Hello!

January 25, 2016

Hey everybody!

It hasn't been rainy since that one really rainy week. It's in the 70's this week and pretty sunny! California is the best!! :)

Missionary life is going really well!! I had a great week! We are starting to see improvement and progress in our area! God is so good! He blesses us as we are exactly obedient, diligent, and exercise our faith, and many other things...

We've been hitting our goals and going over them as well! We lowered our goals, because we weren't hitting them. It was really humbling, because I want to hit higher goals. But, ever since we did that, we've started to hit them, and we slowly raise them by one every week! The Lord is blessing us!

We're working with a lot of part member families right now. One of these families I mentioned last week, a woman whose husband is a non-member. We had planned on teaching the Restoration, but the Spirit told us otherwise. He doesn't have a very strong relationship with Heavenly Father, so we felt prompted to talk to him about prayer. The Spirit was so strong, and his wife bore a strong testimony of the love that He has for each of us. I love teaching! :)

UPDATE: Remember the less active lady I talked about over Christmas time? Her son is the one that we are "teaching," well, we finally got to teach them, and she was really excited! Sister Garlitz (lovely girl) inspirationally asked her how her baptism helped her in her life. She bore a strong testimony that it is so much better to be actively attending chruch than to not be active. The difference is the Spirit. :) We also set a date for baptism for her son, Lake! We are super excited, and they seem excited and dedicated as well. 

I have a question for whoever reads this:

How is your missionary work going? Are you praying for missionary opportunities? Are you sharing the gospel with your non-member and less active friends? Pray and ask our Father in Heaven for help. He will help you. Study the doctrine so that when the opportunity arises, the Spirit can speak through you and touch the lives of those that you come in contact with. I promise that you will feel of His love for you as you share your testimony with others. 

#NikeitUP (just do it)

-Sister Cozzens

Sister Garlitz and Sister Cozzens

Sister Cozzens with Sister Moore

Hiking Mt. Rubidoux

Sup!

January 19, 2016

Hey there!

I don't have much time today, but we had a great week! 

I hit my one year mark! I cannot believe it. I am so grateful to be serving a mission.

We picked up an investigator whose wife is a member! Our ward council gave us that referral, and we were blessed! We are teaching them tonight, and I am really excited to teach them!

I went on exchanges this week with Sister Reed. She is serving in Eastvale, my first area. It was good to go back and see the area, a little weird, but fun!

Sister Cozzens with Sister Reed

The Sisters serving in the Eastvale area

I know that Christ lives! We need to continually turn to God through prayer to receive guidance for us in our lives. He loves each and every one of us, and He wants to help us. Turn to Him!

Love, Sister Cozzens

EL NINO

January 11, 2016

Hi!

I wish that I could send all y'all videos, I'm not that tech savvy or anything. It rained really hard this week and it was great!!! I've been wearing my trench coat!! Thanks parents!

 

Elder Hamula of the seventy came and visited us! He is amazing, and I am grateful for the Lord's servants and the guidance that they give us. Go read his talk: "The Sacrament and the Atonement."

Also, the Lord continues to bless us! I know that it is because of my working consistently and diligently! Our key indicators have improved immensely! I am so grateful for the Lord and for His hand in my life, especially since I am on a mission! He is in charge of the work, and we need His help "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man," and "to invite others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." 

If you go to the Bible Dictionary, under prayer, it states: "The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them." We need to be patient, sincere, and specific while praying. Let the Spirit guide our prayers. "Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings." What a gift that prayer is. Our mission president told us that we need to: "Work like it depends on us, and pray like it depends on the Lord." 

I have seen His hand in my life. One of the investigators that we picked up last week, as we sat with her and discussed doctrines of the gospel, told us that it had been a long time since she had prayed. When she did pray and ask for help, Heavenly Father answered. We showed up at her door, and she was able to recognize the Lord's hand in her life and the love that He has for her. I am grateful to be a tool in our Father's hand to help answer His children's prayers. The only way that I was able to help her and the Lord is that I have been worthy and ready to follow the promptings of the Spirit. 1 Ne 17:13. <----- go to it. and find the promised land and secure the blessings for yourself and for others as you diligently keep the commandments. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has God's authority to grant us blessings and saving ordinances. I am grateful to be a part of this wonderful church and to be able to share it with those that will receive me. 

