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

Hot September!

Hows it goin? Thanks for your letter, it's always so good to hear from you. Sounds like you've had a fun week with Cami and the kids. I hear you're headed to Michigan soon too maybe? I haven't had any appoinments to see about my stomach but I go back to the Dr. on thursday for my finger. It feels alot better so hopefully I wont have to wear this thing for a whole 3 to 5 weeks longer. How was the relief society conference? I haven't heard anything about it other than the Prophet spoke and did really well.... Saw Sinbad again eh? I'm sure you and dad have even MORE of his material memorized and just sit there in the car on your long drives and repeat it to each other and laugh... good times. I'll be watching conference at the stake center. It's technically my 2nd conference in my mission but you're right, the first one in the field. I hit 7 months the other day - crazy crazy. P day is still on mondays but all of the libraries are closed so they gave us permission to mail on tuesdays. I'm sure our pday will change sooner or later but for now expect emails on tuesdays.

Wednesday-

We had interviews with President Baker. He's got a lot of missionaries to visit with so he kept them to about 5 minutes each. We didn't talk about a whole lot, just how my area is and how me and my companion are doing. He's a really good guy for sure. We had lunch at Sister Greens' and had beef stew with pineapple cake - both a first for me on my mission thus far but reminded me of home for sure. Then we went to dinner with Sister Hurst to the Carson buffett. She lives in an 'old folks home' so she called a taxi to come get us from there. I thought that was interesting. We visited Theo later on and then Franco. Both of them are going through some hard times so i'm sure we'll be over there more this week.

Thursday-

We found a nice farmers market down the road from our apartment and had some lunch there. There was a couple selling different kinds of peanuts - and they were white - so we thought we'd see what they were up to here in Wilmington... selling peanuts. Turns out they had a couple of missionaries about 3 years ago helping them set up their tent and prepare for the business day once a week. SO we've got a new apointment on thursday afternoon's. They aren't members but they were very friendly and open to us - plus they gave us each a free bag of peanuts. Nice. We had dinner at a members' house - one of my favorite. I don't think i've mentioned them before though? The fuilefau's. Anyway, it's always nice to see them - they've always been close with the missionaries. We're trying to get Elder Hirshberg in shape - he weighs a good 250 lbs but has already lost 30 in the last 6 months or so. So we're running 2.6 miles every day - he wants to surprise his mom when he gets off the plane in april - so that's keeping all that food I eat off of my muscle ha.

Friday-

District meeting today. The weather was really really hot - we went to In N Out for lunch and couldn't even stand to sit outside. We met with Tony - a guy that came up to us on the street to ask us what we're all about. He's more curious about different religions than anything else but I have some high hopes for him.

Saturday-

We had the district come over to our area to do a 'blitz' in hopes of finding people that are interested that speak ENGLISH. Tough luck - we got 3 names. Better than nothing though so I can't complain. We actually ran into a girl that seems really interested in the church. We went back to see her today but she had just got her wisdom teeth out so we couldn't talk much. The weather was even hotter than the day before. Everyone is sayin that it's time for an earthquake. It hasn't been this hot all summer long and now that its fall it is blazin.

Sunday-

Guess who came to church... drunk... Theo. Not so cool. Church is at 9 a.m. . what in the world was he doin drinking that early? Why was he drinking at all? Anyway I was pretty upset with him but didn't tell him off. He was being kind of loud in sacrament and I had to keep telling him to be quiet.. Theo Theo.. If you have any advice let me know. When we got home from church a big accident happened outside our window so I watched that unfold while we ate lunch. Interesting. We went to the Bishops' for dinner and taste-tested his wife's brownies. They are really feeding us well out here so don't ever think i'm not getting fed ha. We visited the Hannemanns and talked with them for a while about the ward. Layne isn't our ward mission leader anymore - kinda bummed about that but they need him in the young mens.

Monday-

Didn't do a whole lot - Went to President Chen's again. The one with the huge huge house. We bowled there and played some ping pong. We 'chilled' at Elder Hodell's apartment and tried to stay out of the heat. We had F.H.E with the Lopez's, you know how much I love going over there. I gave the lesson on the atonement. I can't tell you how grateful I am to even be able to teach that as you know that I couldn't when I was in the mtc. I used an object lesson with some rusty pennies and a nail - I won't explain the whole thing but the rust from the pennies comes on to the nail. I'm sure you can figure out how I related that to the atonement.

Today we rode to a members' house to give a blessing, then we walked. A lot. It's not AS hot today so we're taking advantage of it and trying to see as many people as we can. I love you and hope you have a good week!

Love,

Elder Cottrell

Broken finger! Sept. 21, 2010

Hey hows it goin? 

Wednesday-

We walked over to sister Green's house - i'm sure i've mentioned her before- oldest and only white lady in Wilmington and has been feeding the missionaries for the last 20 years. We always love going over there, sharing a message and listening to the stories she has for us about other missionaries, her family or the history of the city. I called every member that lives in Wilmington to try and get some kind of help - maybe a referral, a visit or anything. Only 2 of the 20 answered and they were busy. Bummer. The Samoan kid 'guppy' that cut my hair real nice a few months back cut my hair again so I look like his samoan buddies. Nice. Later he invited us to a bbq at one of his friends' churches. It was just a bunch of highschool kids so it was a good chance to clear up anything they might have heard about the church - and it was free food. Good day.

Thursday-

One of Elder Hirshbergs converts called him to ask us if we'd help him move a lady out of his house up in palos verdes. We got permission and he came to pick us up. We helped him for a couple hours and then he took us out to lunch - score. While we were walking I found a pair of Dockers on the sidewalk.. tags on and everything, just my size. They weren't dirty either.. curious right? I decided that if I washed them they'd be ok. I'm pretty happy about scoring a free pair of pants. We ate dinner at the Hannemanns - they're way sweet, i'm pretty sure i've mentioned them as well.

Friday-

District meeting - fun fun. We went to visit 3 referalls that we got from headquarters and none of them were home - bummer. We had dinner and correlation with our new ward mission leader. He just got off his mission about a year ago so he should be on top of things. We did a whole lot of walking today. It may not look like we're having much success but I know the Lord is looking out for us.

Saturday-

Walked about 5 miles to a members' house and talked with them about obeying the commandments. They have a 5 year old son that had just gotten in trouble for not cleaning his room so it was perfect ha. We tried to visit another member that we thought was close to this other house but ended up getting really really lost and far from home. We finally got back around our neck of the woods and just visited a family close by for a few minutes.

