girl that fed us some lunch - I dont have any food since I just got to this area and haven't had a chance to shop. We taught about 10 kids outside of an inactive members' house for about an hour. That was pretty alright - they were all under the age of 12. We finished teaching James - who will be baptized this sunday - and watched Reflections of Christ with his family. James has a pretty amazing story. He's covered in tatoo's - he never met his dad and his mom died when he was 15. He joined a gang when he was 10 and has been in and out of jail. He just married Monique - an inactive member. The missionaries have been teaching them all and he is now getting baptized. Awesome.

5-15-11

Church was good today - we went to Sacrament at the institute for the YSA ward and then headed over to the Artesia building to sit in on the Gardena wards' service. That ward is... something else. That's all i'll say. By far the most intersting ward I have ever even visited. I threw together a baptismal program and filled up the font. We had the service for James at 5:30. It went pretty well, seeing as how I pretty much had to 'wing' everything - not knowing anyone in the ward 'n all. It was good though - you couldn't pay James to take the smile off of his face. When it was over, his wife said "we want to get married in the temple" then James said "we ARE getting married in the temple." I'm really glad I had the chnace to be apart of that great day for him. We ate dinner afterwards at the Parke's home. They were having a family party and it was super awkward. We walked home afterwards and contacted some people - it rained last night and it kinda chilly - never the less, still SUPER happy to be back in these woods.

 

Happy birthday Grandpa! I hope you had a good day - keep on keepin' on.

I love you all and hope you have a great week

Elder Cottrell

Happy Mothers Week

Happy Mothers Week - or Mothers Year as mom would call it.. along with Birthday and Anniversary year.

 

Thursday 4-28-11

Today we had trainings till 1 and then ate with the district. The trainings went really well and I am learning alot from them. We tried to see Carina, Tony and Javier - none were home. We taught Israel - he promised to read and pray about the B.O.M. Finally. We talked and had a lesson with the Chajon family - they are a part member family. They are super nice and seem to have strong testimonies- just too lazy to come to church I suppose. Or maybe 'too busy'. We had a big dinner with the Flores - a house in their neighborhood was on fire so we watched that for a bit afterwards.

4-29-11

Alicia blew us off again today - really really frustrating. We're going to help pull up carpet at her apartment next week though, so hopefully she'll be there for that. The sisters picked us up and we drove to the ancient L.A. Stake Center for a combined-mission meeting with Elder L. Tom Perry. We met with the Arcadia mission - that was pretty neat. I saw Chaz Emery - a kid that asked me if I was Sara's brother. He said he remembered me from school - anyway the meeting was awesome. Elder Perry and Elder Clayton really focused on prayer and love for our investigators. I have a whole bunch of notes i'll have to send home. We did weekly planning afterwards and then met with another part member family. They fed us dinner and we watched the Reflections of Christ slideshow - they really loved it but just weren't too interested in learning more - maybe the recent heat wave has just turned the cities of Lynwood and Southgate 'off' - the earthquake will humble many.

4-30-11

Today we went to Huntington park for Mormon Helping Hands - we cleaned up tree's and garbage in the street from 7 till 12. It was pretty nice - really fun to do something 'different' in this great work. We had a good lesson with Ivett - she's progressing through the roof and will be baptized soon for sure. We also talked with Oscar - a former investigator - he's a born again Christian but is very open to what we taught him. We ate dinner at a pizza place with Hector Gabriel - he's getting ready for a mission and will do great.

5-1-11

Can't believe it's already May. Today Leo and Maria both came to church and loved it. Great! All of our other plans after church fell through so we fished for around 3 hours till dinner time. I don't mind it I suppose - work is work. Jose decided not to move to Miami - that's such a great blessing. I'm really glad his family isn't splitting up. Now we just need to get him a calling. We talked to alot of interesting and amazing people today but i'm out of time. I love you all and hope you have a great week.

D&C 6:22-24, 8:2, 9:7-9

I know that my Redeemer lives

I know that my Redeemer lives

Tuesday 4-19-11

Our first appointment, with Alicia, fell through - we've been having a tough time meeting with her and her mom. We turned Patrice over to the English Elders - thought it'd be best. We taught Maria-under-freeway the Plan of Salvation - she said she'd finally come to church next week. We had another great lesson with another Maria - she said she loved talking to us but will never go to church - she even thinks the Book of Mormon is true - she just isn't willing to give up her traditions to change, so I guess that's the end of that. We fished for two hours and found a couple of promising people. We talked with Daryl and Martha - he showed us his new toys - handcuffs. We taught them about prayer and how the need to do it often - their relationship is kind of struggling. I hope they pull through and let the Gospel unite them.

4-20-11

For those of you that don't know, 4:20 or 4/20 is an important time and date in the world of weed smokers - so we saw a lot of that today. We had the opportunity to pray for a handicapped brother of someone who we fished into. That was probably the highlite of my day. We talked to an 85 yr old man that was digging a stump out of his front yard - and he is deaf. He can read lips and speak though - it was amazing. We helped him for a minute and found out the ASL Elders were coming over to help - he is a member. Neat. Leo had a set back when he read about Nephi killing Laban in the B.O.M - he doesn't believe God would command someone to kill someone else. We cleared everything up - we just think he was in a bad mood. We ate with the Ramirez family - they're super cool. We taught the paln of salvation to a less active member and then a less active family. They had a friend over that is fifteen - we taught him the restoration - he committed to be baptized when he finds out it's true.

