Tag Archives: Elder Cordon

Baptism!!

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Dear Family and Friends,

Well, I wasn’t sure if this day was actually going to come. Butterfly Ward no longer has a curse. Those 2 1/2 years are over. It wasn’t by any means the work of me The Lord did it all. Gary starting interacting with missionaries over 30 years ago! It was a great day to see someone so happy to make the change. I haven’t seen someone so ready to change in so long. He was just glowing and kept saying this his new beginning!

It was a little stressful though cause on Saturday we went to confirm that Gary was still ready but, his phone was off the entire day we couldn’t reach him. Then the next morning we had tried to call him again and he wasn’t answering so our ward mission leader sent us to go get him. We went down and we wanted to go to his door but the security guard was being tough, so we tried the intercom. To our pleasant surprise he answered right away and he was actually heading down. He was more than happy to be heading to church. Before this since he is wheel chair bound he has always worn a loose shirt cause he thought it would be weird to wear sweats with a nice shirt, but today he had a white shirt and tie and was completely prepared.

Then to the other stressful part: we had planned for our other investigator Aaron and the sister missionaries investigator to play a violin duet and we had them practice once on Wednesday after that we couldn’t get a hold of him. So we were pretty nervous but thirty minutes before the baptism started they both showed up. MIRCALES!

Interesting enough, even with how stressful the situation seemed I never once really worried. I hard a strong confident feeling the entire time. Which is great cause I was just really happy and relaxed through the whole thing. What a blessing. Then after we celebrated with our recent convert and our investigator at a members house for dinner.

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That’s basically the best part of my week!

Oh and we had a really good Zone conference in the mission office! It was a combined one with the other zone so, it wast great to see some faces I haven’t seen in awhile!

Love you all

Elder Jared Cordon
Tang Jeung Louh

First Week in the MTC

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Dear Family and Friends,

The MTC is everything I knew it would be. The hours are long, class rooms can get hot, the food isn’t the best. All of these things I knew. What I didn’t know and what I wasn’t prepared for was how the MTC was going to feel. The spirit that fills even the air you breath here is and can never be explained in words. The personal revelation that flies at me every moment. My hand barely stops writing. I was asked to be Zone Leader, just putting my glass completely full today. I love my mission and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve our Lord.

Love,
Elder Steven Cordon

Update today:

I am having a wonderful time at the MTC you can basically cut the spirit here with a knife it is wonderful.  The classes here are unbelievable the way that i can just be sitting in class and studying and receiving revelation it wonderful to see just how close the lord is to his missionary’s we are promised so many blessing as long as we are faithful.  100% strictly obedience from me 🙂  I have had some really spiritual times here with some people that we are teaching.  We have had members come and volunteer to be talked to about member missionary work so with them and our investigators Justin and Sydney the MTC has been a great time.  The food is not as bad as everyone says it is some is but really not to bad. some time i feel that if I pray harder it tastes better haha JK. My branch presidency is the BOMB.COM they are really just inspired men, and being zone leader i have gotten to know them really well. My district is awesome its two trios  and we are all becoming really close friends  and we are all helping each other stay motivated and focused on the work its great.

It’s Getting Close

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Dear Family and Friends,

This was a pretty exciting week here in Butterfly Ward. After 2 1/2 years and no baptisms, we got one lined up for this Sunday. Gary passed his baptismal interview with flying colors. With us trying to make sure he is truly ready we had to see him about 2 times a week outside of church. Its just so awesome to see the change made in people when they are truly eager and ready to take that next step into a life of discipleship. I have been blessed to help Gary reach this opportunity for him to make special covenants with God and recieve the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost! He is wheelchair bound so its gonna be interesting on how we will execute it.

Also this last week Aaron came back into the mix and He also has a baptism for June. But I really love this kid. This week I got him to play his violin for us, he is pretty amazing! We are going to try and get him to play it for Gary’s baptism! We are waiting on a response to that one.

But all is well here in Hong Kong. There is a lot of energy in the mission and we are seeing a lot of success in all the areas, everyone is getting really excited for July for us all to reach our goal!

Hey love you all hope all is well!

Elder Jared Cordon

One step at a time!