Sunday-

I talked in church on keeping covenants (I sent the talk home to you today so look for it), I thought it went pretty well but I realized I was going to have much more time to speak than they told me so I added to my talk while I was on the stand. Turned out a.o.k. We ate lunch at the apartment and then did some studying. We didn't have dinner so we went tracting. I had a few people ask me about what we were up to and was able to place a Book of Mormon. (Thank you for sending me all of those, they'll be a big help and i'll be sure to update you on who I give them to)

Monday-

p-day... We went to play football with some of the zone down by the docs. I've been wanting to play for a while really bad so I was pretty excited. After about a half hour I threw an interception- I grabbed the kid's shirt, aiming for his flags... It felt like I jammed my left ring finger a little bit but I'd still be able to play... until I looked down at it. I couldn't move it and it was bent really weird at my knuckle. All I said was 'oh dang, I broke my finger' ... it didn't hurt very bad, I was just really shocked. Elder Hodell took me to the hospital and we couldnt see a doctor for 2 hours so we just waited. I finally got in and took some xrays - they looked crazy - I took some pictures so you'll know what I mean. They gave me some shots and numbed my finger up, we filmed the doctor resetting my finger (snapping the bone back into place) -it was reallllly gross, it hurt and I almost passed out. Anyway I have to wear a little brace for the next 6 to 8 weeks. He said however that I am very lucky - that in almost every injury he's seen like this the patient had to get surgery. Luckily some of my tendon is still intact and he doesnt think i'll need surgery - that it'll just grow back. I'll go see him again on the 30th so hopefully it's still good. It's super stiff and swollen but i'm just grateful I didnt have to get the surgery. Crazy huh? We rode our bikes to the Romo's and they fed us 'real mexican food'... like I haven't had that yet.. ? Anyway it was really good but hard on my stomach since I had been pretty stressed all day and hadn't been able to eat. We had FHE and then called it a night. Fun times on the mission. I love you all and hope you have a good week!

Love, Elder Cottrell

Sept. 13,2010 and new photos!

Hello,
This last week has been a challenging one. New area, no teaching pool, no english speakers = alot of tracting.
Tuesday-
Started to really get to know the area better. Elder Hirshberg and I did a whole lot of walking since my front tire had a leak. We looked for people to teach that spoke english EVERYWHERE. In ghetto little stores, parks, street corners, apartment complex's and restaurants. We were fortunate enough to find 3 people on a street reffered to us as english speaking. None of them had alot of time but they said we could come back. I really hope something comes of it.
Wednesday-
Got me a new bike tire and went over to good 'ol sister Greens' house. She's been having the missionaries over for lunch for almost 20 years every tuesday or wednesday. Now that we're in her area, that should be fun. I've mentioned her before - a couple months ago we'd go pick plums there. We made a huge loop from Wilmington blvd, up PCH to banning park to look for people there. A samoan lady pulled over just as we were getting to the park and gave us each a couple of water bottles. Im always so grateful for people helping us out. While we were walking, I had my head down and was talking to Elder Hirshberg - I almost peed my pants when a HUGE dog stuck it's head over a fence and barked at me. Seriously almost fell over. The mexican man that was sitting on his porch and watching all of this had a good laugh. We visited a couple of inactives (tried to visit) but none of them were home. It's rough going but atleast it was overcast. First time it's even sprkinkled since I got here in April.
Thursday-
Zone leaders came over at 9 to do companionship study with Elder Hirshberg and I. We studied in Preach My Gospel about teaching people and not lessons. I've mentioned this before but they've really changed the way that we teach since dad went on his mission. It's all by the spirit. Then we got my new tire on my bike because somehow I managed to pop a new one I had put on the day before and went on a nice ride to the bishops house. Everyone that we eat with lives pretty far out of our area so we've got to get a good head start. We talked with him about people he knows we could visit in our area and ate some food. He's been bishop for almost a year now and is getting adjusted. I always like saying "my dad was a bishop"
Friday-
Another tracting day. We tracted from 12 to about 5. We got a whole lot of refferals to give to the SPANISH speaking elders but only 2 for us to actually teach. 2 is better than none so i'll take it. We've run into alot of interesting people knocking doors. It's pretty fun. They're actually thinking about getting rid of tracting in my mission. Can you believe that? They want us to focus more on member work and getting refferals.. We'll see what happens. We went to the church for dinner. It was Elder Faase's homecoming party. He just got home from Guatamala. He is a Samoan and was really really big before his mission I guess but lost a whole ton of weight while he was out. It didn't make me as home sick as I thought it would. I was more focused on how good the food was I suppose. I only had a minute to talk to him - didn't give me much advice - just said he missed the mish.
Saturday-
There is a fair going on down our street and so we decided to go do some tracting there. We actually met a few people that have some potential! We were only there for about a half hour but people were coming up to us and asking who we were, etc. It was a great opportunity to share the Gospel and let people know what 'us Mormons' are all about. Today was my 200 day mark. Crusin right along. Another tracting day... ran into someone that told me BYU lost. . to airforce.. first time since 2003. My heart broke... I was pretty disgusted ha. Good thing i'm on my mission and don't need to worry about that jazz.
Sunday-
Went to church.. I'm only in the carson ward now but the samoan ward and the carson ward meet at the same time. The building out here is stinkin huge. Two chapels, two levels, just huge. Anwyay, since this Elder that just got home is a Samoan, the whole samoan ward was at his homecoming and there was really almost no one in the samoan ward, it was pretty funny. We met with the bishop and talked with him more about who we can visit and he gave us a couple of names. We went to the Saunders' for dinner and I felt my stomach start to hurt how it sometimes does when i'm getting my death sickness. I ate really quick and then hopped in my bike - immediately finding out that I was gonna be sick. We rode home and I jumped on the scale - knowing that I would be losing alot of weight in the coming hours. I was terribly sick from 6 pm to 6 am.. getting no sleep thanks to this sickness. Mom i'm kind of scared about what this is. No one can diagnose me and it's the worst pain in the world. Should I go to the doctor? I've talked to the mission doctor a few times and he just says to wait it out. I don't think he knows just how miserable it is.. I never had this before I was 18 - why do I get it so often now? Any advice would be really appreciated - it's death.
Monday-
I weighed myself to find I lost 5 lbs in the night and then finally got a couple hours of sleep. Fun. We went to the mall so that Elder Hirshberg could buy a couple of suits - I took it really easy to make sure I wouldn't get sick again. At 6 o'clock we had dinner with sister Meyers - meatloaf and costco potatoes. I wanted to eat a lot but I really couldnt fit hardly anything in my stomach. Everytime this happens I get so weak for a couple of days following. We finally got in touch with Rick - a less active in Wilmington. His wife has been in the hospital - we really hope we can help him and his family out. It's a part member family and we have an appointment with them later on.
Today -
If I had all of the money in the world, i'd bring it here to help all of the homeless. They break my heart. I always carry a snack in my backpack to give to them but I just wish I could do more. We were eating at Subway and I for some reason got a footlong... not thinking obviously that my stomach wouldn't hold it after being sick. I ate half of it just as a deaf homeless lady walked in. I don't understand sign but my companion does a little bit. She left without me knowing what was said. He said she was looking for food. I ran out of Subway but wasnt able to find her. I packed up the other half of my sandwich anyway and we left for the library. I prayed that I'd run into her or someone that I could give it to. Oddly enough, I found her and was able to give it to her. She, in sign language, said thank you with a smile. I'm so glad I have opportunities like those to help other people in this world. I know this Gospel is the truth and i'm doing what the Lord would have me do. I love you all,
Elder Cottrell

