iPad Mini

Hey Family & Friends!!
This week has been a crazy one. We have had a lot of success and a lot of fun!! The weather has been really crazy recently. We have quite a bit of snow and ice right now. The library is closed... luckily I got an iPad mini now!! Haha. Our whole mission received iPad minis to work with. They are awesome!! The Church has this awesome app for us to use that helps us stay organize and move the work forward. We love using them.

Monday: We had a fun District Pday last week. We went down to Hopkinsville. We played volleyball and a couple other games with our District. We also played ping pong and I still dominated. I played Elder Smith (senior couple) and barely lost to him though. Haha. It was a lot of fun. After, we got dinner and headed back to Marion. Elder Roney stayed in Hopkinsville and we went on exchanges with the Elders. Elder Motes came back with me. We went to Tom's house and talked to him for a little bit. We talked to Tom about the Book of Mormon and the Priesthood. He has had some lessons before. He still has a lot to learn, but he doesn't have a ton of time because he works so hard at his job. Then, we went to Seldon's house because we didn't have any set appointments and we were pretty sure he was free to talk.
We stopped by and he was surprised to see us, but he still let us in. We showed him a Mormon Message from Mormon.org. Then we had a great conversation on prayer and receiving revelation through prayer.

Tuesday: We started off by having a great lesson with Bill. We started the lesson with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it lead us into talking about dealing with adversity. We helped him to have courage and strength to press on with being baptized. Bill is such a nice guy. Then we tried to see a bunch of people, but didn't have much luck. We headed down to Princeton for Family Home Evening. We tried to see a couple people on the way down and in Princeton. Family home evening went really well. The Princeton Sisters had a great lesson on Church, Prayer, Read (CPR). They talked about how we need to have all three in our lives. Tim & Trudy came and had a great time. They are super excited for the Holy Ghost and Confirmation into the Church on Sunday.


Wednesday: We had Interviews with President and the Assistants gave us a training on using the iPads!!! We received the iPads and we were shown the stuff the Church gave us for them. It was awesome! That took most of the day. The iPads get rid of the daily planners, area books, and help us share videos, share messages, and plan easier. We love them!

Thursday: We had a miracle today. We were working this particular area in Marion trying to contact some potential investigators. We didn't have much luck, so we started tracting the houses around us. We knocked this one door and this nice woman answered. We started to explain who we are and the Book of Mormon and she says, "Oh, I know who you are. I was baptized a couple years ago in Utah. I've lived in Marion for about a year, but I came from West Jordan, Utah." WHAT?!?  Are you kidding me?? I'm like, "No way!! I'm from West Jordan, Utah!!" We high fived each other and had a good laugh about it. We started talking to her. She's from the actual West Jordan though not the Copper Hills West Jordan. It was still awesome to find a recent convert in Marion!! Her name is Maria. She is a single mother
that has 3 kids. She is super nice. She was recently diagnosed with cancer though. We hope to get her active again and get her help from the Branch. After that crazy miracle, we went to Tim & Trudy's house. We had a great lesson with them. We talked about being confirmed on Sunday and they were still excited for that. We also talked about reviewing the lessons again throughout the weeks. Now we are focusing on their son, Matt. We went to Seldon's house next. Had a really cool lesson on the scriptures he's reading. He just finished 1 Nephi and he had read 2 Nephi 1-6. He loved it. He is learning so much and he loves reading the stories in the Book of Mormon. We stopped by Bill's house after that. Talked to him about adversity again. We also helped him protect his Facebook so that he has good people on Facebook. Good day!

Friday: We spent most of the day putting all our area book information into the iPads. The iPad's sync with Salt Lake, so that if we get transferred, the iPads already update the information that the previous missionaries had put in. It's a really cool system! We took a break and went out with Brother Ahrens to see a couple people. We had a great lesson with a guy named, John. We talked to him about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. It went really well. After that, we went by Kendra's house and talked to her about her reading. She loves reading. Kendra also had some cousins over, so we were able to talk to them about the Book of Mormon and give them one. Brother Ahrens took us to a fish fry in Kuttawa again. It was pretty good. Cat fish is pretty good. Can't have too much though! Haha it's an all you can eat fish fry. It was pretty good, we also got to meet a lot of people that live in Kuttawa. We went back and continued to put people in the iPad.

