At the Mission Home!! Woot! Woot! Woot!

Dear families of missionaries in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission,

We are thrilled to have welcomed your missionary to our mission!  We received 11 new missionaries so it has been a very exciting time!

After they all arrived on Monday we took them to the mission home for dinner, interviews with President Cotterell, a testimony meeting and dessert.  After that everyone was ready for bed.  The Sister slept upstairs and the Elders slept in the basement here at the mission home.

After breakfast on Tuesday morning, all of the missionaries were taken to the mission office to meet the office staff and to be oriented in some of the things they need to know to be a missionary.  From there everyone returned to the mission home to meet their trainers.  This is a wonderful experience for them to meet the missionary who has been specially picked to train them and to set the course for them to have a successful mission.   Everyone had pictures taken with President Cotterell and I, and then with their trainer.  They had some practice role-playing and finally I served them lunch.  

After lunch everyone was loaded, once again, into the mission van and taken over to the Raleigh Stake Center for the transfer meeting, which began at 1:30.  At this meeting all of the missionaries in the mission who are being transferred come to find out where they are going.  They then leave for their new areas.  Many of our new missionaries asked me what they would be doing when they got to their area on Tuesday night.  I assured them that they would get right to work with either teaching appointments or contacting.

It is a pleasure to serve with your missionary.  We felt a great strength from each one of them and we look forward to getting to know them individually, working and learning with them.  

These are the missionaries, their companions and the area they are assigned to:

Sister Bateman is serving with Sister Tye of Costa Mesa, CA in Dunn

Elder Bingham is serving with Elder Dunn of Logan, UT in Knightdale

Elder Brown is serving with Elder Christensen of Burley, ID in Lumberton

Elder Chambers is serving with Elder Phillips of Linden, TN in Jacksonville

Elder Fowkes is serving with Elder Garrett of El Dorado Hills, UT in Fayetteville

Sister Johnson is serving with Sister Joseph of Hinckley, UT in Greenville

Elder McRae is serving with Elder Pace of Bicknell, UT in Hope Mills

Elder Nii is serving with Elder Loftin of Spanish Fork, UT in Fayetteville

Sister Oliverson is serving with Sister Felton of Vernal, UT in Fayetteville

Elder Pickett is serving with Elder Farrer of Lindon, UT in Morrisville

Elder Randall is serving with Elder Larson of Sacramento, CA in Pinehurst

Whew!

Your missionary will fill in more details in their next email to you.  Our preparation days are on Monday.  They will look forward to an email from you at that time.  They will use the same "myldsmail.net" address that they used in the MTC.  Emailing privileges are for family only.  Missionaries have a limited time to read and respond to emails.  Be aware that most use computers at the public libraries.  On holidays (like the Fourth of July!) those libraries are usually closed so the missionaries aren’t able to email until Tuesday of that week.  We encourage you to write uplifting and positive letters that will help them to keep focused on the important work they are doing here.

All other mail should come through the US Postal system and be mailed to the mission office using this address:  

Missionary’s Full Name  (we have several with the same last name)

North Carolina Raleigh Mission

6508 Falls of Neuse

Suite 100

Raleigh, NC 27615

The day the mail is received it is forwarded on to your missionary.  This can only be done if the mail is sent by First Class, Priority or Express mail.  If you choose to use UPS, Federal Express or parcel post mail it cannot be forwarded.  Those items will get to your missionary, but they must wait at the office until someone travels to your missionary, which could be 3-6 weeks.

Once again, it is a pleasure serving the Lord in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission with your missionary. 

With love,

Sister Cotterell

lcotterell@gmail.com

North Carolina Raleigh Mission

Heading to North Carolina!!

Hola mi familia y amigo(a)s!

 

Today (Saturday 6/25) is Pday since we won't be getting one on monday. Ah! I can't believe it's time to go already. This week has been a roller coaster of a week.

We've had a lot of really good teaching experiences and I've learned a lot. Apparently, I need a good humbling every couple of days.