Sam's 3rd CD

Customize your own photo album

Please Pray for us all!

On Foot....IN Wilmington.....

Hello mother and everyone,
Did I already tell you that I got transferred? Well, kinda. My old
area just got split because it was way too big. We were over south
carson and wilmington and now i'm just over wilmington. Elder sung
stayed in the old apartment and I moved to a different one in
wilmington. Elder Hirshberg is my companion, he's been out for about
17 months and is from Holliday UT. He's a really funny guy. So we're
over 'little mexico' english speaking. It's considered a new area and
we're the first elders to open it up. Hard stuff to find people
speaking our language out here. We move by bike and foot - hard not to
have a car anymore but i'll get used to it.

Monday - went to Macaroni Grill with the Lopez's for Gerardo's
birthday. I don't know if I told you but i'm pretty close with that
family - my home away from home. Later that night back at their home I
was asked to give a blessing to Kazandra who will be starting up
school again here shortly. I was brought back to the memory of Dad
giving us all blessings before school started and then how he'd always
give you one as well so I explained that to Ampelia and gave her one.
It was such a good experience.. Not very describable.

Tuesday- Elder Sung and I went to visit Daniel in Scottsdale.. good
old scottsdale. Something always interesting happens when we're in
there. This time, as we were leaving Daniels place, 4 sherriffs came
speeding around the corner and jumped the speed bumps. The all went to
different spots on the street but surrounded a couple of houses. We,
being the curious kids that we are, went over to check it out and I
snuck a picture of a guy getting arrested - nice. There was a huge
drug bust. Guess it's not too uncommon there because they were
throwing 'brotha's' in the cop cars like candy in a basket. We were
walking back to the car and saw a middle aged latino poke his head
around the corner of a house and say 'oh nooo they are coming again!'
and then sort of scurried off with a limp to tell his buddies. We
turned around to see more cops coming our way. That was a good laugh.
I wish people would just NOT do drugs or illegal things. That'd be
nice.

Wednesday-
Went to my new apartment and got cleaning. It was a big mess for sure
but after a few hours we made it look alright. We went to Costco and
bought some groceries for the week , made some goals and planned out
the week. Elder Hirshberg and I have alot in common - all except for
one thing. He's a U of U fan... lame. We'll work through our
differences im sure. It was nice to hear that both byu and utah won
their season openers.

Thursday-
We ate lunch at the Hannemans and worked out a new plan to attack
wilmington and smoke out all of the inactive english speakers in the
area. We're doing our best. We went to visit Theo one last time and
had him tune up my bike - in return we bought him an ice cream from
Fosters Freeze down the road. I really hope Elder Sung keeps on him
about Church and quitting all his bad habits. Elder Hirshberg and I
have a balcony that looks over the street - we play guitar after
planning at night and 'howl at the moon' - it's real nice.

Friday-
I got up from saying my prayers and turned around only to see Elder
Hirshberg wearing a sombrero, a mexican shirt and holding a baseball
bat - standing behind me. He's a morning person - as you know, i'm
not. We'll see how that goes. I got a good laugh out of that random
act though. We did alot of tracting that day and turned out with some
luck. 2 new investigators i'm pretty excited about. Hopefully they
pull through.

Saturday-
We watched "Together Forever" with the Nickel family and talked about
being united with one another. We did some more tracting without as
much luck as we had the day before. We went over to the Lopez's and
cut their grass again with a weed wacker. That's a tough job if you
haven't done it before. Kazandra made us some super good chile relleno
while we were working - I was real happy about that as you know how
much I like food. You'll definitely have to meet this family after my
mission - they mean alot to me.

Sunday -
We had a family show up at church, it was way good to see them there.
All of the testimonies were just what they needed to hear. Elder Sung
is teaching that family now so I hope they keep on it. We went with
Ampelia, Kazandra and Gerardo to the new visitors center at the
temple. It was way way good. There is so much to do there and so many
things to help people that don't know about the church to understand
what it's really about. You should do some research on it, its
amazing. We had dinner with the romos later and had tamales that were
way good, they're such a cool family.
Monday-
I'm out of time so I'll tell you next week. Love you!
Elder cottrell

Sam and Pres. & Sister Baker

Aug. 23, 2010

Hellooooo how's it goin? You wrote 3 talks eh? Not really that surprised, way to go! I want to write a letter to "other elder" and tell him to get a clue. Think that'd be appropriate? I cannot believe Kyle gets home tomorrow, that's so crazy - I bet he'll be sad, I heard he has really really been into the mission. That email address is Rachel Povey's - she was over at the house the day before I left and is getting ready for her mission - just said she wanted to get my weekly letters - I have no time to write during the week. Or you could just forward her the address to your blog that you have for me.. that'd probably work. Thanks for sending letters to sister Dakay. I really wish I had time to email her. I send stinkin long emails to you though so I cannot dang it. Oh well it's good to hear she's doing well.

