Week 83

Sorry we had a crazy day!!!  I'll have to send some last minute zone pictures!  This Last week was amazing.. The weeks go by waay too fast!  The spirit is just so strong in every lesson we teach.  Each time we open the scriptures, I wish I could just freeze the moment in time.  We had the opportunity to do 2 exchanges this past week. Both were full of miracles!!  I got to drive all the way to Hancock Virginia so we could pick up a couple of the zone leaders and do an exchange.  Wednesday we had a halloween party with the ward and they wound up giving us about 60 left over hot dogs chilli and corn bread so you can imagine what we've been eating all week... I am getting soo fat!!  Then on thursday we had such an amazing lesson with carlos and Viri.  I was sooo excited!  She had told us that she didnt believe the book of mormon was true.  So we read a little bit with her and she said well the reason why i guess i dont believe the book of mormon is true is because I have never read it!  Then at the end of the lesson we invited her to pray.  She told us no.. We told her we didnt believe she knew how to pray... then she continued and she prayed!!! It was literally the first time she had ever had the confidence to pray.  She felt the spirit so strong too.  She recognized it as the spirit and it was such an amazing experience!!  They also have decided that they want to get married here in the next week!!! No way!! Miracles are happening all over!  I love it!!  After That we were soo excited!  But we have been so busy we havent had the opportunity to go back since.. It's soo hard to try and find that balance.  Friday came and I had the opportunity to go on an exchange with Elder Jeske!!  He is such a humble elder.  We wound up having 2 members coume out with us and found 4 new investigators to teach!  They are such awesome elders.  We helped their inv to recognize the spirit and instantly tears came to their eyes.  There is no doubt in my mind.  This Gospel is so true!!  So many amazing places and experiences.  I love the lord I love this church.  I love these people.  The spirit fills my whole body and it is great.  I am so thankful to be a missionary.  I love you all.  

Elder Cornejo

Oh and I completely forgot to mention we went to a Nigerian Church!!!!!!!!!!  It was absolutly crazy!!!  We walk in because we are teaching a pastor from nigheria and apparently he has been to israel and all over the world!  So we walk in and there is this african american woman just pounding on the drum set.  I do not know how it is withholding th blows.  Imagine this, there are about 3 people in the room the christian preacheret! then our inv from nigeria and a random guy waving his arm just mumbling words into a microphone There is a 98 year old women infront of us sitting down and it is just a slow beat... well Our nigerian preacher investigator asks us, hey do you know how to play the drums? Elder LEavitt says I do.. So he goes up there, re aranges the drum set and starts throwing down a beat.  Elder Ashby and I get tamboreans and we are just keeping up with the beat and singing and dancing for 2 hours!! Everyone starts going crazy!!!! The looved it!  More and more people are filing in and all of a sudden the 98 year old lady stands up!!! Then the preacher woment says hold on hold on I want yall to know a miracle just happened here a Miracles!! This 98 year old women just stood up!!!!!  I have never seen her do that!!  A MIRACLE just took place here!!!!  Then the 98 year old women turns around and says  Its because you you 3!!!!  I feel something different when you 3 are here!!!!!!!!  So then everyone just goes in an uproar!!!!  It was awesome!! We continue to sing and dance!!  Then when she preaches! she just gets soo pumped up and says I WANT YOU TO KNOWTODAY SOMEBODY's GONNA GET THEIR HEAD CHOPPED OFF.  TODAY SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET STABBED BECAUSE OF THEIR CHRISTIAN BELIEF.  WE MUST GO INTO THE WORLLD A PREACH HIS GOSPEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  After going crazy for about 30 min we say i'm sorry we have to leave... then we get called up infront of the whole congregation and she gives us a blessing!!!  She then "Dusts" the persecution off our body's..Then sends us on our way.  One of the most memorable experiences of my mission haha