4-21-11

Today we met with Esther and brought a member from the ward to help out. She was running late but the sister from the ward was able to testify of the truthfulness of the gospel - it went really well - Esther just needs to make the time to come to church. We did weekly planning and then taught Israel the plan of salvation with the teaching aid mom gave me. He understands the plan but just doesn't believe there is only one true church. We're working on him hard - pray the spirit is working harder. We watched Reflections of Christ (the slideshow) with sister Cruz - she loved it. She promised to come to church this sunday - that'll be the first time I ever see her there. We watched that again with the Rubio family - we had dinner with them tonight - they're really funny and really family-oriented.

4-22-11

Trainings today - they went pretty well. Everywhere we went to eat at afterwards was closed because of "Good Friday" - we finally found a pizza place that was more like a bar - it was really awkward with the whole district ha. I went on splits with Elder Mcrae over to Watts. We didn't have a lot of time but we visited some inactive members - one of which had 8 pitbull puppies. She wanted to give me one of them - was even offering to send one to Utah. I'm sure mom would have loved to get that in the mail. "Happy Easter". We watched the slideshow with two other families tonight - people love it and it really invites a strong spirit.

4-23-11

After splits we went to try and see Alicia - she wasn't there. We helped Daryl wash his truck and watched the slideshow with him, martha and martha's mom. Martha's mom Lidia loved the movie - she was crying - she's a strong Catholic. We taught her how to pray and asked her to do it. She kept refusing - finally Elder Watkins prayed. When he was done I went up to her and said in Spanish "are you sure you don't want to pray?" she started to cry again and bowed her head and prayed out loud. It was amazing. She said she wants to meet with us and come to church. Sa-weet deal. We meet with Ivette - we taught her on the porch - she said she will get baptized when she finds out it's true - her story is amazing. She's seen missionaries so many times, but none have ever come back for some reason. I'm pretty excited for her and her potential. We ate with the Flores family and watched the slideshow again. We tried to get Denis to pray - for 2 hours. He is really hard headed. Finally he did. I hope he felt something.

4-24-11

Happy Easter

We had ward conference - it went really well - the stake leaders all spoke and taught the classes. We went to the primary for a little while and helped teach the Ressurrection. We did some fishing after church and ran into a couple of teenagers that had a ton of questions. They were kind of laughing at us at first but then got really interested - we're going back to teach them on Saturday. We talked to Carina - she's been flaky but says she still wants to meet with us. We watched the slideshow with Ricardo - he basically dropped us. Meaning he doesn't really want to meet with us anymore. We gave sister Aguilar a blessing later on - she wasn't feeling well. That is another family that really needs to come back to church. We have a lot of work here in Lynwood and Southgate.

 

Thank you all again for your love support and prayers. Have a good week!

Love, Elder Cottrell

End of the World?

What's this about seeing 2 suns in Russia? There's a church claiming that the 21st of May is Armageddon - get ready... phsych.

Tuesday 4-12-11

Today we walked to Rafaela's and read the 1st chapter of Nephi - they're really bad at following through with committments so we're going to make sure they do them. We talked with Maria who lives basically under the freeway - she's progressing really slow but her husband is deaf so we sent the ASL missionaries over - hopefully that'll help. We talked with Fidell - he didn't have alot of time but he gave us each 2 brand new dress shirts - he's a good guy and said he wants us to come back. We talked to Leo again - the one that has way too much info. from other religions. We sat down for maybe 20 minutes. He went from wanting to bash, to committing to be baptized and driving us to our apartment just so he could get a Book of Mormon. It was amazing. He was so excited - as was I. We walked to the top of our area for dinner with bro. Vasquez. Earlier today we ran into a Jewish lady. She asked us if we wanted to see the 'temple' - obviously we said yes. She took us in her house and there was a complete Synagogue. No lie. She was getting ready for passover. It was so neat - she knew Hebrew and had scrolls and everything. Cool - maybe we'll baptize her.

4-13-11

We ate at Panda House again today for lunch and then visited Patrice. We're going to hand her over to the english elders - she's just not progressing. We had a good lesson with Carina - she's really shy and kind of timid but still progressing towards baptism next month. We talked with Gabriel Diaz - he works at Dodger Stadium and is super busy over there - he promised to give me tickets when I come back, to any game that I want. I wrote his number and address down, ha. We had a great lesson on families with the Arana's - we kind of prepared a lesson to make families come closer through setting goals and tying it in with coming to church as the main point. We'll see how it goes.

4-14-11

Esther is going to get baptized. Along with her brother and grandma. Awesome. We were riding to lunch afterwards - we passed a lady on the street and something told me to go back. I was really hungry and really didnt want to. I just kept riding and tried to fight off the prompting - thinking it was just O.C.D pushing me to go back. Over and over I kept feeling so strongly to go back. After a couple hundred yards I hit my breaks and told my companion as I turned around "I can't fight it, I can't fight it". We went back to her - she was super interested and SO excited to have us over. Later, Elder Watkins told me he felt the same way but kept shrugging it off - he said that I was the bigger man for listening to the spirit - I don't think so; we just need to listen and react - always. We did some fishing and got a good couple of return appointments today - we ate with the Recinos' - to get Alex to hold still, brother Recinos strapped him in his car seat. It was the funniest thing - hard not to laugh while watching the Reflections of Christ slide show and hearing him squirm.