Alrighty then,

Tuesday -

We began the training that will change the missions world-wide. We started everyday from 8:00 and went to 3:30 for 4 days at the Carson Chapel. To sum up everything we learned - rely on the spirit in your teaching. Basically it. Ask more questions and LISTEN. You know that I really don't like meetings too much but they were really good. After training on tuesday we went and saw Richard and Chere and watched... Legacy.. yup you guessed it. He's super obsessed with that movie. There were a lot of distractions ... his 2 year old wanting to jump on the tramp and throwing things, people coming in and out, the dog tinklin on the floor - it was pretty amazing. BUT he dis still feel the spirit and committed to come to church. Oh before I forget, last weekend was the ward campout - friday to saturday - well on sunday only half of the ward showed up to church. Guess why? The other half was still on the campout. Including the elders quorum advisor and the ward mission leader. I was amazed and the Bishop was steeming to say the least. I thought you'd get a kick out of that - that was for the other ward i'm in - not the samoan one.

Wednesday-

I did not baptize anyone. I did not convert anyone. But I felt and taught by the spirit. I fulfilled my purpose as a servant of the Lord. After training a member surprised us with groceries - that was such a cool deal - I couldn't have been happier with it being the end of the month and being low on dough. She also made us cocoa rice (stinkin good - white rice mixed with... cocoa.) We went to teach a part member family. The man went to Italy for 8 years to school to become a catholic priest but his wife and kids are all members. He didnt end up finishing school and came home early - I don't know the whole story. When we went inside he wasn't too interested in talking to us so he went to the other room and got his wife. He went around the corner into the kitchen while we talked to her and her kids. I don't remember exactlly what we brought up but it caught his attention. He poked his head around the corner and joined in the conversation. As we continued to talk he came into the room and sat down. We were able to address a lot of his concerns about the church. He actually knows it to be true but is afraid of what his parents would do if he joined. We were amazed at how much he opened up to us - he ended up coming to church on sunday and wants to meet with us regularly. Nice. I also made Franco sign in my planner that he'd come to church this next sunday. Double nice.

Thursday -

After training Elder Sung and I visited a family very similar to the one I mentioned above. The husband blames things on his health instead of his parents though. The missionaries have been working with him for a long time now and he's just been off and on about what he wants to do. We read with him in the Book of Mormon. One of his concerns with his health was his memory - he can't remember the stuff he reads and learns - so we told him to take notes. We're hoping that works. He's a really good guy, just needs a little push by the spirit. The guy I gave a blessing to in the hospital last week walked out the doors on thursday. Can you believe that? I couldn't believe it when I got the phone call. He wasn't supposed to make it another week but ended up walking out instead. Amazing how the Priesthood works.

Friday-

After training we went to dinner with Joseph's parents (the tanuvasa's). They're very very nice and interested in what we're up to. After that we went to Theo's and gave him some things for his birthday. A watermellon, some soda, a razor and some cake. He was really excited but kind of sick so we didnt stay long. I committed our filipino friend Felix to be baptized... but.... he doesnt seem to understand. I'd ask him to be baptized and he'd say 'yes but I don't see why I need to be - i've already been baptized twice' then we'd explain the apostasy, and restoration. Well we went through this about 3 times before I finally just said "so will you be baptized by someone holding the proper authority of God?' and when he said 'yes', I cut him off before he could say 'but' and ended with a prayer. I'm sure we'll have to address that again soon.

Saturday-

We went to a members' house in the carson ward for dinner - they had a little dog that was sniffing Elder Sung. When the little girl (maybe 3 years old) saw that, she said "oh, he only sniffs things that are stinky". That made me laugh pretty good. We had a crazy experience where I felt like we needed to go to our ward mission leaders' house. We got there and there was an animal control car parked out front. We asked the guy what was going on and all of his dogs were outside. 2 little ones and a big german shepherd that isn't right in the head. No one was home and they wouldnt answer their phone. Sooo we ended up spending an hour in the dark rounding up these dogs, trying not to get bitten. We got them in the house and shut the door - everything turned out ok.

Sunday -

Went to church - an inactive family that we've been visiting for a good while finally came to church today for the first time in years. The Bishop of the ward said that he's never seen them there before. That was realllllllly good. We visited Theo and I told him that there is a good chance I might be getting transferred next wednesday - he thanked me and gave me a big hug and said what he said before "i've seen a lot of missionaries over the years and you were the only one that I could connect with. You're the only one that ever got through to me. You better come back" That made my day. The rest of the day was spent taking sacrament to a couple of families and having FHE and the Lopez's. Good week.

I have 7 minutes left on the computer and you're the only one i've emailed. Sheesh. I'm really sorry I wasn't able to reply to anyone elses emails (sara, cami, laci, dad) but i'll try to type and read faster next week. I really appreciate all of you peoples' letters and support. 6 months tomorrow - nuts. I love you all so so much.

Love you,

Elder Cottrell

Aug. 3, 2010 - Run Sung Run!

Hey! So the libraries are starting to close on mondays now in L.A. county. They might have to change my p-day but for now i'll probably be writing on tuesdays. Pretty good chance it will still be on monday though because there are a few libraries in my area that will be open. Hope you had a happy birthday! Laci's is comin up soon, that should be fun. Thank you for your great letter and everything, I look forward to it all week! You have been so busy with young womens, doesn't sound like much has changed there! You and dad have always dedicated all of your time to serving others; it's been such a good thing for me to work towards being throughout my life. You'll have to send me a picture of the new front steps and all of your new toys. Way to go with the ring and stuff from Tiffany's - sounds pretty fancy. Allllllright lets begin,

Wednesday after I emailed you we went downtown to the famous hot dog place "Pinks". There was such a big line but it was exactly how it was shown on tv - really cool and good food. We did a baptismal interview for one of the sisters' baptisms that was on saturday later that night and the interview-ee passed and is now in the singles ward.