We taught our investigator, Duncan about the law of chastity. He took it well. Our teacher who was role playing as Duncan got a bloody nose while we were teaching him. We told all of the Elders that he didn't take the Law of Chastity lesson to well so we had to give him a good punch in the nose.

When we were discussing baptism with Duncan, he told us, "boy, I sure am glad I was baptized as a baby so I don't need to do that again." Sis. oliverson and sis. bateman started cracking up. I started laughing too.

We taught Junichi and just bore our testimonies about faith and repentance and baptism and the Holy Ghost for an hour. We sang I am a child of God. I don't know why Ms. Jarman ever let me do choir in high school. It did bring the spirit though. We committed him to come to church!

Then, we taught Michelle. I guess I was feeling too confident from all the success we had with our other investigators. That lesson wasn't the best. So, now I feel like I'm back at square one with my ability to be an effective missionary.

It's so much fun though! I love it.

This week has been super crazy because 1/3 of all the mission presidents are being replaced so the 12 apostles and the first presidency have been here all week. We had a really awesome devotional last night and elder Bednar spoke about how to be a preach my gospel missionary. It was an awesome talk and was very encouraging.

The elders thought it would be funny if we switched nametags around. There is an Elder Johnson in our zone so, they stole his nametag and swapped it with mine and stuck my tag on his jacket. He walked around as sister Johnson for about half an hour before he figured out what had happened. there are pictures to prove it. then, the other district that Elder Johnson is from tried to get even with us by turning Elder Nii's (who is in my district) backpack inside out. This has been going on for some time now.

I'm pretty sure I got really lucky to be in the district I am in. The elders are awesome. It's like having 8 crazy awesome brothers.

I received the package with everything I forgot at home. Thanks a million for sending it!

I saw sister fitch, sister Bullinger and sister ingram. I see sister Fitch at least once a week and I've seen sister Bullinger around a couple of times. I didn't think I'd actually run into her since I don't even know her, but we ran into each other in the restroom on the first day we were there. The MTC is a small world!
Oh! In one of the church pamphlets, I'm pretty sure sister Hovely from the home ward is in it.

I read a really good chapter in Alma this week. (Alma 18). I would recommend reading it. Actually, basically anything from the BOM is really good.

thanks for all the support and love! I love you all!

 

Love,

Sister J

Week 2 (Still.....in the M. T. C. )

Amber Johnson to me

show details 12:50 PM (25 minutes ago)

This week has flown by sooo fast!

Last week, the elders in my district found out it was my birthday and made a paper airplane that said happy birthday a zillion times all over, 8 dollar bills that I can never use (except in a vending machine) because they colored G.W., etc, and a ton of candy. It was probably the most hilarious gift I've ever recieved.

and then when I was washing my clothes a bunch of Tongan elders came and sang me happy birthday and gave me enough cookies to feed Africa. (seriously).

Thanks for the earplugs! They actually came in handy. One of the sisters in our room caught a cold and snored pretty loud. I think it was a revelation that you felt impressed to send me earplugs. The church is true!

So, I've had the opportunity to teach with my lovely companions quite a few times now. It's SO much fun...really really hard sometimes, but I love it. We are teaching an "investigator" (he's our teacher who is portraying a guy he taught on his mission) named Duncan. We committed him to baptism, but he lives with his girlfriend so now we need to figure out how to bring up the law of chastity. We are also teaching another investigator named MIchelle (who was taught by our other teacher, Sis. Voyles) She intimidates me and I tried to commit her to baptism. She said no.

We are also teaching a man named Junichi in TRC which stands for something I'm sure. Everything is an acronym here (i.e. the MTC. case and point.) Anyways, he is from Japan, has no Christian background and the only religion he has ever been a part of is the Japanese religion, Shintu. He is very difficult to teach. We have taught him three times now and the only thing we have been able to convey to him is that the reason we call God Heavenly Father is because we are his children. I don't even know where to begin with him. It's very, very frustrating, but very humbling. I am glad I have the opportunity to be exposed to this situation here in the MTC.