Week 82

So i have had so many crazy fun experieces this last week!  Ah the spirit has been so strong and we are working super hard.  So last Monday since we are in a trio we had to buy crazy joggers and cat shirts and that is the reason for that bathroom picture.  Tuesday night  we had one of the most amazing lessons with our investigator part member family named carlos and Viri!!  Ok so get how crazy this is, June 2015 Elder Leavitt and I taught this family.  The day before I was intermediate transfered i asked elder leavitt after an amazing lesson with them, I said why am i here now.  I cannot speak spanish.  And they are some of the most amazing people i have met!!  Well now its a year later and the spanish branch gets disolved so now there is no branch here so the hispanics come to our ward!!  And with the ward boundaries they just happen to live in our ward  boundaries!!  SO now we get to teach them again!!!!!!  What are the odds of that.  And we had the most spiritual lesson with them and Viri finally understood why we need the priesthood and ordinances.  We resolved a couple of doubts.  The lord no doubt works in such amazing ways!!!  I am sooo excited to teach them.  So now we teach in engluish and spanish!!!!!1 

Thursday we had MLC and that is just the leadership of the mission gathering together which was a lot of fun, we got to help president lead out in counceling with the leaders on how to make the mission better and more effective. it was a really neat experience. that night it was bad, we get to the door and realize that we didn't have the house keys. no bueno. So my companion Elder Ashby is like dying, mucus is just giving him the worst headache of his life, Elder Leavitt is like going to pee his pants,  and after serving in baltimore for 9 months and being with elder scott get my wallet out and bust in after about 20 min...thank the heavens we did not lock the deadbolt. but the keys weren't in the house, they were left in the cup holder of the car.. yeah. it was all in vain. but so hilarious...

I did a team up with a district leader and his companion for a day in york also. so after the exchange, the 5 of us met up at a pizza buffet and had a contest. Elder ashby ate 19 pizzas and then I had to eat 20 pieces just to spite him. We always challenge each other by saying "you wont" and it just gets way insane! that night there was no toilet paper left in the house, the man on exchanges there used it ALL. how could you use 2 whole rolls? we will never know. but we had to go to the mission office and that is only 2 minutes away and so we just planned there that night to. well after we have these random balloons in our car, so one flies out as the door opens so Elder Ashby has to chase it down. As he runs to get it, Elder LEavitt Tells me to drive off.  The last thing i see is Elder Ashby sprinting after the car.  He almost caught up but it was to no avail.  We got back and it was probably the funniest thing of life.  AS you can tell we have a ton of fun but the miracles just keep coming.  We are teaching a lot of people and hope they will be at church next week.  I hope you have an amazing week!

Elder Cornejo 

Week 81

Well this week has been one of the most crazy weeks of my mission.  We have been soo busy!!  It started off with saying goodbye to the members in the Baltimore MD stake spanish ward.  Wednesday transfers came and i felt like a lost puppy... We had to watch different car videos so I could drive the truck and the van, then take a test on those, then we were running around missionary bikes, packages and such all over the mission.  We finally got to the mission home around 7:00pm where we stayed with the going home missionaries until 5:30am waiting for president to do interviews then driving the missionary luggage to the airport then getting home around 7:00am where we just crashed until 2pm.. Thats where the real fun began!  IT has been such an adventure.  We now teach in english to American people and the culture is sooo different.  We have this investigator named Dave who doesnt belive in god.  We asked him, well what is your relationship with god.. He replies well imagine a triangle. Easy right now imagine it's blue still easy.. now imagine a circle that's yellow super easy.  Now i want you to imagine a blue yellow oragne triangle cirlce square looking thing... cant do it right... That's god for me....

Well this should be fun.  We asked him to say the prayer, he starts off with saying... Dear Spiritual dad, aka heavenly father.... it was awesome!  I love dave, he is just a punk!  I feel like he has soo many similar questions to what i had!  Now i'm on the other end and we try to start with the basics but he just asks a milliiion questions... How can we answer all these?  It's the best!!  Afterwards we had an old chinese man steal our cart from walmart, put it away, then hold his hand out for money... I was soo confused, luckily he was satisfied with $0.25...