4-15-11

Today we had trainings again, the were great mom! No but really, they were pretty good. I don't mind them. We ran into 'anit-guy' again today. If there's one thing that raises my blood pressure its people trying to bash with us. Wow. I had to ride away. No one was home today - we did however have a good lesson with Israel in his backyard. We ate with the Flores' couple - they're super cool.

4-16-11

Today was stinkin hot. We talked to Alicia for a while, she had to leave but we committed her to come to church tomorrow. Almost all of our plans fell through but we managed to teach a bunch of lessons in the park. We ate with the Rubio's. We finally met Esthers husband - hopefully they all come to church tomorrow. Had a good lesson with Yolanda - time for her to come back to church.

4-17-11

Beautiful day today- after church we went to the hospital to give bro. flores a blessing - he might have a tumor - they had to leave to another hospital because they don't have papers. It was super sad. We tried to see Maria, Alberto, Juarez family, Carina, Ricardo, Kathy, Luis and evett - none of them were home. Fun. We did meet a recent convert in another ward - her dad speaks only spanish so we committed him to come to church with us. We went to Jennifers - she was having a little dinner party for Dennis - it was his birthday. There were a couple of families over from the ward. Dennis and Jennifer got in an argument and Dennis left - it was super sad and very awkward. We talked to Dennis afterwards outside - we really think he needs to just move out - they're not married anyway. He's got to do better.

That was my week - today we went to the beach. Couldn't get in the water but it was great to be by the ocean. i love you all and hope you have a good week! Love

Elder Cottrell

Sam's newest photos from the mish~

Just trying'  to talk to everyone!

 Eatin' a serraro pepper...again....

 The Beast...ginormas dog- Alejandro's

 Funny little friend...Alex Recinos-craziest 4 year old ever.

 Joys of changing my tire

Changing my tire again......

 Dentist Office inside, on wheels...

Good ole Lunch, yum.......

Trying to get to  Salt Lake !

Me and Elder Watkins, my companion, transfer #8!

 Dennis & Jayden on Jayden B-day- His dad dunked his face in his cake for his birthday....

 Dennis & I - denis is trying to be tall....haha

Me, Lalo  & Edgar Lalo Guerrero & E. Watkins

Norma, Jose' & I before interviews

Norma, Jennifer, Jose' Me and E. Watkins

Red Hatters Mardi Gras

 and the umbrella parade .....I love oldies! Lady next to me was on "Let's make a deal" TV show.

The pay off! Baptism Day! Me Jose', Norma, Jennifer & Elder Watkins

April Fools and Earthquakes!

Tuesday 3-29-11

Walking day today. Weather was perfect - we cooked hamburgers for our recent converts Jose and Jennifer. They seemed to like them but I think they'll stay with the Salvadoranean food. We waited for transfer calls - they call us at 9 30 to tell us if we're leaving the very next day... kind of a pain having to pack up and find a ride if you get called somewhere else. I'm staying with Elder Watkins for my 4th transfer here. This will be the first time i've had a companion for longer than 2 transfers - hopefully we'll be adjusted to each other and be able to baptize this city. Latino's receive revelation in dreams - all of them. An earthquake is coming to L.A. - next month. Get ready.

3-30-11

Woke up with a migraine and feeling not-so-great. Decided work would be the best therapy. We drank Jones Soda from a new investigator labeled "dirt, sweat, and sport cream" gross. I gave them to the Galea's who don't speak english. This new guy - leo - is very 'open', meaning he's read way too much literature and just believes what he wants from each book. He's a tough one to teach. (almost outta time and need to shorten every day - sorry.)

3-31-11

One time I was describing the Holy Ghost descending as a dove in spanish - I said 'pluma' - pen. the correct word is "paloma"-dove. They thought that was pretty funny. The Holy Ghost descended in the form of a pen. We talked to Esther today - she's doing great. She's read, gave a BOM to her mom and her brother - they're headed to the visitors center this sunday. Awesome! I'm super glad we went back to see her. We planned for a few hours - it was stinkin hot today. We really need a fan for our apartment. We watched the Restoration dvd with Rafaela and her daughter Alicia. They had alot of questions but Rafaela is going to get baptized! Alicia's daughter wants to as well - she's 13.

4-1-11

Elder Watkins and I have been talking about earthquakes alot lately. I decided that since I only have 1 april fools day on my mission, I better make the most of it. I was excercising in the room, he was in the living room doing the same. At 7 a.m. I slammed open the door and screamed his name - frantic. I told him the Pres. had just sent out a message telling everyone to get out of their apartments asap because 'the big one was coming' ( i was screaming all of this) - I told him we had to leave NOW. I ran back into the room and put on a shirt, he was trying to change but I just left - running. He threw down his stuff and ran with me. We ran out of the apartment, down the stairs and to the street - barefoot. I stood there, breathing hard - he was paniced and looking at me as to say "what do we do next?" when I smiled and said "APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!" he was soooo mad hahaha. Then when he was in the shower I sent a message to the ZONE - 25 missionaries - and told them the story so that when we saw them at the district meeting they'd be able to ask him about it. I couldn't stop laughing the whole day. I almost pee'd my pants. He was a good sport about it. Well the rest of the day we visited referrals and talked to Leo again. Really good weather today - we were able to do some fishing and get some return appointments.

4-2-11

Today we went to conference - wow. I've never looked forward to conference so much. All week long we shared a message with everyone about prophets and how amazing it is that we have many. It made me so excited to have the opportunity to hear their words. We watched the 3 sessions in the Huntington Park building and stayed all day. I got alot of good notes and inspiration/revelation. I think i'm starting to understand why dad always said "I look forward to General Conference more and more each time" - it's truly a blessing to be able to listen to these great men and women.

