South Africa Saints

🎁🎄 MERRY CHRISTMAS! 🎄🎁 Easily the greatest Holiday on the calendar The food, the cookies, the lights, the movies, the gingerbread houses, family time and oh did I mention cookies yet?  All of these wonderful things are what I associated with Christmas back home, but things are a bit different on this side of the pond... no cookies, no lights, no movies to watch, peoples actual houses are falling apart much like my gingerbread houses from home. My family is 10 thousand miles away (not even an exaggeration) And once again... NO SUGAR COOKIES. 😭 Too many times do I get caught up with the busy activities of the season that I can begin to forget why we are truly celebrating this miraculous event. God sent his only begotten son so that the war over sin and death could be won, I'm so grateful for Christ and the time i have to share his light with the people of South Africa! Sorry for the short email, I'm absolutely clapped rn haha Merry Christmas 🤍 -Elder Cottrell   

This email is gonna be really short because I am sick as crap rn, but here are some stories from this week... Here in Ezakheni we're not really allowed to be out when its dark bc there are some groups of people that don't necessarily like the missionaries 🔪🔪 So anyway, the sun is down by this point, and you could say it was uh... dark. And lemme tell you, all the fun stuff seems to go down when the sun isn't out lol.  We pull up to one final lesson of a family of 3 who is on date, and when I get out of the car I can see someone running and stumbling at the top of the street, boy oh boy I know who it is... DRUNK BABA!! (This was probably the most drunk I've ever seen someone in real life, and it was pretty hilarious) As we're walking to our lesson, he's walking (stumbling/falling) towards us. It lowkey felt like the scene from Monsters Inc if ykwim. As we get closer to the gate of the house, he runs into the cinderblock wall and absolutely claps himself against...

Yay my Google photos glitched again and kicked half of you off, get back on before you miss something 😉  Guys I'm not gonna lie, I'm so tired rn and this email is gonna be about one inhale and exhale long so buckle up.                                🚨 Transfer news 🚨 After 18 weeks of grinding in Pietermaritzburg I was told I was leaving to go and help out the UMnambithi Zone! Should be interesting to see what changed since I went there almost exactly a year ago 😭 Spiritual thought: Alma 29:10 I Love the people here in South Africa, what an amazing time I have to be here. Without this Gospel I wouldn't be here, and without my Love for the Savior I wouldn't have stayed. Life is hard, and it sucks from time to time, but i know I can always go and turn to Jesus to find peace, he is the Prince of it after all. Shoutout to Ferguson and Hartley, It was so sick to serve with yall! I'm wiped out guys, catch...