Thursday we did some weekly planning (not my favorite part of the week or day but good none-the-less) and then hopped on our bikes. We were given 900 miles to drive in the month of June and somehow managed to drive 1500. We're blaming pep-boys. Anyway for the month of July they gave us only 500 to compensate for the mile overage in June. So by about July 25th, we were out of miles. The only other option- bike or walk. Which I don't mind too much, I love being outside as you know and you meet so many more people on the sidewalk. We rode over to Wilmington to where we thought our dinner apointment was at. I knocked on the door and a Mexican man answered. We were supposed to be eating with Samoans so I was confused of course. He was so polite and talkative though so we just talked with him for a while. He just moved here from Mexico about 3 weeks ago and has been working day and night since so it was a miracle we caught him at all. I was able to use my small spanish skills to tell him who we were and what we were doing. He was very interested and we set up a return apointment for the spanish elders. I thought that was pretty neat. The Samoan family that we were supposed to eat with, did in fact USED to live in that house but conviniently moved without telling anyone. We finished up with the Ifopo family later that night and set up their baptismal interview for tonight - it's going to be huge. The wife and sister were baptized when they were 18 back in Samoa but haven't gone to church out here. So we sent in for their records to headquarters in Salt Lake. The sisters records came back. But the wife's did NOT. So she will be re-baptized. She couldn't be more excited and neither could her husband. Now it's 4 baptisms instead of 3!

Friday we rode our bikes to the other side of Carson to the Boyer family. Their lives are dominated primarily by softball. 4 girls all under the age of 15 and they all play competitively. They travel all over the place and often on Sundays. They wanted to watch a movie so we pulled out a few DVD's that we had and let them choose. We watched Joy to the World in the middle of summer. It went way better than I thought it would. I never realized how great of a teacher that simple DVD is. It calmed all of the girls down and we were able to teach them the importance of coming to church and partaking of the sacrament. I was able to relate to them alot with the sports of baseball and softball. I explained how the coach of their team is like Heavenly Father and the assistant coach is like our Prophet. We know that they are there for us and want us to succeed. As we follow their advice, we overcome trials and become closer to the goal- eternal life.

Saturday we visited Theo to see how he was doing and remind him about church. While in his garage, all of the sudden he looked at us and said 'Watch this!" he ran to a closet and pulled out this old pellet gun and ran to the end of the garage with it, pointing into the street. I looked to see what he was pointing at - it was a crow. The bird flew away before he shot but I laughing pretty hard just because it was so random. We went to Erica's baptismand talked with Franco some more.

Sunday - big day. Theo came to church again. I was so stinkin excited to see him there. A lady that we have been teaching here and there - Eden Dial from the Philipines also came! She was baptized in the philipines, went through the temple and then got married and moved out here. Her husband is catholic and wont let her go to church. She hasnt been for 7 years. She has 3 young kids and she wants nothing more than for them to be able go to church. We worked it out (her choice) where she was able to get a ride from one of the members and come to church with her kids while her husband was at work. She was more excited to come that anyone i've ever seen. She loved coming and we are still thinking of a way to convince her husband to let her come every week. Elder Sung and I were put on the spot to teach Gospel Principles on Eternal Marriage. That was interesting. Then we took some of the food that the members gave us over to Theo and ate with him in his garage.

Monday- Went to point fermin lighthouse in San Pedro and took a tour of it as a zone and then played soccer down by the marina. Stocked up for the month at Costco and then went to dinner with sister Silva at a brazillian place. We had FHE with the lopez's and Elder Sung gave the message. Then sister Lopez gave me a haircut and we headed for home. I jumped in the shower to wash my hair.. while I was in there I heard a bunch of running around and cupboards shutting inthe apartment. When I got out, Elder Sung was on the couch with a look of relief on his face. He told me that as soon as I got in the shower, he reallllly had to go #2. He was looking for something to go in but couldnt find anything. He ended up calling the zone leaders to ask for permission to leave the apartment to go. He sprinted to our landlords apartment and knocked on the door saying "I reallllly need to use the restroom", Vic looked at him and said 'Huh?' getting the hint they started to walk to where one was. Vic - an older man- said 'would you like me to speed up?' Elder sung said yes and they sprinted to where it was. I guess Elder Sung just barely made it. Well that's my funny story for the week. I laughed ... well, still am laughing.

I love you all, thank you for the support and love.

Elder Cottrell

July 28,2010

Heyyyyyy,

Sorry I'm emailing on wednesday, we had our temple p-day today so we just worked on monday. We have one of those every 2 transfers so hold your horses if I don't mail right away in the future. I got your package, thank you verrrrry much for the giftcard, brace, popcorn, NUTTER BUTTERS (way suprised you remember that I love those), etc. That was a pretty awesome thing to get. Elder Garrett knows Elder Astin that you saw in St. G. He was pretty excited to hear that but I get Elder Astin is already home so you must have seen him just before he left. Boston sounds way fun, i'd love to go there someday. Dad did you hold any leadership positions on your mission? I don't think you've ever told me. Well regardless if you did or not, you were a leader for sure with the calling of an Elder.

Alllllllright so we'll go with last Tuesday...

I found out that Elder Mitillo would be getting transfered to Hunnington Park/Watts to be a district leader again over there and that I would receive a new companion that had been the district leader in Westchester. So Elder Mitillo and I made some rounds to some of our favorite families and investigators to say goodbye, they all had lots of stuff to give to us - the samoans and other people out here are so polite and would do anything for the missionaries. We ate with the Zone Leaders a last time and got Elder Mitillo packed up.

Wednesday Elder Mitillo left and Elder Sung came. He is Korean but is from Australia and has lived there for his whole life. How odd is that? I did NOT expect to hear that kind of accent come out of his mouth when he spoke to me. Anyway we bought him some food and then started walking. We walked from 1:00 to about 6:00. We got to know each other better and were able to visit alot of people. We eventually had to get the car because some of the other Elders in the district locked their keys in their car so we had the priveledge of driving to the mission home to get the spare key. Being the district leaders companion comes with alot of the same responsibilites that he has I suppose.

Thursday- we planned for next week for about 3 hours, our dinner fell through so I cooked myself some grits and eggs, we walked to where the Ifopo's live and finished the lessons. They're such a great family. They're having a ton of family come out for their baptism on August 8th. I'm really excited for that - it'll be a great chance to teach to those that aren't members as well as those that are.

Friday - We had a district meeting and met everyone that is new in the zone. One of the sisters that was in my mtc district (sister clark) is now in my district out here - so that's pretty cool I guess. We received our new zone goal - having 2 member present lessons, 2 baptismal dates and 2 progressing investigators throughout the entire transfer. So far, we're in the lead as a companionship. We visited a filipino man that we tracted into the day before and taught him about the Restoration. He had met with the missionaries a long time ago and believes everything about the church, just doesn't feel he should get baptized yet. BUT he also told us that from the moment he saw us walking up to him on the sidewalk, he knew we were sent from God and that he should stop smoking and drinking. So he hadn't done either since the time we met him and he isn't planning on doing it again. That was pretty neat to hear. We visited Franco again and he gave me a card to send to you - hope you got it. I made it pretty funny I think.