4-3-11

We woke up and went to watch conference once more. Again, so amazing. We watched the first session on a little t.v. in english and then in the Chapel in spanish because Alicia and her two daughters came. I'm sure it was kind of weird for them - it being their first time at church, watching a screen and hearing translated talks. The first talk they walked in on was about tithing - i'm sure they'll have some great questions for us. I gave Ruby, alicia's daughter - a BOM with mom's testimony in the front of it. I told her it was very special to me for 2 reasons - it had moms testimony in it and it is all compeletely true. She's very interested - probably the most out of all of them. I'm excited to see them all be baptized soon.

 

Well the work is really taking off - we've had many many baptisms in the ward lately and many baptismal dates set up. We have 3 with a date right now and many will be committed this coming week. We are back up to the highest baptizing zone in the mission. The weather is perfect and i'm happy. Thank you for your prayers, love, support and mail.

This marks the end of my second journal - time to start a new one.

I love you all, have a great week

Elder Cottrell

I'm a passin' out missionary....

Tuesday 3-22-11
Today we talked - I enjoy it alot more than riding bikes. We didn't have any appointments so we just fished the whole day. We found 4 new investigators that i'm really excited to teach. We visited Sister Recinos' and talked on her porch with her and her kids - we read in Ether, she gave us hot chocolate and cookies. She's a really strong member of the Church already. We ate at El Pescador with Hector tonight - it was sooo much food and really good. Seafood. He's getting ready for a mission - he'll be great. I keep seeing shooting stars here in L.A.. Real big ones. This is probably the last place I thought i'd see those. Tonight we found out that Alejandro passed away last week - his family is struggling but know's he is in a better place and can finally rest.

 

3-23-11

Today it rained. Hard. I really can't get over how weird the weather is here. We taught a lady that we found yesterday under the 405 freeway in a little house with Sister Munoz (jennifer). It was a great lesson - Sister Munoz did an awesome job of helping us out. We rode all the way up to Atlantic and Southern to eat at "Chucks" chinese food with Sister Morffi - somehow she told us about a Bollywood movie for about a half hour. Dunno how that happened. She gets distracted easily. We taught her humility - she's really gotta come back to church. We rode back down to talk to Rafaela and her daughter Alicia - they weren't home but we taught Jesus - Alicia's 18 yr old son. He's awesome - we watched the restoration dvd and he said he'll be baptized when he know's its true. I think we could baptize that whole family. We had a good lesson with Jose Jennifer and Norma on the foundation of our lives and the church. They're soooo stinkin funny. I'll miss them for sure.

 

3-24-11

13 Months today. Yikes. Time is really flying. We ate lunch at Panda House - reminds me of Lucky China a little. We fished a trailor park with no immediate success - tried to see maria under the freeway again - wasn't home. Rode home in the rain and planned for a few hours. Talked to Teresa and her boyfriend - had a really good lesson - teressa is less active - boyfriend not a member. Her boyfriend said he'll get baptized when he knows it's true. It was a good lesson. Heard byu lost in OT - got really depressed - brought cookies to dinner with Sis. Munoz to thank her for her help. We watched Reflections of Christ - the slideshow - suuuuper good. It was a good day - besides the heart break of byu.

 

3-25-11

After District meeting today we ate at Fatburger and Coldstone. We met with Anthony - still having a hard time understanding the language in the BOM. He's had a rough past in a neighborhood gang and can't leave his porch unless a car is waiting for him in front of his house. We visited a referral - she has 8 kids - talked about prayer - she's awesome. Very interested - perfect person to teach. We talked to Patrice for a bit and met a couple of her very interesting friends. We met with Rafaela and Alicia and taught them the Restoration - twice. They have a hard time grasping things. We ate at the Ramirez home - we watched Reflections of Christ with them as well - i'll be using that alot more I think - it's really powerful. Still raining today.

 

3-26-11

Overcast weather. I made friends with a big pitbull so it would let me walk inside the gate 20 yards to the front door - E. Watkins would come in. It was a referral and wasn't even home - I was terrified this dog was gonna kill me. I made it out alright. We met with another referral - he is also really interested - it's been such a successful week. We taught Pablo in his car because of the rain - he is very interested - he wants to change and make the steps neccessary in order to be baptized and "commit for life" as he put it. Awesome. We ate dinner at an investigators home - the Juarez family - it was a girls birthday so there was a ton of food and dancing - we ate, got another referral from some family there - and then left. It was effective. We talked to Javier- his aunt passed away and he's been struggling. He really need the Gospel back in his life.

 

3-27-11

Craziest day of my mission - probably.