We get to do role playing in class a lot and it has been awesome. It's crazy how you can have 12 people teaching each other individual lessons in a very small room and still e able to fill the spirit. It's been such a wonderful experience. I love it. One of the elders in our district is pretty hilarious. He and Sis. Oliverson did a role play and his investigator profile that he made up was "Goliath" who according to sister Oliverson was very slow, but easy to teach. I was hilarious.

I joined the MTC choir. It has been great fun!

THEY HAVE FROSTED MINI WHEATS HERE! I was so excited. Life at the MTC isn't too shabby.

My companions and I counted how many steps we walk up and down everyday (we live in the 4th floor in our residence and our classroom in on the 3rd floor.) Sis. Bateman counted and we walk about 900 steps a day...I don't know if that's a lot, but it seems like a pretty big number.

My district challenged the other district in our zone to kickball. It was so much fun! We won. That is just one more reason district 11A is the best district ever.

I had an epiphany this week. I realized after teaching our "investigators" that my focus was not so much on myself, but was completely focused on their needs and concerns. It's basically the only thing that consumes my mind these days. I also realized how important it is to do this with my companions too. It's kind of hard being in a trio. Sometimes we're not all on the same page and teaching lessons can be a challenge, but it seems like when we pray and follow the rules, then everything works out perfectly.

This really is the best decision I've made in my life. I love it. It stresses me out and I get nervous and frustrated, but I really do love it.

my time is up!\

 

sis j

Week 1 (In the MTC)

Hello from the Empty Sea!

 

Week one has been AWSEOME. I've learned so much, and my brain hurts, and I'm always tired, I cought a cold, and the food is not my favorite, but I love being here. Oh, the bunk beds don't have ladders. It's been entertaining to figure out how to get up there.

My teachers are fabulous. They have so much insight and I have learned a lot from them.

I have two companions right now, Sister Oliverson and sister Bateman. They are great. It's hard having to make sure you are constantly within sight/sound of two other people. kind of annoying about 90% of the time, but it's good.

We have 11 people in our district and we are all heading to the Raleigh Mission. The elders in our district are incredibly strong. It's really neat to see how much they've changed since day 1...and it's only day 6 right now.

Our district is on a 'pilot' program so we started teaching on day 3. It went okay for us sisters, but it was kind of a challenge to figure out how to teach and get all three of us involved. I felt like I talked WAY too much. I'm glad they have us start teaching and such though. It was a good experience.

Man, there is so much that has happened and I really don't know where to even begin.

The other missionaries in our zone have been incredible as well. They are the best.

I went to the temple this morning.,..the Provo temple is so pretty inside.

The gym time is fun. They have a track and you can run in circles outside in the field if you want. I miss being able to run where ever the wind blows me, but hey, at least I get to do something.

I couldn't figure out how to work the email thing today so, it used up about 15 mins of my time and now I am out!

I am doing very well though and love it here. Missionary work is amazing!

The church is true!

Peace.

 

Have a great week!

 

Sister J

The MTC day has arrived at last!

Okay....This isn't Amber....it's her family carrying the torch from here until December 2012.  It was a difficult time....to say the least.  We were so excited for this day to come, but now all we can do is cry....not because of sadness, but because we know it's going to be a long time (for now it seems long) before we see her again.  But....the best is yet to come; the growth, the testimony, the experiences that will shape our little Amber into a better preacher, teacher, and leader.

Last night (6.7.2011), before taking Amber up to be set apart, we had her favorite dinner; Ham, "Yummy" potatoes (AKA Cheesy potatoes) and green salad.  After the meal, we drove slowly to the Stake Center so Amber could listen to one of her favorite songs before being set apart; John Denver's "Back Home Again".  We suggested that we need to listen to this song when we pick her up from the airport in 18 months.  After the song, Amber was set apart as a missionary by President William H. Prows.  Her blessing was very touching and uplifting.  It was a spiritual event.  

