Final Report

Well this is the last Monday. I am truly blessed and honored to have been this set apart servant of the Lord. I have reached the end of this wonderful experience and am glad to report that I have served well. I have made a mountain of mistakes, I have not served perfectly (I wasn’t asked to) I have offended a lot of people, however, I am a changed person. I have used the atonement to change my life, I have watched the atonement change others. I have reached outside of myself and help the Father fulfill His Plan. I am grateful to have received the witness from the Spirit “You have done good, now go and continue to do so.”

I am so blessed to have learned the things that I have learned I have the knowledge and wisdom from this journey to continue onward with the wonderful work that is being done by and through Jesus Christ on the earth. Yes I am going home but I am not going back, back to what I was, who I was, is different. I have been changed and will continue to be changed. I cant go back, I cant learned all that I have learned and expect things to be even a little bit the same. I have made so many goals and I am going to to keep growing.

My wish and desire is that when ever or where ever you see me, you will be able to see the love of God. I cant wait to be able to continue to share this Love with everyone that I am able, to brighten their day if only for a moment, or all the way back to Heavenly Father! I desire to not just be a loved Son of God, but a Trusted one as well.

I know that I have served a faithful mission for the Lord.
I know that the work that I have been doing is the work true and good.
I know the gospel is the Key to true happiness in this life.
I know Jesus is the Christ and the God is Our Father.
I know we come from Godly parents and that we are from royal lines.
I end my service in the name of Jesus Christ

AMEN

Elder Cordon

Such a Wonderful World

I am so blessed to be a part of this wonderful work and so miracles are happening all around, and I have new spiritual eyes to be able to see it all!

The assignment has been awesome, I love the missionaries so much, I love watching people grow in the gospel through using the atonement to become better. There is no power like it in this world, God truly is there and cares about us individually, I know that so well as I seek for revelation to help the missionaries that I have been assigned to help. God loves them and wants them to be the best that they can be. He has a plan and all we need to do is live the commandments and be willing to change everyday and work to become better. And after all we can do Christ will be there standing arms wide open ready to receive us into our fathers kingdom!

I LOVE this work!

Elder Cordon.

Head Hurts…

Yay Flowers!!

 

#SHARE

This week I have been able to receive so many different witnesses of the truth of the gospel and its teaching. I have witnessed the pure innocence of what happens when a soul recognizes truth that is being spoken to their hearts. I have been able to see what happens to even myself when I am reminded and reinforce that I am a son of God. I am of royal line and have the rights and privileges of that line, I also have the responsibility to uphold that line and to operate according to the meets and bounds that have been set by eternal laws. I am so grateful for the blessing of this knowledge and desire to hold fast to it for all time.

I love the power of testimony, when truth is spoken that the Holy Ghost can bear witness, that when listened with spiritual ears and heart, it leaves an impression on the very fabric of you soul and you know that it is eternal truth. That kind of testimony is so powerful and one of the things that is the most under used. (In my opinion) So often there is thank-a-monies that replace testimony; now this is not to say that never should you ever share the things you are grateful for the scriptures tell us otherwise, however, they do not have the same effect. They do carry truth and power and great emotion, yet yesterday during the testimony meeting I witnessed a great marvel, I witnessed one after another, wonderful powerful testimonies! I marveled as I listened with “hears to hear” as the spirit shared with my the truths of the gospel.

I have learned this in my mission that each of us have a powerful weapon against the world, we have our pure, simply, and foundational testimonies that we can share with everyone. I have seen time and time again where simply testimony has changed hearts and routed out evil. I know the gospel to be true, I know that Jesus Christ lives. You cant speak those words, truly speak them, without the spirit witnessing that they are true, however, it still requires “eyes to see and hears to hear” and then action taken in order for that spiritual witness to actually do anything at all to you as a person. God is always going to have to respect agency even if we don’t, He is bound by His laws. We must bring the spirit into ours hearts and act on what we know or it is all for nothing.

Pasco truly was a great area and I am grateful for all the miracles that I have seen. I am grateful for the companions that I have had and the people that I have served around. I have experienced so much joy and happiness here. I am grateful for the Pasco Stake Presidency, They truly are wonderful, guided leaders that are filled with love for the Lord and His work. I have loved serving around them and getting to know them. What powerful influences I have been around and examples I strive to be. Pasco has been blessed with miracles on top of miracles and I have been blessed to witness revelation from local leaders come to pass in a beautiful way. The Lord is truly hastening his work!

So that leads me to transfers. Yes I am getting transferred for my last two weeks, yet further proof that God knows how to laugh. I thought that I had it all planned out that I was staying in Pasco until I left I was telling everybody and then….. BAM I get the call I am getting transferred special assignment and I am assigned to……. NOWHERE yup you guessed it. I will have no area for the last two weeks just traveling around.