Last night I set E. Watkins alarm for 2:30 am. to see if he'd wake up and start getting ready - unsuccessful. He just turned it off. We went super early to church for correllation and then I just listened to E. Watkins play the organ while we waited for church to start. We had 7 confirmations in the ward today - 3 of them were form us - jose norma and jennifer. Awesome. The work is really really picking up. My stomach started to hurt in the 3rd hour. Not good. We went to the apartment after church and I laid down for a while. I decided we could go out to a lesson at 3, not too far away. We rode over there very slowly - Jennifer Munoz was coming to help us - she brought 2 other members and her kids - ...... 9 people in this tiny tiny living room at Rafaela's and Alicia's place. The lesson wasn't going very well - my stomach was hurting bad - they were kind of arguing. I turned to E. Watkins and said "I think i'm gonna pass out" - I was feeling very dizzy and light headed. He put his hand on my shoulder and looked at Brother Piscil to signal that I wasn't ok. I passed out. When I woke up I was on the ground with a bunch of people yelling over me. Later Elder Watkins told me that Sister Munoz came over to my chair and started punching my chest and stomach - as to give me the heimlich - then he gave me a blessing and she put her hand on my head - he took it off. She was blessing me anyway, im sure Alicia and Rafaela were thinking "what in the world.. "? While I was out, Jesus called an ambulance. I got up and sat on the couch - still pretty out of it. Sis. Munoz was still kind of 'chanting' things.. really awkward. She's been a member for just over a year. She's soooo awesome. The fire dept. came - took my blood sugar and pulse, etc. I told them I was fine. They left after a little while. Dr. Lyman - the mission Dr. - came from Santa Monica to check on me. They spoon fed me soup, soda and crackers. I realized I had only eaten a little applesauce today. Woops. Dr. Lyman got there and said I was fine but I probably shouldnt fast anymore because of my disorder. Before we left, Rafaela held my hand and said "I am going to get baptized. Very soon. And I want you to do it" of course in spanish. I was sooo happy, even though I could barely open my eyes. Bro. Piscil took us to our apartment - sis flores and jennifers son rode our bikes back - sis flores is 56. haha. It was such a cool experience - sounds crazy. The members love us so much. They went and bought us groceries, and other food that night. Amazing. I couldn't believe their kindness - these people really have NOTHING and they sacrificed everything for me. A really big testimony builder. I am feeling so much better now - blessings and faith work. I love you all, don't worry i'm fine.

Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Cottrell

Hello everyone, stayin safe here in the hood.

 

Tuesday 3-15-11

Today we had interviews with President Baker. The Sisters took us over to the Hunntington Park building. My scheduled time was 12:30 and I didn't get in to see him till about 3. He was really behind. It went pretty well though, we just talked about the area and the work. He's a busy guy - things are good. We had a lesson with Patrice and told her that if she doesn't read the small Restoration pamphlet, we can't come over anymore - so she better read it! We met with Rafaela - her daughter was there and is really interested. She's a new investigator - we've got a ton of work in this area now. Finally people to teach. We ate dinner with Sister Cruz, she's doing really well - really needs to come back to church though. We had a good lesson with Norma Jose and Jennifer - Jose is going to move to Miami for work but he is going to wait around here until after he is confirmed - atleast he knows the importance of receiving the Holy Ghost. 

 

3.-16-11

Today we did our weekly planning session and then visited Ricardo for a bit. He read all of 1 Nephi - he may be drunk most of the time but he is a really smart guy. He broke down the whole book for us to prove that he really read. He just 'hasn't got an answer that it's true' yet. I really think he just needs to commit to change his bad habits. He's doing well though. We had dinner with Sis. Vasquez - we talked about the Atonement for the spiritual thought. We talked to people on the street for the next couple of hours until our appointment with Daryl and Martha at 8. They seem to be having some tough times - in the best way possible, I hope this brings them closer to Christ and His church. 

 

3-17-11

Today after studies we went and saw Esther - she's introduced the B.O.M to her mom and brother - both are really interested. That would be awesome to baptize the whole family. She's only available on thursday's at 11 so it's really hard to keep active contact with her. We just pray that she reads and does the right thing. We ate lunch at Tom's  - finally got some american food in me. I was craving it bad. We went back to the retirement home for St. Patricks Day. We wore green ties. They had us set up some tables and decorations. When one of the old ladies that calls herself 'the witch', that thinks we're 'out to baptize her' said, as we were going to get the decorations, "don't rub your religion on my decorations" haha, she's super funny. I could see her being a strong member in the church actually. There was a short black guy dressed up as a leprachaun (sp?), that was really funny. They had a big word search and whoever won would get a prize. The lady in charge said that we could play too. I started about 3 minutes after all of the 'old' people started... and I won. I'm pretty sure every lady in that room was mad at me for taking the glass flower that was the prize - so I just put it back. Some Irish cloggers came and danced - the crowd wasn't as in to it as I thought they'd be. The main guy was on "Hee - Haw" in 1985... ? Whatever that is. He's from Clearfield actually and has a sister that lives in Kaysville. He was a nice guy. We took tickets for the raffle's and helped clean up while they sang karaoke. It was really fun - I love meeting the people there and hearing their stories. We talked briefly with Teresa, Sonia and Jennifer - and then ate dinner with the Recinos' family. We had an amazing meal of corned beef, cabbage, corn on the cob, squash, and potato's. Yum. When we were at Jennifers', her neighbor came over and told her that her son was sick - we went over and gave him a blessing. It was really spiritual - hopefully they want to learn more.

 

3-18-11

Today we had our district meeting. Afterwards a bird pooped on my shoulder and I asked one of the sisters to clean it off. Nice. I went on splits with Elder McRae - we had a super busy day. We saw Anthony, taught him the restoration. Found a referral and found out he's not interested. Sister Tamayo met us at Rafaela's and we taught her about prayer. We rode to the other end of our area and ate Chile Relleno with sister Flores. Rode back to the other end and read in Alma 36 with the Arana's. We gave Sister Arana a blessing. We met Hector at Jose, Norma and Jennifers' and taught more in depth the Plan of Salvation. The whole day went by super fast - we had appointments every single hour. That doesn't happen too often here so it was a good 'split'.

