Week 87

This week was another crazy week!  I don't even know were to begin!!

Ok so we are teaching a part member family.  She speaks spanish and we are the only half spanish companionship so we are teaching her.  Her name is Jasmin, she's 17 and her family lives in mexico but she lives with her aunt.  She's been taught for a while now an this last week, we brought over the young women's president and Jasmin decited she wants to be baptized on Dec 17!! It was awesome.  She was crying and really nervous but the spirit confirmed to her that it was true.  The young womens president after the lesson was like wow Elders that was awesome!  Thank you for that experience.  She is also the principle of one of the school systems down here so she knows like everyone!!  She later told us a miracle that happened to her.. She remembered having helped a family a while ago and just hearing that they were going thru a hard time.  She knew they lived in the area but didnt remember where... So we left and as she sat in the car she bowed her head to pray to ask for guidence on where to go so that she could find that family... Well when she looked up, the women was standing there in the window and just turned on the light so that she could see her face... So Sister Hipp (the young womens pres) went inside and met with her and the women inside wants us to go over and teach her the gospel and help her!!!!  It was such an amazing miacle to see the power and the timing in which the lord works.  Our lesson had been postponed from sunday to monday night.  Had been in the perfect moment so that Sister Hipp could see her friend.  We had feld that we should take sister hipp to the lesson with jasmin.  As we brought sister hipp to a lesson, we were able to gain her trust and she was willing to go out and do missionary work.  Now with just her alone, we've found 2 families to teach and Jasmin has a baptismal date for the 17!  I cannot believe the miracles that are happening.  

Viri came to the second hour of church and wants to be baptized on christamas eve and they are just progressing so well.  It's such a blessing to see so many miracles...

Crazy Mission story of the week, One of the spanish elders in a district that i had in baltimore had to go home early this last week.  He was from Mexico... His fiancee who was living in Mexico was murdered this last week by a stalker... Stabbed with a knife.  President called us at 12:30 pm to find him because I needed to translate for the people that had dropped him off at the airport because he desired to leave that night and didnt want to wait for a plane ticket. so he did everything backwards... Well at 1:30am we had to go get him from the office because president had to pick him up from the airport and get his greencard... cuz he's from mexico... At 3:30 am we drove him to his flight.. I'm still tired... But I reallly feel for him.. I can't imagine what he must be going thru and i count my blessings every day.  I've heard from him since and he is doing better.  I hope we can all realize the  blessings that come in and out of our lives with an eternal perspective that as we are obedient to the commandments of the lord, we will face adversity, but we can overcome it all with the help of the atonement.  Hope you have a great week!!

Love 

Elder Cornejo

Week 86

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am so grateful for soo many things.  Last Sunday we had call-outs, so we had to call all the missionaries and tell them where they were getting transferred too,  Then Tuesday, My companion Elder Leavitt finished his 2 years and went home thanksgiving morning.  I was super bummed to see him go.  Wednesday, we received the new missionaries, and chose who is going to train them and we slept for 2 hours that night.. Then had to be back to pick them up the next morning at 7.  We ran errands all day and stayed up all night Wednesday night with the departing missionaries, Elder Leavitt and his group.  I cant believe they all went home.  So Thursday morning at 3am we drove down their luggage in an enclosed trailer to the airport.  Well it had 26 departing missionaries luggage when we made it to the airport.  We drove and made it to the parking garage.  We drive slowly and the trailer smacks on the 8ft sign telling me the trailer is too big to fit in the parking garage.. Well i drive up to the garage and the trailer just barely fits inside.  I thought I was so awesome.  Well we drove thru the garage all the way to the top story where there is no roof over head.  Well we stay at the airport unload all the luggage and make a couple of trips back to pick up the rest of the missionaries.  Its finally 9am and all the missionaries are on planes to go home.  My companion and I are soo ready for bed.  Well as we are leaving the rooftop, we come down and as we are leaving the top of the trailer slams into the top of the parking garage!! Oh no!!!!  So we ask the guy if there is a different exit.  He says no... Shoot... The luggage had weighed the trailer down but without the luggage we were stuck! on the roof of the airport!!  So we decide to deflate the tires.. Still stuck... I was sooo bitter...Well we prayed and then all of a sudden a worker comes up and says, Are you stuck!?  We said yes. He says go try the other exit.. We werre like what?? So we did.  And we barely scraped thru!!! Even with the deflated tires.. We almost poped the tires.  I am so grateful they didnt pop!!  Then we get out and the air compressor is broken!!  So this guy comes hooks it up to a battery and the battery dies right as we finish filling the last tire.  Super thankful.. Well we went to the gas station to pump them up the rest of the way and i didnt have any cash!! So a guy comes up and gives us 50 cents and we fill up the rest of the tires just perfectly.  I was soo grateful...  I turned to my companion and said, wow this does not feel likes thanksgiving.  He then replied, are you kidding, I am the most thankful i have ever been in my life on thanksgiving.  It helped me to realize the true meaning of thanksgiving.  I was grateful for all the many blessings I received.  It really was such a wonderful day.  

As far as the area goes, We have been working so hard.  On the last day Elder LEavitt was here, we were able to put Viri on date for baptism!!!  After 4 years of living together, her and Carlos finally got married!!!  I am sooo happy!! Elder LEavitt and I taught them 1.5 years ago and she is so prepared now.  It is one of the greatest miracles i have seen on my mission.  So she set her date for the 24 of december which is actually christmas for the the hispanic culture,  You can see such a change in their life in the past week as they are keeping the commandments of the lord and are progressing towards baptism.  We have met a couple families from russia and cameroon.  I drank Kbass which is russian drink.  They assured me it didnt hav ealcohol in it but im not so sure... haha Anyway we have been experimenting soo many great things.  I am so grateful for all the many miracles that i have seen in my life.,  The lord is so real.  Have a great week!

Elder Cornejo

Week 85

Wow this week flew By!!  I am not even sure what happened this past week!  We finished up Zone Conferences.  So our zone conferences go from 8am to 4:30 pm and I am always the last person to instruct,  Well by that time everyone was kinda falling asleep, so in order to wake everyone up i decided to invite Elder Taviuni to try and get the Zone pumped up.  Well Elder Taviuni is from Tonga... And I had no idea what the HAwka was until he showed the entire zone and President Christiansen.  The Hawka is a football/rugby chant and it is sooo obnoxious and loud.,... after that the spirit was completely gone.... President was laughing so hard after the fact... he's never gonna let me live that one down....

The following zone conferece, I asked president at the beginning of my instruction, This zone seems pretty quiet president, what are we going to do about that.. he says, "well i dont know anything but the Hawka... I laughed and said, yeah that detracted from the spirit a little bit.  He repled yeah it only took a 3 hours for it to come back.. He was laughing.. oh man Im never going to forget that one!!  

Well we are working with Carlos and Viri, the hispanic couple.  They are getting married this friday!!! Finally!!!!!!!!!!!  And we are teaching them about the book of mormon.  Viri is waiting for an answer and she says when she gets one that is when she will believe... We are trying to help her to recognize the spirit and that she needs to "do" a couple of things but she says he is so much more open to the idea of baptism, which is soo cool because she was sooo closed off to the idea a year and a half ago when i was here with Elder Leavitt.  I just love this family so much.

We are also working with a guy named Larry.  He is so awesome but finds it hard to say no to people.  But he is awesome and we are working with him to try and help him quit smoking.  English work is such a new world.  I feel as though i am learning to be a new missionary again.  But the lord has something planned.  I really have had the best mission in the world!! 

Hope you have a great week!

Elder Cornejo