Love you all so much

General Conference

What an Easter, Spirit filled.

This last week was a wonderful time to share with everyone the blessings of Easter and what it means to me. The Easter Bunny is cool and all but the best gift that was ever given to us, really the only gift that truly matters, is the reason why we truly celebrate this Holiday. It was wonderful to deeply reflect on the wonderful blessings of the Atonement in my life and to really see who I have been able to become because of the Savior Jesus Christ and the wonderful Gift that he gives us. I love Him so much.

He truly has become a friend to me, he is on my thoughts and in my heart and will always be someone that I go to for safety and council and direction. I am so grateful for him.

I have loved seeing what he does for people around me, and not just investigators of the church but members and other missionaries. Watching the gospel work in their lives is wonderful and brings such joy into my heart. Some of my favorite moments have been to watch my companions grow, to see the Atonement work in them and then to watch how in reaching out to others it changes me as well.  I truly have had a life changing mission, one that has set my path for the rest of my life I now can truly see how the Mission is the MTC for life. There are things in my Blessing that would have never been able to be fulfilled had I used my agency and not gone on a mission I am so glad that I made that choice.

These last couple of weeks while reflecting on the questions that MyPlan asks I have really been able to see how the mission is going to effect every part of my life to come. WOW so great!

This week we had Cierra and John at church. We also had two of the LA that we are working with at church as well, Ryan and Jacinda. What a great sunday for them to be there. The spirit was so strong and the all loved being there and celebrating Easter!

GENERAL CONFERENCE here we come!!
LOVE YOU
ELDER CORDON

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#ShareEaster

This was a great week and I feel so grateful to have the knowledge that Christ makes up the difference. When I am to weak and not enough, which when it comes to the work of salvation is like always. 🙂 I love how much I get to grow through the Atonement! I love it so much I love the joy that comes with living the gospel and changing and helping people change and watching people change. I love watching the gospel in action in other peoples lives. It changes you in a way that couldn’t be done with just trying to apply the gospel to yourself. “After all that has been said the, greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel” Joseph Smith. No wonder that is the case there is so much about the gospel that we miss out on if we dont share it, if we are not helping the people around us to be lifted up by the gospel then we ourselves are missing out on a lot of what the gospel has to share.

We just had a baptism in the Zone. It was a husband and wife that were baptized together. The husband grew up in a church that teaches anti mormon every week, he only just six months ago said that he was never going to be mormon. He said that to the friend that eventually listened to a spiritual prompting that was telling her that the people placed in her life where there so that she could share the gospel and help build people around her. She was very scared and knew that he had said that, and knew that the wife had a lot of problems with the church as well. BUT she listened and let faith conquer fear, she has now been sharing the gospel with everyone that she can and has been able to see her friends be baptized. The truth of this gospel is ringing from the rooftops and being a “good example” is a good start but there is so much more to be done with the people that surround us.

This week when I was out talking with people we met a man, Robert, he was very nice but he didnt want to hear us out right away we kept asking questions and sharing testimony and then finally he cracked and told us why he didnt want to talk to us. This hit me so hard…. He told us that he didnt want to talk to us because he had many friends that went on missions and then when they came back then they didnt share it with him, he talked about how it was weird that they would spend two years talking about it and then come home and not continue to do that. He thought that it must not be all that it is cracked up to be if that was the case. We then were able to help him see that the gospel would bless him in his life now and he should at least ask God about it.

I couldnt believe how hard that hit, he even talked about how they are good people and live good lives and loves their families but he didnt see how he couldnt just do those things, why the gospel was an important factor and if it was to them why they never talked about it.

This is so very true, we can live good lives and do good things and love our families, but if we never share and invite people around us to do something about it and to come to know for themselves that the gospel is important and vital, then a good example only goes so far.

We also have a family that we just started to teach that are both less active from the church, they came to church this week for ward conference. They want to come back to church and want to work for the temple. We are also going to be planning a wedding for them!!! The Ward is going to love that.

Cierra Came to church and loved it. She bought all three of her kids and they loved it as well. She has told us that she has found a church that really makes her happy. SHE IS SO AWESOME!!!I I love the gospel.

My challenge to everyone this week is to share the goepel with someone this week, with an INVITATION to do something to act on your testimony. An invitation is the only way they are going to change. Sharing the new video would be a great way to start the conversation!

Love you all

Elder Cordon.

Temple

Well last week was not the greatest week ever, I let stress get the best of me. It even started to get me a little sick. I was getting really caught up in stuff that doesn’t need to be my focus. I know that it was just Satan trying to distract me especially as things get close to the end, he doesn’t want me to finish strong. I am so grateful that it was our temple day today. What a spiritual recharge, I spent time thinking about others and really recharging the fire. I spent time picturing the people that we are working with at the temple and the people that I have worked with, I remembered the joy that filled me the day that the Brian and Katie were sealed. It was a spirit filled session at the temple. Turning outward is truly the fix and every time that I forget that I get right back on the roller coaster. I am so grateful that The Doctrine of Christ is always there, Eternal and Everlasting so that I can get back on track every time that I need to.