Saturday: We helped a family move. They are a nice family that have lived in the Branch for quite awhile. It sucks that they are leaving, but they have a big family and they need a bigger house. We then went to a funeral. We met a lot of nice people and had a good talk with them. The person that died was a lady in our ward, Sylvia. Then we headed back up and went out with Brother Ahrens. We went to Maria's house and had her meet Brother Ahrens. Had a good little meeting with her. Finished off the night with Bill. Brother Ahrens helped Bill have courage.

Sunday: This is when the weather started to get pretty bad. Luckily we were able to go down and have Church and have Tim and Trudy confirmed. We only had sacrament because they wanted everyone to get home safely. We came back and had studies. Then, we had to stay in because the weather was too bad. Luckily we had iPads!! We were still productive even while being trapped inside. Haha

Today: We are going to do our best with this crappy weather. Haha. We were able to get out and find wifi so that we can email you guys. It's starting to warm up a little bit.

Well guys, thanks for all you do! I'm having so much fun! I love my mission and I'm learning so much. I hope your week goes well. I can't believe I've almost been out 6 months!! Crazy! I love you! I miss you!

-Love Elder Cottam

Sent from my iPad (that's right!!)

Baptism of Tim and Trudy

Hey Family and Friends!!

I have had a fantastic week!! I love watching the work move forward. Especially in the area that I started. Transfers are coming soon and I think I might get transferred, but I want to stay for at least one more transfer. I'm not sure what the Lord has in store for me, but I'll go where He wants me to go. I'm still loving my mission and I continue to love it more and more each day!! You guys give me so much support and it really helps me to do my very best!!

 

Now for the week:

 

Monday: We started off by fixing the car in Eddyville (just some regular maintenance and the air system). We emailed at the Ahrens place while the car was being fixed. Then we headed back up to Marion and wrote letters and did some normal cleaning. We headed over to Seldon's place after all that and played a couple games of ping pong with him. haha. It went pretty good. I dominated everyone and I only lost to Seldon one time. After dinner, we went to Dylan's house and taught him the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The lesson went excellent!! Dylan is a very nice guy. He knows the Bible really well and he believes very similar to some of the things we believe. Hopefully we can have an awesome lesson with him tonight. We also went over to Bill's house and told him about the plan for him to be baptized and taught the lessons again. He has been having a lot of health problems recently, but he is making progress. He is an awesome guy and he is full of love.

 

Tuesday: We went down to the Clothing Bank and helped them out for a little bit. Then we tried to see a couple people through the area, but not a lot of people were home. We started to head down to family home evening and we stopped on the way down to talk with a couple people. We also had a dinner appointment with some members in Princeton. The Hale's fed us spaghetti. It was delicious! We had a great talk with them and got to know them a little better. They are a great family! Tony and his son Cody have been converts for about 2 years now! They are so funny and they really help us and the Branch out a lot. Then we had a fantastic family home evening lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Quite a bit of people showed up and enjoyed it. Tim & Trudy really enjoyed it as well.

 

Wednesday: We had a fantastic District Meeting to start off the day. Full of great training's and spiritual thoughts. We had District lunch at Arby's and it was so good!! haha. Then we headed back to Princeton. We just worked the area of Princeton because later that night we had a Valentine Party at the Church. We went out with the Hale's again to see a bunch of people in Princeton. Not a lot of people were home, so Brother Hale dropped us off at a random corner and we took Cody tracting with us. It went really well, we contacted 3 families. They all have really good potential. Cody really enjoyed coming with us and seeing what we do. Cody is 18 years old and he is about to graduate. He is thinking about a mission, but he wants to go into the Army soon too. After that, we went to the Party and we had 4 of our investigators show up! We were also able to explain to Tim & Trudy about being baptized. We needed to have a couple more lessons with them and have them interviewed by the Zone Leaders. We explained that if everything went well they could be Baptized on Sunday!!