Saturday- We had no miles left on our car, so we walked. Elder Sung's bike was still in his old area and was waiting for it to get to him soooo we couldn't bike. I still ride my cruiser around - i'll try to save it for you. Can you believe i've been out over 5 months? I can't. Anyway we had lunch with some investigators - lisa and her brother Joseph. They took us to the Carson Buffett - it was a really good chance to get to know them better and just talk to them. Joseph actually served a mission but is considered 'less-active' now and Lisa is sort of investigating the Church. After that we went to the Crestridge building in Palos Verdes to help with the stake pioneer day activity. I was in charge of basketball and keeping track of the score in the different competitions. We were there for a good 5 hours. It was a good time for sure. President Baker asked our whole zone to go help out with it incase non-members were present. President Baker and I think alot alike. He's made a big emphasis on doing service and getting close with the members to receive referrals. He knows that we must gain their trust before they give us much information about their close friends or family who aren't members. Non of the missionaries (excluding the A.P.'s) see the president much. That's how it was with President Blackburn as well. We live at the bottom of the mission and never really have time to just go visit him or anything like that - you've asked alot of questions about him... but really, I don't know much about him. He's a busy man! As well as myself! So i'm sorry for that bit...We went to see Theo afterwards. He was in the garage, smoking, still wet from a shower. One good thing - he took a shower. He said that he needed to take one saturday so that he'd go to church sunday (something he's been telling us forever) One bad thing- he was smoking. I told him to put it out while we were there and he did. We talked to him for a good while and got him to pray. Only the second time he agreed to do it since i've been here. He cried at the start of his prayer and put his arms around me and said " I can't do this, I can't", I grabbed his face and looked him in the eye and said "yes, you can" he began again with tears and I really felt the spirit strong. He has a great heart but is just too influenced too much by his bad friends. Other missionaries and the family that lives in the house have called him "Elder Cottrell's project". Meaning basically "good luck" because no other missionary or member has ever been able to get him to change. I'll be honest, I was and still am determined to help him change his life around. I told him that I would be looking forward to seeing him at church the next day. He always says 'maybe... maybe' - this time I told him "there is no maybe Theo, tomorrows the day. I really don't want to leave church just to walk to your house and get you out of bed. You're out of excuses. I love you man but you have got to come tomorrow". He looked at me for a while, right in the eye and said "you know what? you're a pushy little bugger. But you know me and know that I need that push, I love you man" .

Sunday - Sewed button on Theos pants - $5

Gave him a tie and 2 shirts- $60

Gave him a pack of black socks- $15

Gave him water, sunflower seeds, and other food- $10

Getting him to come to church for the first time in 30 years? Priiiiiiceless

I can't even express how happy I was when I saw theo ride up to the church building as we greeted people before sacrament. He was on his best scwhinn bike, had his hair combed, wearing the pants I sewed and the shirt I gave him. He locked up his bike and walked inside. I yelled to him "Theo!", he turned around with a grin a waved and walked to the back bench inside the chapel. I sat right next to him and was sure to share my hymn book and scriptures with him. He had alcohol on his breath with way too much aftershave on but regardless - he was at church. Ironic enough, his brother and sister-in-law were speaking in sacrament. That was so good for him to hear their testimonies - I think it meant alot to him. I just prayed the entire meeting that he would feel the spirit and have the desire to become better. He only stayed for sacrament but I could have cried for how happy I was that he came. We're getting the job done with the Lord, slowly but surely He is changing his heart. Later that night we were riding home from an apointment that fell through when a man came running out of a bar to the sidewalk saying "Elders! Elders!", we pulled over to find out that his truck was broken and was getting towed. He was a member of the church but hasn't been in a really really long time. He was with some friends outside of the bar - as we walked up to them he said to them "I'm not ashamed of these men, they preach the truth. I am going to pray with them that the repair for my truck won't be too costly. You may bow your heads if you want, but don't judge us". Elder Sung and I were shocked to say the least. We've never really participated in blessing an... object. He prayed, we told him to get to church and told him what he's missing out on. He admitted to a heavy drinking problem but wants to come back. We've got another person to teach!

Monday- We biked. The whole day. It was smokin hot outside. I'm looking more and more like the people I teach (sunnnnny). We taught a homeless man in the park that made it all the way out here from New York. He had alot to tell us. We actually first met him on Sunday where he wandered into the church building. He went to two sacrament meetings and was really interested. We met him in the park and taught him about the Restoration and had him pray right then and there for an answer. I gave him a pare of some sweat pants that I dont use and a thing of crackers. He sleeps by the railroad tracks and doesn't know anyone. It breaks my heart to see people like this. I just want to help them. I've soon found out that the best thing I can really do for them right now is pray and tell them about the Gospel.

Tuesday- I'm out of time on the computer so i'll make it quick - we helped a family move that is headed to hawaii - one of my favorites - the moeai's- i sent a picture of them. I'll miss them for sure. We taught the Ifopo's again and had them ask us any questions or concerns they had before they get baptized. They're so great at following up on any commitments and talking about how they've progressed since we' taught them last. I'm so excited for their baptism.

Thank you again for all you are doing. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for all you do for me. You're great examples to me and i'm so grateful to be your grandson.