Love, Sister Cozzens

The Biehn family from Sister Cozzens' first area

Sister Cozzens cannot resist cute animals!

Happy New Year!

January 4, 2016

Good Morning!

I hope that you were all safe this last week! Stay warm! As for me, I will be trying to stay dry. El Nino is here folks, and we definitely need the rain!

The last few weeks have been tough, mostly because of the holidays and people get really busy and don't want to listen. It was hard to stay busy and to teach. Sister Garlitz and I found that our teaching skills have really suffered. We were starting to get discouraged and not very happy or excited to work, since we weren't seeing any of the fruits of our labors. On Tuesday last week, we were discussing how the work has slowed down a lot, and I began to realize that we were not completely complaining, but it was a form of it. That night I prayed for help. The next morning, during my personal study, I was studying about complaining, gratitude, faith, and all sorts of things to boost myself. The Spirit told me, as I was studying, that I needed to stop complaining, to not let myself get discouraged, and to not doubt God! I shared what I had learned with my companion, and she went and prayed. Later that day, we went to visit a potential investigator, and she let us in! We taught her The Restoration (though it was a little rough), and she accepted our invitation to be baptized! I know that the Lord blessed us immensely! 

Yesterday, our Relief Society President (who is amazing) told us to go visit a lady whose grandmother had passed away. We went to visit her last night, and she let us in right away, after we mentioned Sister Plocher's name (she is the RS President). By the way, she's Buddhist! We again were able to teach the Restoration and invite her to be baptized! 

The Lord blessed us. I know that it was because I humbled myself and turned to the Lord. I changed my attitude and decided to not doubt. Heavenly Father wants us to be happy! Never get discouraged!

Love, Sister Cozzens

Eating black frosting--"It is good"

44 degrees in Riverside

"We made our own pizzas for dinner"

The Holidays

December 28, 2015

Well hello :)

So, it was Christmas! And I cannot believe how fast it has gone by! Why does time do that...? BUT! Merry Christmas to all and have a Happy New Year! Be safe, stay off the roads, and all of that.

Transfers are also today! dudududududududd Sister Garlitz and I are staying together! YAY! But, we are also going to be adding a person to the mix, someday! I am going to train a missionary! But, she is from AUSTRALIA and she hasn't gotten her visa to come to the U.S. yet, so we don't know when that will pull through. When she does get here, I'll be training her! I am super excited and very humbled to have this opportunity to train again:). I just want her visa to go through, so she can start her mission!

Also, I am going on my 6th transfer as an STL (sister training leader)!! I love being an STL, going on exchanges with sisters around the mission, getting to know them, learning from them, and helping them out, they're great!

Thursday (last week): Christmas Eve. We spent the day visiting people and bringing cookies to our investigators and less active members in the ward. 

FHE with an investigator and family

One of our investigator's mom is a less active member of our ward. She was pushed away recently, because she was stressed with the holidays, and we were trying to meet with her and her son, when she literally had no time. She wasn't responding to us, and she wasn't coming to church. We had been keeping her in our prayers. We decided to bring her some cookies and when we went over, her heart had been softened! She was so open and kind to us, it was a miracle and definitely an example of the Lord's hand in our lives.

Friday: Christmas Day, I got to talk to my family!! :) I love them. We also had 1st and 2nd breakfast (for those Hobbit fans) with a couple of families in our ward. THIS WARD IS AMAZING. We had such a fun Christmas, and it was great to spend time with the members and focus on the real purpose of Christmas.

Christ was born, and He lives. I know that He lives. He is the Redeemer of the world. I am so grateful for Him. Live your faith. Be strong and courageous. Put off the natural man and be spiritually born of God. Enduring is the only way to make it back to our Father's presence. What are your New Year's resolutions? I want to become even more converted unto Christ. I want to represent Him in all things, always. 

Have a Happy New Year!

Love,

Sister Cozzens

Santa is falling (is she dialing 911?)

Santa at the gas station

Cookies from Grandma Jula

Christmas presents from friends and family

The missionaries playing Quidditch--fun activities 

during the holidays

Sister Cozzens with Hannah Meza, her mini-

missionary from March

Roses in December??? (Only in California!)