 

3-19-11

Today after splits, Elder Watkins and I went out to contact a ton of referrals that we received - old ones that need to be updated. We were only able to contact 1 out of about 6. We went to Sister Rodriguez's house and watched some videos on Mormon.org with her. She is going through some really tough times and really missing her husband who passed about a year ago. It was her daughters' birthday so we sang to her to try and lighten the mood. I really wish her daughter would get baptized, but her boyfriend is a deep catholic and doesn't really like her coming to church with us - not too cool. Afterwards I was riding my bike, practicing my wheelies. I turned to Elder Watkins and said 'you watch, i'll be pro before you know it' and then did another wheelie. I leaned too far back so I put my foot down, the peddle came around and hit it - I got caught in the spokes and fell really awkwardly but hard on the asphalt. It was really funny. Guess I had it comin. We met with an inactive family that was baptized not too long ago - sad to see that. We ate dinner with Jennifer and had Chile Relleno - we had kind of a tense lesson on her having the spirit - she kind of yells at her kids. alot. so we thought we'd share about having the spirit in the home. She got a little defensive. Hope something got through to her. We talked with Ricardo again - he's been drinking for 3 days. Not good. We were able to talk with him about the B.O.M for a while - hopefully he changes. Jave is doing alot better.

 

3-20-11

Stake conference - most awkward meeting of my life. People in the crowd opposed the stake presidency instead of sustaining - the stake presidency talked the rest of the time - mentioning names - and basically putting themselves above them. I dunno, it was just super super awkward. Good thing no investigators came. It was an awesome day but I have to go.

I love you all

Elder Cottrell 

Mar.13- Happy Birthday Bro!

Pray for Japan

Tuesday 3-8-11

Today we walked all day long. First we met with Rafaela - Hector came with us to help in the lesson. It went really well - we taught the plan of salvation - again- and she finally understands it. Good news. We had a lesson with Patrice and 2 of her friends on her porch. She says she wants to get baptized - we'll see how much she is willing to change in the next little while. Hopefully alot! We walked a little ways up to 'Pizza Space' to meet with Sister Morffi who just moved here from Henderson, NV. She is a good talker. She has had 2 husbands die, and one devorce her. She's going through a rough time and really needs to get back to church. We're really just trying to figure out her needs and how we can best focus the gospel on her at this time. We walked and tried to visit people from 5:30 to 9 and no one was home. I was really tired tonight.

 

3-9-11

After studies today we went around to a few places in our area to see if we could offer service. We're really focussing on different ways to help the people here. We went to the huge catholic hospital to find that it is Ash Wednesday... and that there were a ton of people there with crosses on their foreheads. We were reffered to the main priest or father there. He was very nice and put our name on a list of people to call if there is any requested service. We went to an 'old folks home' around the block - the manager lady was super happy to see us and said she'd get in touch with us soon. We had lunch with the Galeas' and talked about the Baptismal Covenant - they're still progressing very well - Brian will receive the Priesthood this Sunday in Sacrament. Ricardo isn't proggressing much - we told him that he has to put in the work- read and pray- or we can't come over anymore. We walked around the huge park in our area and passed out cards to the runners. We ate dinner with Jennifer and Brian and shared about the Atonement - Jennifer has such a strong testimony. We talked with Daryl and Martha - (the Redneck that married a Latina over here) they seem to be having some problems - we shared an object lesson on the foundation of the church and our lives - seeing as how he is a contractor. It went pretty well.. until he pulled out his pepper spray. That was fun - to have my throat blocked and my eyes wattering. He didn't spray anyone - just the wind.

 

3-10-11

Woke up really early today and went to the temple to do service again. This time I was in the front of the temple pulling weeds and spreading gravel. - I always think of the time Dad and I went there whenever I go there. It was a super nice day and I got sun burnt - finally some color. We got to the apartment at about 4 and then went to see Rosa. She said we were an answer to her prayers - last Monday we ran into her at the grocery store - she said that she had prayed for the missionaries to be put in her path so that she could go back to church. We also taught them on the foundation of the gospel and our lives - hopefully the put in the effort and come back to church after the long absence. We then went to the church for the baptismal interviews for Jose, Norma and Jennifer. But first we had a lesson with them on faith. We brought them seeds and cups of dirt (p.s. the pea plant and chilli plant I have in my apartment arethriving) - we related it to Alma 32 and they all committed to work hard on their faith. They all passed their interviews - sweet! We ate at Carls Jr. and then went to the apartment.

 

3-11-11

Today we had our district meeting - we learned about talking to everyone and having effective planning sessions. We had an appointment with Rafaela but she wasn't home - so we rode the the old folks home to help with their Mardi Gras celebration - we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. It was a "Red Hatters" convention - dunno if you know that organization, but they're fun. Old and fun. They had us take the tickets at the door - then a drunk lady came and replaced us - so we set up chairs and then served people food. Grandma Exie would have loved this - seriously. I took some video and pictures so you can see. We ate gumbo as well - okra included. After that our night fell through - sister Rodriguez gave us dinner to go and no one else was home - we didn't have a chance to do weekly planning this week so we went back early to get started on that. They called us this morning to let us know about the earthquake in Japan and the tsunami - they said they weren't expecting any big waves over here so to keep working unless we hear otherwise.