Sam's 2nd photo CD

I made this slide show for Sam's mission blog of his second cd that we just got today-Never mind the first photo that Sam took- Good thing Brett can take a joke! Brother's....geez! (it is pretty funny though)

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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

July 13,2010 Letter

Sounds like you've had a busy week with youth conference! Glad you're safe and had a good time. That rafting job sounds like it's right up my alley - really i'd love to look into that later on. Sorry I didnt email yesterday, we were really busy - you're about to find out why. Alright so we'll start with Wednesday. I finished the book Our Search For Happiness by M. Russel Ballard - i've been reading it here and there since i've been here. If I wasn't born into the Church, after reading that - i'd convert for sure. It really gives such a great understanding as to what we really believe and clears up alot of false things people think about the Church. I had the opportunity to go on splits with Elder Richins later that day - we went to his area in Wilmington. There is a huge Catholic cathedral there that is really old - we stopped by and walked around it for a minute and got a few things from the gift shop there - it was really an amazing building but also really lacked the spirit. You can always tell a huge difference when you're in another church. We went to an apointment after that where the person we were teaching was in the Complex's swimming pool. So we stood by the pool and taught this big samoan kid while he swam around. It wasn't super productive but he's a really good guy. Hopefully next time we go there he isnt swimming. We went to visit a girl that the sisters had passed on to him and his companion. We had never met her before so we didnt know what to expect. When we got to the house the door was wide open. So we rang the doorbell and asked if anyone was home and just sat there for a minute. Of course I got curious because I could hear people inside. I probably made a mistake by stepping into the house. As soon as I did that, a girl came around the corner with a raised voice asking me what I was doing in her house and kind of just yelled at us. We were pretty shocked and told her that we were just looking for mariana and that the missionaries had met with her before. It was really awkward... Then the girl started to laugh at us... She said that she was mariana and was just playing a joke on us. We were relieved ha. We were able to pick up with her where the sisters left off. Elder Richins has high hopes for her. We went contacting later down in Wilmington with little success.. but we did however find another church that has been using an old movie theater as their 'headquarters' for the last 4 years. That was kind of neat. Thursday we had interviews with President Baker and his wife. It was really kind of a 'getting to know you' thing but it went really well. They're both very spiritual people and i'm excited to see what they have to bring to the CLAM. We weekly planned for a couple of hours after that and then we went to our dinner apt. The guy grew up in Boston - Wakefield actually. He went to Lynnfield Highschool thats right across from the wakefield building. Anyway I got that information to see if Dad served there. He wasn't a member back then but knows that is where the church was. We taught the Ifopo family after that - a family of 6 Samoans. 3 have been baptized but it was a really long time ago and in Samoa. We're having trouble finding their records - I hope we can find them. We already set a baptismal date with the other 3 for August 1st. Can you believe that? After only teaching them twice. They are so so eager to be members of the Church. The Dad doesn't speak hardly any English so every time we teach them we have a translator from the Samoan ward come with us. We teach, he translates what we say - he speaks, he translates back. It's really pretty cool. Whenever we pray at that house they make sure to turn the lights off during the prayer and then back on when it's finished - i've never seen that before but it's kind of cool and more peaceful. Anyway they're a really amazing family and i'm so excited for them. They've come to church for 2 weeks now and participate in all of the classes. Friday we had a District meeting that went really well. I'm really taking alot of notes and trying to study more into what we are being taught during my personal studies. Its been very useful during lessons that we teach. I went on splits with Elder Hodell after that meeting until Saturday afternoon. I had made a schedule the night before with Elder Mitillo so we stuck to it and met and taught alot of people. It was a really effective day - he's a zone leader and has been on his mission for quite a while so it's great to see the way he teaches and gets to know people better and then apply some of it in my own teaching. We went to teach the Ifopo's again on saturday but our translator didnt show up. So we kind of struggled through a lesson but it went really good. All of the Samoans out here just want to give us money. Everytime we visit a family the offer us money and often times wont let us leave without taking it. We're not supposed to take it but when we have to we give it to the ward so I guess that's alright. Last month a guy in the ward gave me 2 brand new dress shirts from Nordstrom still in the package. I've just left them in my closet thinking i'll wait till winter or something to use them. Saturday I was grateful that I never opened them. I had the idea to give them to Theo. The guy living in his brothers' garage that hasn't been to church in 10 years, doesnt shower or have many clothes. I stuck them in my backpack and we went to visit him. I ended up giving them to him and bearing him my testimony of church. He started to cry and gave me a big hug. I really hope that the love Elder Mitillo and I are showing for him is making a difference and will make him want to change. It was a great lesson. Elder Carroll got hit by a car on his bike on sunday and had to stay the night in the hospital - he's in my district and so we were responsible for his companion. We picked him up from the hospital at 10 30 pm sunday night and took him to our place. He spent the night with us there. Elder Carroll will be ok, he's just having to wear a neck brace for a while, it's a good thing he was wearing his helmet. So yesterday we had to take care of alot of things for him - getting him clothes and things from his apartment, working out his apointments, etc. We played some soccer at the Carson building for about an hour and then Elder Mitillo and I went with the zone leaders to Hollywood and hiked HollyRidge to the sign. We were right up above the Hollywood sign which was pretty cool, you could see all of L.A. They were filming a segment for a show called "The Bold and the Beautiful" that's on CBS while we were up there. I didnt recognize any of the actors there though. We had FHE with the Lopez's again last night and Kazandra gave the lesson. She talked about service within the family - it was actually a really good lesson and made me think back to what I could have done better service-wise when I was living at home for my family. Last but not least we went to a lady's house to move her Futon (couch/bed thing) up her stairs. Those things are ridiculous to handle. We ended up lifting it from outside of her house up to the balcony to get it in. We finally got home kind of late last night and went to bed. Well I think that about covers it. A lot still happening here and alot of adjusting. Sounds like the other Elders in the family are doing really well.

I love you all, have a good week!

love Elder Cottrell

Keys by Revelation!

Hello! Sorry I didn't write yesterday, all of the libraries were closed.. Funny I guess people here still substituted the 4th of July for the 5th because it was on a sunday. Oh well. Grandma and Grandpa Cottrell, did you know a sister Gladis Muania in the Hawaii visitors center that learned to quilt and passed away on her last day of her mission? A member here mentioned her and knew her in one way or another - kind of random but I made a note to ask you if you knew her. Mom could you please send that back-massage pad for the car that brett had on his mission? I know it's downstairs... saw it before I left. That'd be really appreciated, some days my back kills me. Dad that guy that plays for the Bears is the tight end and his name is Brandon Monomeleuna. Finally got that information. Alright and the last of my points I wrote down during the week - Sister Tepper in the ward grew up with the Beach Boys in Hawthorne and went to a dance with Brian. Thought you'd think that was neat.