 

Thursday: Had a great lesson with Bill to start off the day. We re-taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The lesson went pretty well. The Spirit was really strong. Bill still has a strong testimony of the Gospel. It was a great lesson. Then we went to Tim & Trudy's house and finished up the commandments. We also answered some of their questions and told them about the baptismal questions. Everything was going well for them to be baptized on Sunday. After dinner, we went to Seldon's house and had a powerful lesson with him. His hardest thing is prayer. He doesn't want to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true yet. He has been reading a lot, but he hasn't prayed yet.The lesson went really well though.

 

Friday: We had a great weekly planning for the next week. Then we went to Tim & Trudy's house and had the Zone Leaders come over and give them their baptismal interviews. They both passed the interview!! We knew that it would be easy for them. Everything was ready for them to be baptized on Sunday!! We went over the program for the service and went over the specifics of the baptism all together. Everyone was excited and ready to go! After, we went to play volleyball again with the Marion Baptist Church. Elder Roney and I dominated!! haha. They are such a great group of people.

 

Saturday: We went out with Brother Ahrens to see a bunch of people in Marion and Crayne. We contacted quite a bit and gave out quite a bit of Sister Ahrens fresh bread. haha. We also got in contact with a less active member in Crayne. She was moving out of Crayne into Marion (4 miles away from each other). We got her phone number and address so that we can visit with her sometime and get her some visiting teachers. After dinner we, tried to contact some people in Marion, but we didn't have much success.

 

Sunday: We had a great Church service. We had 3 investigators at Church. We were able to explain sacrament to Tim & Trudy a little better as well. After Church we had Tim & Trudy's Baptism!!! It was so amazing!! Everything went perfectly. I gave a talk on baptism. Then, I was privileged to baptize Trudy. Elder Roney baptized Tim. We were so happy when they asked us to baptize them!! The baptisms went perfectly. Then, Elder Roney gave a talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a great day!! They had the biggest smiles on their faces!! Well, we did too. haha. It was a glorious day!! Next Sunday, they will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost! It was our first of many baptisms for the Marion Area.

 

Today: We will finish up emailing, write some letters, do some basic Pday stuff, then head down to Hopkinsville for a District Pday!! Elder Roney and I are going on exchanges with the Hopkinsville Elders. Elder Motes is coming to Marion with me and Elder Roney is going to Hopkinsville with Elder Smith. This is Elder Roney's first time being out of Marion, so hopefully he had fun. haha.

 

Everything is going well for us. Elder Roney is an awesome companion!! We have so much fun together and we work really hard. The Marion area is really moving along and we love it!! Thank you so much for all your love and support! Thanks for being patient with my responses. I love and miss you guys so much!! I've almost been out for 6 months!! 1/4 of my mission!! Crazy!! I love this work. I love being a missionary. I know this Church is true. Have a great week family!!

 

-Love Elder Cottam

 

P.S. Enjoy the photos!!

P-Day Picture

I got an email tonight from 

Sis Aherns with this picture she took of 

Elder Cottam emailing us from her house today! 

Hey Family & Friends!!

It's been a crazy week!! haha. I hope you guys have had a good week. I love you guys so much. I can't believe how much support I have from you guys. I love it!

Monday: Last Pday was pretty sweet!! One of the most memorable experiences of my mission!! President Anderson came down to Marion and picked us up and took us down to Princeton to go bowling!! It was so much fun. We had so much trash talk between us!! haha. As you could probably guess, President Anderson kicked our butt!! He got 159 the first game and 158 the second game!! I swear that guy is good at everything!! Elder Roney and I thought we could take him, but we were wrong... haha. Elder Roney got pretty close to him in the second game, but that's because President cheated!! haha. They were cleaning the lanes and the guy knocked the pins down to sweep the lane and it ended up giving President an extra strike!! haha. Of course the time that President comes down is the time that I completely sucked it up. We had a lot of fun though. After bowling, President took us to Subway, then back up to Marion to see a couple of our investigators. We had this really powerful lesson with Seldon!! The Spirit was so strong and we all had really powerful testimonies. After Seldon, we went and saw Bill. Bill wasn't feeling too good, so we gave him a blessing and read some scriptures with him. The Spirit was so strong during the blessing. Bill's daughter Rachel (Less Active Member) was there and she told us that she really felt the Spirit. The whole day went so perfectly! It was amazing!! We had a great time with President and he said that he had a great night as well. We were so shocked when he said he was coming down! It was such a privilege to have him come to Marion. President and Sister Anderson are the best! I love them to death!