EASTER IS COMING!!

The video is soooo good! *Editors Note: Click link to video that Elder Cordon is referring to*

We are flooding pasco with that video, we have so many people have cards and are going to hand them out to their friends. We challenged the whole ward to show the video to their neighbors in their homes and then invite two people or families to church with them on Easter Sunday. We had a lot of people that were asking us for more cards. We have been using to video during our dinners and just in stopping by members. It is such a powerful video, I will never get bored of watching this one.

Discover is defiantly becoming part of my vocabulary.

Last week we had Cierra to a baptism and she loved it. She is also making great friends in the church, she is coming to our WML’s house tonight for a lesson. She has been sick the last couple of days and she was unable to come to church so we are making plans to have her there this coming week. Which is Ward conference so that is going to be a great time.

Well I love you and am grateful for you.
Love Elder Cordon.

PASCO!!!

I am so excited that I get to stay here in this wonderful place. Not gonna lie and say it was a little shocking when I heard Elder Whiting was leaving but I have already spent enough time building my faith about transfers that I knew it was from the Lord. Because then I got Elders Scott! He is a great companion to be around, plus I will get to learn a little bit more Spanish. I think I talk to more people a day that speak Spanish then English especially if you include the people that are Bilingual. So it is nice to be able to learn at least a little to be able to say hi. I am understanding a lot more but speaking it is a whole other level. I feel very grateful to have been called on a English mission. Not that learning a new language wouldn’t have been great it just would have been Really hard!!

The Pasco Zone had 5!!!! People baptized this week, Rosario, Rager, Rochelle, Santi, and Exavier. What a wonderful week it was! There was so much excitement happening! We had investigators come to them and had church tours afterwards. Members where helping to pick them up and take them. It was just a great week. We had dinner with a family with Non Member kids and now all three of the kids want to learn more. Rial, Rochelle, and Colt.

We also found are now teaching two other wonderful families starting last night. One of them is a PMF where the dad is the member but went less active as a teen, so about ten years ago. The wife is a non member, and last night was the first night that we have been able to catch them both home at the same time. We had a wonderful lesson and the committed to read and pray as a family and to come to church on Sunday, they also excepted to continue to meet and learn more. Right now Martin is out of work so we are going to help him find a job, but in the mean time we have lots of time to teach the family.

Ciere and her three kids is another family that we are teaching, she has studied with missionaries before over in Kennewick like 4 years ago. Last week she was praying for help and we knocked on her door just a few minutes later. She told us last night that every time she has asked God to send her help the missionaries always show up. MIRACLE She is going to be coming over to our WML’s home this evening for FHE.

We have 6 trainers in the Pasco Zone for this transfer, you can already feel the fresh fire that is brought into the area. Lots of them even got to do Ministering visits on their first night. 🙂 Baptism by Fire! We are so excited for all the great things that are happening here in Pasco what a great place for New Missionaries to come. God truly does desire that every one of his children come back to Him and He is allowing us to be able to help with that, we have to be able to stay worthy of that blessing and be willing to look outwards to others. Missionary work can never and will never be a inward effort the only way it can be done is to be humbly and look out past yourself and seek to help Gods children. The greatest work that we can be involved in in this life will always and has always been missionary work. Teach Repentance and Baptize converts! Just like the Priesthood, because it is a priesthood work, it cant be inward it only works in helping others, and by doing so it helps us.

I have spent some many times on my mission looking inwards when really it is so much faster, easier and better to look OUT.

I love you all so much and am thankful for your prayers and love!

Elder Cordon!

#ForeverBlessings

So this week was stake conference week, SOO good.

On wednesday they did a youth session, I had the great opportunity to be a part of that by being on a missionary panel.  There was a ton of youth there and that whole thing was completely missionary minded.  I love this about the Pasco Stake they are very missionary minded here.  I think it is that way in all of pasco, I talked with a family last night in the 11th ward and the wife told me that she and the other den leaders are going to the schools and recruiting for cub scouts. They have already got 9 non members to sign up.  What a wonderful way to give kids a chance to rub shoulders with non members and give them a chance to be a light house to others.  It all comes from a true desire to bless our brothers and sisters.

I love that it is such a focus because it should be, missionary work is one of the most important things that we can do. To be able to help with bring Fathers family back together that is what it is all about.

The best blessing of this work is seeing people change and come closer to Christ, to watch them become something better.  I had the cool expereince this week to see someone that I started teaching almost 2 years ago. She was baptized after I left to Wenatchee.  Her name is Peyton, she was the youngest daughter of a LA family and she was 14 at the time I was teaching her. She is still very strong in the gospel and sense has seen her older brother Gavin come back to church and receive the Priesthood. She is a light house and she still shines so bright!  What a great blessing it was to see her.