 

3-12-11

Today we had corellation - we are having a big ward F.H.E monday night so we planned for that and practiced a musical number for the baptism tomorrow. We talked with Patrice afterwards- she's still got a way's to go before she can be baptized. We met with Pablo Diaz - the guy that pulled up to us in his car a couple weeks ago- we talked in the park and he said that he's just been searching for the true church. He had some really good questions and ended up committing to be baptized on April 3rd. Awesome. We helped sister Vasquez with the talk she'll be giving at the baptism tomorrow on enduring to the end and visited 2 less-active members. We had dinner with the Ramirez family and talked about the wise man and the foolish man. They're a really good family and very close to the missionaries. Every saturday night this month we pray at 10 pm specifically for the investigators in the Zone - it's a new thing we're doing as a Zone that we know can help our investigators progress towards baptism.

 

3-13-11

Happy Birthday Brett. Church was pretty good today - Jose, Norma and Jennifer came - good thing since they are being baptized today. We ended up being a little late to the baptism - our ride was behind (not fun losing an hour of sleep last night). Everything worked out - I baptized Jennifer and Elder Watkins baptized Jose and Norma. It was an awesome service and a ton of people showed up. It's always great to have good ward support behind the new members. The musical number also went well - Dennis showed up out of no where - it was awesome to see him there. He's still struggling alot. We went to Jennifers' house to teach him and their family. I really wish he could just ... change. I pray for him every day.

 

Well that was the week - today  - monday- we played soccer in the park with the district and we're just going to get some shopping done. Have a good week - I love you all

Elder Cottrell

March 7, 2011 Post-

One more week in the worldly world.

Tuesday 3-1-11

Today I woke up pretty well rested - that was a first in a while. Elder Watkins was feeling too sick to go out so I got to read my book - Jesus The Christ - pretty much all day. I don't know who all in the family has read it; i'm sure many of you, but it is such a good book. There are a lot of big words and sometimes I have to read the page twice to make any sense of it, but when it registers it really 'fills you up'. I even made some mashed potato's today - they were really good except I added too much milk. Turned out a little more like applesauce. Oh well. I ordered a pizza to make up for it.

3-2-11

Woke up pretty early today - Elder Moss and Elder Mcrae came to get us at 7 to take us to the temple for service. We didn't get there till about 9. Elder Moss and my companion drove back to our apartment because they were both not feeling well. Elder McRae and I pulled Ivy out of a hedge around the west side of the temple. We worked on it for about 3 hours - it was a really nice day. When we got back, Elder Watkins and I rode to Ricardo's and laid out some hard facts of the B.O.M.. He was also kind enough to tell me that BYU lost AGAIN to a stupid New Mexico team. Awesome. Why would he do that? I love talking about sports now days wayyy too much. While we were talking to him, his neighbor pulled up. She said she wanted to talk to us because she is LDS and just moved in.. while talking, she had her McDonalds coffee cup in her hand. Atta girl. We talked to her afterwards and found out she's going through a divorce and hasn't been to church in a long while. She wants to feed us next week so that should be a good opportunity to 'get in the door' and get her back to church. We ate Sope's with Sister Flores - we sang a hymn to start the lesson and the singing was so bad (no offense to any latins...) that Elder Watkins and I stopped singing after one verse because we had tears running down our cheeks from trying not to laugh. It started to rain so we called Dennis to come and get us with his truck. He picked us up and took us to an appointment with Jave. He lives in his truck now.. He doesn't have anywhere to go. He's waiting to get his drivers license back so that he can work again as a truck driver. That's going to take atleast a year. I asked him where else he had looked for work and he couldn't tell me anywhere. Basically, we told him to call us when he is ready. That's a real sad story seeing as how he was supposed to be baptized and promised God that he would this sunday.

3-3-11

Today we planned - I had a huge migraine and wasn't in the mood but worked through it anyway. We had a lesson with Patrice on the Plan of Salvation - her friend showed up during the lesson and we talked to him too. They both said they would make it out to church this sunday. Hope so. We went to Sister Cruz's place to make sure I didn't offend her with my ridiculous lesson a few weeks ago. She fed us eggs, beans and tortillas - yummm. She's doing alright but said that she can't come back to church until June... ? We had a lesson with Jose, Norma and her sister Jennifer. Jennifer also committed to be baptized on the 13th! Sweet! Finally after a drought since December 26th when I baptized the Recinos', this ward will have new members! We talked with Brennett Rodriguez- 19 with a 2 yr old. She seemed like she really wanted some help. Hopefully she follows the example of her mom and little sister and starts coming to church and eventually be baptized.

3-4-11

Today Pres. Baker came to our apartment to have a companionship study with us. FUN. He's a really good guy, but like I said before - just makes me nervous. It went really well and he was quite impressed wtih Elder Watkins and I. Good deal. We had DDM and then afterwards went on splits. I was in my area with Elder Moss - he brought his car. Finally I got a rest from my bike. We went to the park and met a member there - he's getting ready for a mission. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how we need to apply it in our every day lives. I think he's getting pretty excited to go. We had dinner with the Ramirez family - a friend was over at their house that is not a member. She got really interested and wants the missionaries to come over to her house - I'm pretty sure she lives in another mission but non the less, it's another one of God's children on their path back to Him. We talked with the Arana's - Brother Arana finally seems to be proggressing after a miracle happened with his Sister in the hospital. "Because ye have seen me and touched of my hands, you believe. Blessed are they who believe without seeing".