Tuesday: We met with a Less Active Member at McDonalds. Her name is Annette. She has lived in Marion for quite some time. She was saying that she wants to come back into the Church. We talked with the branch and we should be getting her some Visiting Teachers soon. Hopefully she can attend church soon. We had a great talk with her. Later that night we went down to Family Home Evening in Princeton and Tim & Trudy came. The little lesson and activity went really well. Tim & Trudy thought it went okay cause they misunderstood what Brother Aherns was saying, but we went back on Thursday and cleared everything up. They were supposed to get baptized this week, but they were really sick yesterday and they couldn't make it to church. Hopefully we can have their baptismal service next week. Everyone is super excited for them. They love having us over and they love the Church. I love it!!

Wednesday: Temple Trip!!! The temple they have in Franklin, TN is so beautiful on the inside and outside. It's a super tiny temple (perfect for my tiny mom ;), but the peace and love you feel inside is still the same and just as powerful. I have missed going to the temple so much and it was so nice to finally go again. We had are District go through together and it was such a neat experience for all of us. I love going to the temple and I'm so grateful that we have so many temples that are so close together in Utah. It was a good 2-2 1/2 hour drive for this one. Most people hear have to make the temple a full day activity. After the temple we went to lunch at Chipolte. It was really good, but it doesn't compare to Cafe Rio. Oh how I miss Cafe Rio... and Panda Express... haha. Then we headed back to Marion. The new Cadiz Elders who used to be the Princeton Elders have been in Fairview, TN for the past 3 weeks. They finally got a replacement companion and they finally got a car for them to use in Cadiz. Their apartment wasn't completely ready in Cadiz, so they stayed with us until Saturday. Let's just say, it's been the longest 3 days of my mission. They are great missionaries, but they need to change some things.

Thursday: It was quite interesting figuring out what to do with Cadiz Elders while we had are normal plans, but we made it work. We went and saw Tim & Trudy and had a great lesson with them. We were so grateful that we could take care of the issue they had at FHE. They feel a lot better right now. We were so grateful that everything went well. Then we went and saw Seldon with the Cadiz Elders. The lesson went really well. We talked about what has been reading. He loves reading and we love talking about what he read. We also talked to him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I found this cool way to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ by using an egg and sucking it through a bottle. If you don't know what I mean, I'll have to show you sometime because it would take a long time to explain it all. haha. It's pretty cool!!

Friday: We had weekly planning for most of the day. I like to plan really thoroughly for the next week. It makes it so nice when we have most of the planning already done. Every night we have a nightly planning for the next day and it goes so much better when we have most of it already planned. After planning we went to play volleyball with the members of the Marion Baptist. They love having us come and play and we love playing with them. It's really good fellowship.

Saturday: We tried to go down to Eddyville to get our car fixed, but on Saturdays they aren't open for very long, so we had to wait. We went out with Brother Aherns to see a bunch of people in Eddyville and Kuttawa. We ended up having a lot of success. We met with a couple less actives and they were welcoming to us. Then we had dinner with the Walkers. They are the sweetest old couple ever. Then we drove down to Princeton and talked with a bunch of people down there. It was a pretty good day!

Sunday: We had a great Church service. The Princeton Sisters and one of the Cadiz Elders had to give talks in Sacrament Meeting. All 3 of them did very well. Then we had a great missionary correlation after church like we always do. We headed back up to Marion and stopped to see one of our investigators, Tom & Kathy. We gave her a blessing because she has been really sick recently. The Spirit was so strong. Kathy said she was very grateful and that she has never had a blessing before. It was a very cool experience for all of us. 

Today: We still needed to fix our car, so we drove down to Eddyville and put it in the shop while we email and have lunch with the Aherns. After emailing and lunch, we will head back up to Marion and do the normal routine. After we write letters and stuff, we will go over to Seldon's house and play ping pong!! haha!! Super excited.