Since Amber will be in the MTC during her birthday, we had an "un-birthday" birthday party for her on Sunday.  We had Dutch Oven potatoes and chicken for dinner.  Her mom baked a magnificent carrot cake.  After gorging our tummies full of wonderful food, we opened gifts and celebrated the life of a wonderful person...one, we as her parents look up to for her courage and standards....she makes us proud!




Because this morning (6.8.11) was Amber's last breakfast with her family until next December, we made her some of her favorite Belgian Waffles.   Since her mission actually started last night, after breakfast, we read and discussed Alma 5.  What a powerful thing to do as a family before taking her to the MTC.  Once we arrived in Provo, UT, once again, we had a wonderful time.  The weather was magnificent; 75 degrees, clear blue skies...what more could we ask for??!  We went to Guru's on Center and 100 E and enjoyed a filling lunch.  From there, we drove up to the Provo Temple, walked around the grounds and took some pictures, then dropped her off at the MTC...something that we didn't think would be too difficult, but...oh my...what an understatement!

Below is a sample of some of the photos that we took.

More to come...as we hear from her
Bye! ;)

Goodbye! (But Not Really)

I guess this will be the last time I will be posting on here as myself for 18 months. My family will be taking over from here on out and will be posting weekly letters, select pictures, etc while I'm gone. I leave for the MTC tomorrow! I am sooo excited for this new adventure in life and I am excited and nervous to teach the people in North Carolina about the gospel, but I know it's where I need to be and what I need to be doing. It's the first time I've ever really felt completely confident that this is the next step I should take in life. It's a good feeling.
Leaving is definitely bittersweet. I sure will miss my family and friends and school and work and summertime in Utah. I think the thing that bothers me the most is just missing some great memories with everyone and everything, but I guess I'm going to get to start building some of my own memories now.
I love you all and hope you have a fabulous 18 months. I am so thankful for the outpouring of love and support from everyone as I've prepared to make it to this point. You all=AWESOME!

Peace out!

The Last Concert

Yesterday, I went to the last concert I will be attending until something like 2013.
It's kind of weird to think that in 4 days, I'll be focusing my life in a completely different way. (Probably a more productive one too).
Anyways, I went to Noah and the Whale with Tatjana, Lis, and Hannah (Lis' hilarious little sister). It was such a good concert. I was very pleased with their performance. I would rank it as the second best show I've ever seen (Muse still takes the cake hands down). The crowd was kind of ridiculous, but the music sounded great, the lead singer was quite dashing, and it was just a happy concert. I took a camera and felt pretty sly and crafty and whatever other words fit in that category for bringing it in (I don't normally bring a camera. I have this paranoia that they will confiscate it if it's in my purse..so I stuck it in my back pocket! Ha!) So, uh here are some pictures from the concert:

I love their hair. Why wasn't I born with lush locks like that?

I took quite a few pictures and basically every single one with Mr. Fiddler Man showed him as a blur. He's super hardcore apparently.

(Sigh) Good times. The opening show, The Bahamas was superb as well. I might just invest in an album of theirs. Great show. It was a good way to leave the concert scene which I will miss.

Oh! On the way there, we rode the train and then used Trax and this hardcore skater guy with dreads and lots of piercings got on with us. He started talking to Tat and I. He was a nice guy; looked a little sketch, but was easy to talk to. Anyways, Tatjana asked me if I had any chapstick with me. I told her I didn't, but wished that I did. I guess Mr. Sketchy Skateboarder overheard our converstaion because then he was like, "I have some chapstick. You can use it if you want." I smiled to be polite and the thought then went through my mind, "I should ask him (just to make sure) if he has herpes." Well, I guess he read my mind or something because the the next thing he said was, "You probably shouldn't use it though. I have a couple of STD's." I laughed and said, "Yeah. You should probably keep your chapstick to yourself." That was how the conversation went. Then, it died.

I love public transportation. You get to meet so many crazy, funny, weird people. It's the best!