This week we had a lot of things that seemed to get in the way of the work, Satan was really trying to combat our efforts this week.  It was a powerful testimony to me that Gods power is always going to trump Satan and when you act in faith to access that power you are always going to feel confident in the presence of God.  Jason a new investigator came to church and is preparing for baptism on March 26th.  We are going to have to move Johns date, He is doing really well but he is just taking longer to teach then we thought, he has come to church 2 times and has liked it both times he would have been this week but he was really sick.  We also just found this wonderful family that is going to have their lives changed from the gospel.  The Mothers name is Cierra and she has three kids.

I love the people of this work, there are so many people that just get caught up in the world and it seems so dark such a blessing to see the Light of Christ bring them out of that.  AAAAAHHHHHH WOW    I love The Atonement so much.

I love you
Elder Cordon

Brenda Gilbert was baptized and so many missionaries worked with her.  She is so wonderful.

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#WannaReadIt

This was a great week full of great miracles.

We made plans this week with our WML (*editors note: Ward Mission Leader) to have couples from the ward come out with us. So the Brother Erickson (WML) offered to babysit for couples that would like to come out with us. The King Family took them up on it TWICE!

The first night we met a family that had four kids, (the Kings have four kids) Ages eight, six, four, and two, (the Kings also have 8,6,4,2) It was just awesome to see such a wonderful miracle that night. They were with us both nights and we taught lessons both nights, from people that weren’t even in the plans. The Kings did a great job of sharing their Testimony and adding so much to the lessons.

We also have been having Daniel (A preparing missionary) come out with us every Sunday. He comes out all evening and is now asking us about it each week. Last night we gave him the Restoration Pamphlet and told him to study it. We also gave him the assignment to memorize the first vision. He was so excited about that. Last night we were out with him from 5 to 9 and found all night. We found Juan and Silva, taught them both in their homes and the both are excited for us to come back and to learn more. We also talked to and had a Great Gospel conversation with at least 10 more people. It is so cool to see him take to missionary work and love it. Next week we are going to have him start some of the conversations. As we help him build his confidence we will be able to help him talk to his friends that he knows who aren’t members.

I had the wonderful privilege to be able to go on exchanges with Elder Taylor this week in Pasco 4th ward. I got to meet the wonderful Cazier family that is just on fire with missionary work right now. She is talking to all of her neighbors and so excited about it. Those two elders are teaching so many people that have come from the Cazier family. She is going to have to start working her way down the next block to find more people, the great part is that she is excited to do that. We were at her house that evening for dinner, which a friend was at, and TWO lessons. It was so cool to see the joy that came from that family and their want to share the gospel.

We talked with her children about ways they could share it at school, Sister Cazier shared her testimony that if they prayed for it then it would happen. They we talked about using their Library time at school to read the Book of Mormon, then when someone asked them what they were reading the could say something like, “oh this is the book that has helped me know who God is and who I am… Wanna Read It?? ” We were having a great time coming up with different things that they could say before asking, “Wanna Read It?”. It was a great night.

I love the mission so much for the fact that I get to help others come closer to Christ and in doing that I am being directly lifted because of that service. I am learn to Choose Faith every day, to know that as I loose myself Christ still builds me in the best ways. It is the best ways because it is Him that is building not me. If I try to build myself I am always going to miss something, it will never be perfect; so by allowing Christ to be the builder I am allowing the perfect builder to make sure that it is right.

I love this work and love that I am able to be a part of it, and to learn how to continue to be a part of it for the rest of my life.

Love you so much.
Elder Cordon

Fast Sunday Week!

What a spirit packed week. MLC was again AWESOME. We talked about the Doctrine of Christ. I am so very excited by what I learned. The number one things was that the Atonement working in our lives in not an event it is a state of living. To live in the way that allows the atonement to work on you every day and to know that Christ is there to lift us up and make us better as long as we are will to use the atonement every day. That happens through repentance. God has not asked us to be perfect just to progress and keep trying.

I love this gospel for so many reasons but the purest and most perfect reason is because of Jesus Christ. He is the reason for all the hope and mercy, otherwise justice would have all the claim.

This week was also great in many other ways.

We had John come to church this week and he is continuing to progress towards his baptism date of Feb 27th, we are very excited about that. John is such a good guy, he is 77 years old and has lived a lot in his life. He lied on his military record for his age and was in Korea at 17 years old. WOW Just a crazy life. He really liked church and stayed for the whole time. we are going to be seeing him again tonight.

Were having another FHE with are bishop and a part member family.

Very excited to bring the same spirit that was at MLC to the Zone.

Love you all so much.
Elder Cordon.

Rough studies and rough days. 🙂

BTW the bottle is empty