Thank you so much for all that you guys do. I hope you guys had a great Valentines Day. I enjoyed everything I got from you guys. Especially the food Grandma Heidi! haha. No one can compare to your cooking Grandma. I'm sorry that I haven't sent anything to you guys. I've been super busy. I hope you guys know that I love you and miss you so much. Time is so different while on a mission. Things are flying by! haha! Love ya guys! Have a fantastic week.

-Love Elder Cottam

The library is finally open!

Hey Family & Friends!

  The weather is finally clear enough for us to use the library!! haha. Sorry I couldn't email/write all of you last week. I will write you guys back as soon as possible. Keep the letters/emails coming! I love each and everyone of them. Your support/love means everything to me.

 

Well I have to tell you, the days go by way fast here!! Elder Roney and I can never remember what we did the past week and it always feels like that was two weeks ago. haha. Just bare with me. Good thing we have a planner and journal! 

 

Monday: The Library was closed because of the weather, but we got to play ping pong with Seldon and I totally dominated!! haha. Seldon is pretty good, but I finally figured out his style. We went and talked to one of our investigators, Tod. He is a nice guy that works for the school as a history teacher. The lesson went pretty well, but I feel we could've done a better job.

 

Tuesday: We were locked inside for most of the day. Elder Roney and I created this volleyball game in our apartment and it is so much fun!! haha. We die of laughter everytime! haha.

 

Wednesday: We were supposed to have District Meeting, but we had to cancel it because of the weather. There was too much ice on the roads to drive down. So, we just stayed in for most of the day, then went out after dinner and did our best.

 

Thursday: The roads were still a little sketchy, but we were able to drive down to Hopkinsville for Zone Meeting. We had a great time and we learned a lot. We also learned that we are getting iPad Minis in a couple weeks!! We are so excited!! Then we came back and talked with a couple people in Princeton and Crayne. We talked with a less active that lives in Crayne and we were able to give her boyfriend a blessing. It went really well. Then we talked with Seldon that night like we always do Thursday night. We talked about what he read in the Book of Mormon and we talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We always have an awesoem lesson with him. We are seeing him tonight because President Anderson wanted to go bowling with us in Princeton then go out to see some of the people we are talking with. We were so surprised when President said he was coming down for us!! We are going to cream him in bowling!! haha. President will love Seldon.

 

Friday: We did a long weekly planning that helped us plan this week. Then we went out and tried to talk to a bunch of people, but we didn't have much luck.

 

Saturday: We went down to Eddyville & Kuttawa. We have quite a few Less Active Members down there. We started off with having lunch with Brother and Sister Carlisle. They fed us Chicken Noodle Soup and it was delicious. We talked about the Church with them and they gave us a neighbor to go see, but he wasn't too interested. Then Brother Aherns picked us up at the Carlisle's house and we went out and saw a bunch of less actives. We found two sisters that we haven't seen before and we are getting them visiting teachers. They were super nice and glad to see us. After we had a successful time with Brother Aherns, we went to Brother & Sister Walker's house for dinner. The fed us Chicken and Dumplings!! Sister Walker's Chicken and Dumplings are amazing!! haha. After dinner, they gave us a neighbor to see. We went and talked with another neighbor that we have talked with before and we got to know them really well.

 

Sunday: Church was canceled because of all the ice in the parking lot. (It wasn't that bad at all...) So, we couldn't go to Church :(. So, we had studies in the morning, then went out and saw a bunch of people and it ended up being a successful day. We had a sweet lesson with Tim & Trudy on the commandments. They love having us over and they love learning about the Gospel. The funny thing is, they pretty much know it all and live it, so all they need is baptism. Hopefully we can have them baptized next week or the week after that. Love it!!

 

Today: We will get our normal Pday stuff done. At 3, President is picking us up for bowling, dinner, then to see some of our invesitgators. If all goes well, we will have a fantastic day!! We are super excited!!

 

Elder Roney is probably my favorite companion so far! haha. We get along really well and we work hard. We always crack jokes at each other and we always look to make it fun. He is obedient and he loves this Gospel. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father gives me so many great companions. I love it.

 

My District is doing really well. We have been having a lot of success and everyone is getting along.

 

We get to go to the Temple this week!! I'm so excited!! I've missed going. The Nashville Temple is pretty small, but I know that I will love it! I know it is the house of the Lord.