3-5-11

Today we had correlation for forever. It's really hard when there are 5 companionships in one ward. Not super affective. The youth in the ward did a car wash/ breakfast/ lunch. So we were able to eat afterwards. Bonus. We did quite a bit of fishing today - with little success. We did however count 80 yard sales in just under 1 hour. Saturday's here are crazy. It's like one big swap meet on the streets. Mom would have a hay-day. We had another really good lesson with Norma, Jose and Jennifer - i'm so excited for them. We had dinner with the Recinos' - one of my favorite families over here no doubt. We had a lesson on the baptismal covenant and the Holy Ghost. Tonight I called Jennifer Munoz to ask if she could give someone a ride to church - someone answered the phone and I THOUGHT it was her 14 yr old son, so I said "hey brian, hows it goin? this is the missionaries".. followed with a response.." No, Elder Cottrell, it's me, Jennifer.." awkward. Have you ever seen the movie Thumbelina? of course you have - she reminds me of the one frog lady that sings.. I dunno if you know what i'm talking about. She's really funny though.

3-6-11

Church day - all of our investigators with a baptismal date showed up! Solid. Julio came too - first time since 1989 - when I was born! That was so cool to see him there. We did some more fishing after church - again with little success - last night on our way to an appointment we saw some people trying to carry this huge entertainment center down the road - we stopped to help them. It was soooo stinkin heavy and their house was a ways away - but it was worth it for the return appointment and the opportunity to teach. We talked with Sister Rodriguez for a while - she's doing great - getting ready to go through the temple. We ate with Sister Cruz again - she's going to try to cut the time before she goes to church again from June to next week - hope so. We went to the Galeas' - also one of my favorite families here. Back in January we made some goals with them - they are really proggressing well! Coming to church every week - Brother Galeas' and Brian both shared their testimonies in church - awesome! It was a pretty good day.

That was the week - hope you enjoyed it!

Love,

Elder Cottrell

Congratulations Laci & Daniel!

Congratulations Laci and Daniel!

 

Tuesday 2-22-11

Today was our walking day for the week - I think we'll do this every tuesday now. We met with Joanna and had a great lesson with her. She believes that the Book of Mormon could be true and wants to receive an answer if it is or not. We talked with Ricardo for a little while- he was out working on his car. He doesn't feel happy, doensn't have peace and wants to change, but isnt' willing to. He's entirely addicted to alcohol. I'm not a very good counselor with this kind of stuff but I know what miracles prayer can bring forth. We had a lesson with two new investigators - Norma and Jose from El Salvador. They've been here for just about 4 months and are just trying to make it. It was a really great lesson on the Restoration - I feel like they're going to get baptized soon.

 

2-23-11

After planning today we went and talked with Patrice - she said that when she comes to know that everything is true, she will change her life and be baptized. Bonus. We talked to one of the drunk guys from the other day - Sergio. While we were talking to him, at different times, his mom and his sister came out and begged us to help him, saying that he is in love with his alcohol and nothing else. Sad. He wants to change - we'll see how much. We ate at Tom's for dinner and then on our way to a members', Elder Watkins felt like we shold go see Dennis and Jennifer. We went over there to find all of them super sick. We were able to bless all of them - Jennifer felt completely better by the end of the lesson - her faith honestly amazes me. Dennis is backing off alot - it's sad to see him break such a big promise with his family and God. When we left, we saw a rat trying to escape the complex. (sorry mom but I gotta tell this) Elder Watkins cornered is with his bike and messed around with it.. It started running towards me so I just kicked it... super hard. It flew 10 feet and hit the metal gate and started making a bunch of noises. I was laughing and then felt pretty bad. It ran towards me again and I just let it pass me.. Hopefully someone in there likes rats!

 

2-24-11

My official year mark.. Can't believe it. We had Zone Conference in Palos Verdes with Peninsula zone. It was so stinkin long. 7 am to almost 5. Meetings aren't my favorite. It was a really good conference though - really focused on obedience. Afterwards we ate dinner at a members' house and then did some fishing. Long day.

 

2-25-11

It started to rain in the morning and was really cold. We did some fishing to start off the day and then talked with Sergio - his spanish is SUPER hard to understand. He just mumbles - honestly does not open his mouth. STOP DRINKING. Jeez. We ate dinner with the Ramirez family - they are in a part of our new area - they're a really great family. We taught about tithing and they all committed to pay. We went to Ricardo's afterwards. After we prayed, the first thing he says is "so derron williams now plays for the nets".. that was an awesome way to distract me from the super important lesson we were about to have. I tried as best as I could to get it out of my mind. We had a good lesson with him about the BOM. We visited Lalo and Jave tonight - both are struggling.

 

2-26-11

After correllation today we road in the freezing weather to Hermano Valladares' house. He's really old and I think has alzheimers. He's a good guy though and we really want him to get back to church. His wife is super Catholic and loves to decorate the home with the Virgin. :) don't get me started on the Virgin. We ate with Sister Romero - they are so stinkin poor. She does all she can for the church - I really admire that. We met with Norma and Jose again - they committed to be baptized on Mar. 13! Sweet!!! Pray for them. Then we went to a Chinese restaurant with a member - Panda House - the owner was chinese but spoke spanish as well - the menu was in chinese and spanish... I think i'm in mexico.

 

2-27-11

CHURCH day. I love church. Never thought I would but I really look forward to it every week. We talked with Sergio and his Catholic friends about the Saints. That was fun - oh man i'm out of time. It was a really good day - I love you all - Have a good week!

Love, Elder Cottrell