Tuesday Elder Mitillo and I went to Malaga Cove to help some other Elders do service for a guy that recently moved here from Hawaii. We moved a bunch of wood from one side of his yard to the other. He has a huuuuge garden that has been there for years and years with over 30 different kinds of trees including avacado, grapefruit, apricot, orange, and fig. It was very cool! He took us around and showed us each one, letting us sample it. When we left his house and got back to the other Elders apartment in Wilmington, I realized the keys to my car were... misplaced. We had played soccer for a while at the park that day so I figured they must have been there. We went all the way back to Malaga Cove to search for the keys, with no luck. We looked everywhere and could not find them anywhere. We ended up having to drive all the way to the mission home to borrow a spare key. While there I also found out that it'd cost me about $350 to replace the old key because it had a remote in it, etc. That debt would be divided between me and elder mitillo - that's how all fines are done here. I felt super bad because I was the one who lost the keys yet he would still have to pay as well. I was really bummed the rest of the night and at our dinner appointment. I never lose things and was very frustrated that I couldn't find those keys! Well I prayed... and prayed... and prayed some more. Wednesday morning I got out of bed and sat on the couch and just thought about where that key could be. All of the sudden a picture popped into my head of where it was. The whole time I was convinced that I lost it at the park but in this picture was the other Elders' car, and the seatbelt. Elder Mitillo got out of bed and the first thing I said to him was "I know where the key is". We drove to the other Elders' apartment and I asked them to unlock their car. They rolled their eyes keeping in mind that we had torn that car apart looking for the key the day before. I opened the door and looked at the exact spot I had seen in my head. I reached my hand below the seatbelt and pulled out the key. They couldn't believe it, and neither could I. I wanted to cry I was so happy. Both that I didnt have to pay the fine and that I truly received revelation as to where it was. I know the validity of personal revelation and that God really does lead and guide us with that great tool. I'm so so grateful that I am on a mission and was in-tune with the spirit enough to recognize what I needed to do.

Wednesday we had a 'meet and greet' with our new President. President and Sister Baker. They have lived in Riverton for a couple of years but have moved around the states for most of their lives. They both, however, are originally from san diego and are very familiar with this area. They seem very down-to-earth and very called of God. I was very impressed with them both and am excited to see what they have to give to the mission.

I've been able to see the ocean a whole lot lately now that it is in my area. I love it! Elder Leveall and I went contacting by the beach while our companions were in a leadership meeting earlier that day. We met a guy some Elders call the 'Jesus Man'. He has a van covered in crosses and other things about Jesus. He however really dislikes The Church. We talked to him for maybe 5 minutes and lets just say it didn't go too well. He really bashed on The Church and was saying really rude things to Elder Leveall. I was really really upset and.... got out of there before anything too drastic happened. You know I have a temper sometimes.

Thursday we did service again for Sister Green picking plums. She makes plum jam and needs us to get the plums for her. I love going there because she always lets us take a bag for ourselves. We went to the Grover's house later to pick up Journey of Faith - a dvd about facts of the Book of Mormon and the science of it.

Friday we had a district meeting and then visited Amelia Lopez afterwards. We taught about faith and patience. It was a really good lesson. Then we went to teach an investigator of ours - Brian Hernandez in Wilmington. He is 16 years old and was raised Catholic. We taught him about baptism and the Priesthood. It is so difficult telling people that they weren't baptized correctly and that they don't have the fullness of the Gospel. He accepted it pretty well though and we have high hopes for him getting baptized. We visited a recent convert of Elder Mitillo's. - Pretty Ricky. If you remember he is the same kid I sewed shorts for. He hasn't been to church in a while so we went to see what's going on. Bad news - he says he doesnt believe in the Church and was forced to be baptized by his sister. He wouldn't listen to what we were teaching him and was just not paying attention at all. I was firm with him when I told him that he had been baptized and made certain promises with God and is expected to live up to them. He is going to a different church now with one of his sisters and says he'll never come to ours again. Elder Mitillo took it really hard because he had just baptized him a few months earlier and seemed to be doing so well. We hope Ricky can feel the spirit and know what he needs to do.

Mom, Franco STILL won't be quiet about that ring you sent him. He calls just about every other day to say thank you again. So, thank you for sending that. Again. I really wish we could get him back to church. He's such a good guy.

Saturday I got converted to Mate. A drink many South Americans drink that is basically hay. I'll send you some pictures and maybe a sample. It's not very good but Elder Mitillo drinks it all the time. I like new things and exploring different cultures so I thought i'd give it a try. We taught Ampelia again about mothers in the home. I was able to relate to her alot with how her kids are and how she can get closer to them. Her kids are teenagers and she's a single mom - having a hard time staying close as a family. From stories she told us I remembered many times that you (mom and dad) have been such a great example to me and given me the advice I needed at that time in my life.

Sunday was testimony meeting and all of the youth got up to bear their testimonies and tell how much they learned on Trek this last week. It was a good meeting and brought back many memories and feelings I had of Trek. We ate dinner with the Romo family, latins - therefor we had mexican food. It was really really good and they were very nice to let us come and eat with all of their family on that holliday. We had a Zone activity that night at the church. We watched Journey of Faith. After that we went to Elder Richins apartment in Wilmington and got on the roof. As soon as the sun went down, the city went nuts. It honestly was the most fireworks I have ever seen in my life. And they were evvvvverywhere. We got back to our aparment around 10 and the sound of the fireworks went on all through the night.

Yesterday I woke up at 4:30 and knew that something was wrong with my stomach. Between then and 9:30 I lost it in the toilet 3 times. Out of my mouth. That was fun... Then the zone leaders picked us up and took us to Bell Gardens in South Gate to have a soccer tournament with the whole mission. There were about 150 missionaries there so it was pretty chaotic but it was fun. I felt really light headed for most of the day... I must have had the stomach flu or something but I was ok.

We had family night at the Lopez's. I used an object lesson where I had one of the kids represent Jesus Christ. Then I went around the room and asked everyone if they wanted a piece of candy. I gave one to them wether they wanted one or not. Then I said to the kid representing Jesus Christ that for everyone that had a piece of candy, he would have to do 10 push ups. He was shaking and exhausted by the time he got done. The family was laughing at first but then it got really quiet towards the end when it was clear he was struggling. We had a really good lesson about the Atonement and how we should remember it in everything we do. We need to be so grateful for it and use it daily. It was a really good family night.

That brings us to today. Elder Mitillo woke up and couldn't walk from soccer yesterday. It's pretty funny but I guess serious enough that he had the other elders come over to help give him a blessing.

Sounds like you have had and will have a busy summer! Be careful rafting, wear your life jacket! I'm so grateful that you've truly honestly dedicated your lives to the Gospel. I'll write again soon!

Love you all,

Elder Cottrell