The next day, we met our "investigator" Andre  First thing he says to me... You look like one of those big buff guys in the horror movies who was running away from the bad guy... Excuse me what?  We continue talking and he "warns me to be carful" About all the women out here in Baltimore county.  They arent like the women in california... Then right as we are testifying of the gospel, He says, Dang You look like Justin Timberlake!!!  

Wow i guess i'll take the complement...

So now my companions die of laghter and call me justin... 

Soo many great experiences this week.  LAst night we had dinner with president Christiansen and his family.  I just know they are soo inspired and truly are called of god.  This assignment is going to be great.  I am going to do my best to serve the way the lord wants and am so excited for all of the new experiences i am going to have.  OH bth we put a man from nigeria named Kunly on Date!!  Pray for him.  He is awesome!! Hope you have a great week!

Elder Cornejo

Week 80

Well I don't have much time today,

News' This last week was so great, We went to the hospital in baltimore to give comfort to a man that had diabetes and it was the most excrusiating thing i think i have ever seen in my life..This man's arms and legs stoped having blood circulate through them so they stopped working and now they have died.  So he is literally half of a rotting corps who is fully awake and active... They are going to amputate his limps here soon.. On one hand the bone is coming thru the skin.  As we gave this man a blessing the love that i felt for him was unreal and it allowed me to feel of the love that our savior Jesus Christ has for him.  Alma 7:11-14 took on a whole new meaning.  The savior literally suffered it all for us and he knows our sicknesses as well.  Well I'm getting transfered!  Ellicott City English work  Should be great!  I hope you have a great week!

Elder Cornejo

Week 79

Well another great week here in Baltimore!  Conference was absolutely amazing.  I loved listening to all the apostles and the Prophet.  I remember sitting in the session as we watched them all in Spanish and just taking a step back and not only listening to what they were saying but paying attention to how I felt as they were speaking.  The power of the spirit was so deep in my heart that there is no doubt that these men have the authority to speak for god as if he were here.  I have been learning that as we prepare to hear the words of the prophets and for our spiritual meetings such as the sacrament, what we take away from the meetings will be so much greater.  It is all about our own personal preparation.  

Well this week was a sad week.  We had ups and downs.  The down's, We lost Misael and his Family.  We have literally been praying every day multiple times a day for this family.  Ester told us the past sunday that she wanted to be baptized and change her life.  She told us she wanted to have contact with us even if we were transferred.  Tuesday came and she said come back on wedneday.  Wednesday they werrent there... We called and texted, no answer... Saturday came... We decided to just show up at their house... Ester came in asked if we had called misael, we said no.. She said well I am sorry I have to go to work.. Her husband comes up the stairs and says that Ester just went to her evangelical church.. Misael texts and says he needs a break... We ask ourselves.. "What Happened?"  After all the miracles. After we watched the spirit testify to them,  Them cry in their seats saying they knew the book of Mormon is true and that joseph smith is a prophet.  Telling us they want to have contact forever.  and within one day we lost them??  I have been pondering this experience for a week now, trying to figure out what the lord has in mind for us to learn.  Why??  The only conclusion that I can come to is that this truly is the lord's work.  He will do his work on his time and we can only be instruments in his hands.  Our job is to invite as Elder Anderson Said in this last conference along with Elder Oaks, this is the time for members and missionaries to come together and invite.  To have missionary experiences.  It is our job as members to testify of what we know and to believe it.  Our friends may turn away, but those that accept it will be forever grateful like myself.  I have been changed by the doctrine of Christ.  I hope that each one of you will have a missionary experience this week and involve the full time missionaries.  They need your help so bad!!  Testify and your faith will grow. I promise :)

Elder Cornejo

Week 78

Well there goes another week!  Time flies!!

Well a couple of cool experiences happened this last week.