 

Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I love you guys so much!! I miss you so much!! I hope you have an awesome week!

 

-Love Elder Cottam

Pictures

Newspaper Article

Elder Cottam was in the local newspaper in Marion.  Check out this great article.

A very successful week!!

Hey Family & Friends!

  Wow what a crazy and successful week!! We have also been having a lot of snow so, that's why I couldn't write to you guys until today.

 

  The work is really moving forward! We had a very successful week. We had 3 investigators and 1 less active come to church this Sunday!! It was awesome! I love seeing the progress of an area!!

 

Monday: Transfer breakfast. I already told you about that. It was super delicious. After the breakfast and writing to you guys we had dinner and went out and tried to see a bunch of people.

 

Tuesday: Was a super cold and chilly day!! haha. This was the day of transfers, but luckily Elder Roney and I stayed the same so it was just a normal day. We tried to meet a less active at McDonald's, but she didn't show. Then we went and saw a couple other people before dinner. After dinner, we went down to Princeton and met the new Princeton Sisters, Sister Boyle and Sister Trask. Sister Boyle came out the same time as me and she is training Sister Trask. It was pretty hectic for them getting everything all ready. We met them at the Family Home Evening that we have in Princeton every Tuesday. Elder Roney and I taught the 10 commandments to the group. The lesson went really well.

 

Wednesday: Started off the day with District Meeting. We got to meet the new members of our District. Most of us stayed the same, but it was nice to meet the new missionaries. District Meeting went well and we headed back to Princeton. District Meeting is in Hopkinsville. Elder Roney and I had a lunch appointment with the Wrights in Princeton. They are super cool members. They have a son on a mission in Montana. We had lunch with them and tried to hit a couple people on the way back up to Marion. That night we had a set appointment with a nice couple. They are potential investigators. They're name is Tom & Johanna. We had a pretty good lesson with them.

 

Thursday: Started off with heading down to Princeton to help the Sisters get to know their area. Brother and Sister Aherns picked us up to take us down there. The Elders that were there before them are down in Fairview, TN. They were assigned to Cadiz, but had to go down to Fairview for a little bit. So, the Sisters will just cover Cadiz until they get back. Anyways, the Elders didn't keep their area book updated or leave the sisters with a plan for the week. So, we went down and organized the area book, helped the understand who they were teaching, and prepare them for the week. The were grateful for the help. After that, we went back up to appointments we had in Marion. We met with a guy named, Todd and had a pretty good lesson. Then we met with Sheldon. He is our top investigator and he loves having us over and we love going over. We had an awesome lesson with!

 

Friday: We have weekly planning on Fridays. So, we planned for the next week (this week) for most of the morning. After that, Brother Aherns picked us up and took us to Kuttawa. They had a "fish-fry" so Brother Aherns took us and we got a lot of food and we were able to meet with some people. I tried catfish for the first time and I enjoyed it. It texture is like the fries at KFC and the taste is a little bit different than chicken, but still pretty similar. haha. Then he took us down to Princeton for the Broadcast of "Hastening the work". Sadly, the connection with the satellite made it not function properly. They said that they would get a copy of it to view it another time.

 

Saturday: We went out on exchanges with Brother Aherns and saw a bunch of people! We saw a lot of progressing investigators and it was a big success that day.

 

Sunday: We had a great Church service. We had a lot of investigators at church and a lot of members as well. The Sisters also had a lot of investigators at church, so the Branch was super happy. haha. I loved it. After church we went home and had normal studies until dinner. After dinner, we tried to see people, but it started to snow and rain a lot, so we had to go in early.

 

Yesterday: We got groceries, wrote letters, and played ping pong with Sheldon!! haha. Last Thursday, we found out that he has a ping pong table in his garage, so we went and played him! I dominated!! I loved it! We had no clue that Sheldon was so good a ping pong though. It was so hilarious watching him get into it and play us. After dinner, we tried to see a couple of people. Overall it was a fantastic day!

 

Well, it looks like Marion is having more freezing rain, so they are closing the library soon. I will have to finish email you guys tomorrow. Sorry. Thanks for everything!! You're the best! I love and miss all of you!!

 

-Love Elder Cottam