1) We were helping this less active try and gain a testimony to do missionary work.  We were trying to apply what Elder Gay had told us and let everyone know that their answer to ever question in the world is in the book of mormon!  So this la didnt really believe that the Bom was the word of god.  Her parents arent members and so we said think about what you want, read the book and try and find your answer.. Well about a week later she came up to us and said, Elders, YOU are never going to believe what just happend to me?  We said what?  She said, last night in my dream god answered my prayer!!!!  She says I was back in my country in Honduras.  I was living in the streets and it was so dangerous.  Everyone was killing each other, selling drugs, Doing bad stuff etc.. So i climed this wall to get away from it all.  I climed a wall and when i got to the top, I reached the temple that i had seen their in honduras...  There was a women there and she said dont worry, As long as you are in the temple you will be safe... She then felt the confirmation of the Holy ghost.  Afterwards the women in her dream gave her a Book of Mormon and told her she had to read it and that it was the word of god....

The lord truly works in mysterious ways.. She told us I know now what I have to do!  It was suuch a cool experience!

An update from the Garcia Family, they are getting tempted left and right.  Go figure... They all of a sudden have to work on sundays and now they are attending their old church.  We watched the change in their faces.  The desire as the Holy Ghost decended over them and they were so willing to change but they have been talking to "people"  So we pray that we don't lose them.  There always seems to be something... We had such a spiritual lesson of the restoration but they seem to believe that their is no need to repent and that everyone is a prophet and has the authority to baptize... This is definately an interesting case... She's married to another man but living with this one.... But we are staying positive, seeing miracles and trying to teach with the spirit.  I hope you all have a great week!

Love

Elder Cornejo

Week 77

Wow what an incredible week!!  We had Elder Dallin H Oaks come visit the mission.  In general conference he is so serious but when you meet him in person he is so funny!!  There is no doubt in my mind that he is a true apostle called of the lord.  The expeirence in meeting all of these apostles and talking with them is an experience of a lifetime!!

So we had a pretty cool experience with a family we are teaching.  They are literally the most prepared family i have ever met!!  They have the sweetest questions and are always wanting to know more.  So the parents are in their late 50's early 60's and Their names are Esther and Victor.  Their son's name's are Misael, Victor and Luis.  Their daughters name is Jimena.. Misael is living with his girlfriend named Andrea.  They want to get married but Andrea is married to someone else in Guatamala...  Luis is dating a girl named Paola and we are literally teaching the whole family!  The most solid right now are Esther and Misael.  IT is definatley a wild ride.  We were in a lesson with Misael last week and oh man it was the most spiritual lesson i have ever seen, had in my entire life!!  We had prepared a lesson to teach Alma 32, but the whole time Misael was just staring off in the distance...  So right after the prayer I turn to my companion and tell him hey we cant teach what we prepared...  He says, I know...  So we start talking to them and find that Misael is really struggling.  He begins to cry.  We explain that just as jesus christ we are here to suffer with him.  We begin to tell a story about to misioneras and their investigator.  Their investigator had been going through a rough time in her life.  With the burdens of school, work adn family problems, she couldnt bare add any more with learning so much about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  So one day while in a lesson, barefooted this girl just gets up and starts running away... The missioneras run after her.. At this point she is crying and says just let me be.  The misioneras say let us run with you.  So they take off their shoes and run with this girl until all three of their feet are bloodied and bruised.  Afterward this girl turns to the misioneras, with tears in her eys and says, Thank you, thank you for loving me enough to feel my pain.  At this, the spirit was so strong, Hno Xochihua (miember friend) Begins to testify and to cry about how he and his wife are going thru a tough time in their life and cannot have children..  He empathyses with mMisiael.  In the end, We read Alma 7:11-16 and Misael was applied the scripture to himself.  He was crying and thanking god for answering his prayers.  He knows he has to repent,  He knows he has to change and we had the opportunity to watch god yet again answer another prayer with the book of mormon.  This book has so much spiritural power.  Now we are praying for them to help them reach a baptismal date and change their lives... Oh man i have so many storryes of things i learned this week but i hope each of you can ask a question and then search the Book of Mormon for an answer.  The book really does come from god so any question you ask, He will answer through the book.  I hope you all have a great week!

Love

Elder Cornejo