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Dear Family and Friends,

This last week was complete craziness! Which is just the way I like
it. Perhaps I say that a lot, but it is true. We started the week off
right by having a wonderful FHE at Br. Ortega’s home, he is the ward
mission leader and he does a phenomenal job at fellow shipping. There
was a wonderful spirit there as we talked about the Book of Mormon and
overcoming different fears in life. That is when Steve chimed in with
an innocently hilarious comment. Now mind you, this room was mostly
full of women. He told us how he recently had a chuckle moment when
reading the Book of Mormon, it came when he read the line, “the fruit
of thy loins saith.” He followed that up with the question, “do loins
talk”? Haha oh man that was hilariously awkward, but more hilarious
than awkward. We later explained to him what that meant and he felt
slightly embarrassed.

That night we picked up President Craig’s nephew and he stayed with us
for the next 2 days/3 nights. He was a lot of fun! Needless to say, we
laughed a lot. He is leaving on his mission to Ecuador next month.
Probably one of the best experiences we had with him was when we were
contacting a family who was fishing on the St. John’s river and while
teaching the mans wife, we had to chase a crab around that he caught
that got loose. Then her husband pulled out two grabs at the same
time. There is a reason for that. It was a really fun time and a good
experience.

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We had zone conference the next day that was really inspiring despite
the fact that it was ten hours long. I received a lot of revelation
for myself, my area, and my zone. I am excite to see what comes of
these new plans.

The rest of the week was just dandy!

I also learned that more than ever I need to take life just one day at
a time and one week at a time. The rest will take care of itself.
Maybe you could try that too!

Love y’all!

Elder Joshua Cordon

Elder Huntington

P.S. Elder Huntington says “Hi”.

A Rebirth For Some and A New Decade For Me

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Dear Family and Friends,

Well two more wonderful children of God have entered the waters of baptism!! Kevin and Lori have come a long way since I first met Kevin in a parking lot back in December. I am excited to see what they can make of this wonderful opportunity. A big shout out to Bishop and his wife who were so instrumental in getting us to this point. They opened to their home up to lessons several months ago and that definitely solidified the testimony kevin and lori already had. It is just amazing to see the change that comes into people lives as they begin to accept the gospel!

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Thank you to all who helped to make my birthday last week a special one! I was definitely taken care of here in the Hendricks Avenue ward. At the end of the night on Thursday my companion had organized a small surprise gathering of cake and gifts. Some of my favorite people in the ward were there so it was definitely a wonderful moment. Sis. Laskis also fed us that night and gave me another cake haha. There are so many wonderful people here. The Lord definitely gave me a great week seeing as how we had one of my most productive weeks yet! (Matthew 7:11)

All in all it was an incredible week. We started teaching this wonderful young man Alfred again! I taught him a few months back with Elder Hamilton, but he was lacking that real intent so we parted ways. A couple Sundays ago, his Sister (who is an active member) told us that her mom wanted us to go see Alfred again. We went by the next day. As we sat down with him he just got quite and said, “Elders, I am going to be honest with you…” as he paused I braced for what I thought was bad news, he then continued saying, “I really want to change my life now and I just want you teach me whatever I have to do to have what you have.” Talk about music to a missionaries hears! With maybe a little too much enthusiasm we proceeded to unfold before him the truths of the gospel. We have met with him every single day since and each time he has read from the Book of Mormon and taken notes on what he read. Can I just mention how great god is! His power to soften the hearts of people in their time is amazing!

Inspired by my amazing sister Shalese, Elder Frazier and I are going to take a picture everyday of something we are grateful for/makes us happy! It should be good. Perhaps I might share a few with you next week. If you are lucky haha.

Love, Y’all!

Elder Joshua Cordon

A Lesson Of The Mission

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Dear Family and Friends,

These last couple of days have been pretty interesting.

I had the opportunity to meet with a pastor from another faith. It was really interesting too because previously we had met him and had scheduled a time but for some reason we never met up and I had not cared too much to see him but then one day Elder Au just had this feeling to go to this village called Lung Gu Taan. Now this man lives there with his family and when we were there I saw his house and didn’t want to bother knocking on his door. He is really nice but he is pretty dedicated to his belief.

Our time there was kinda of a bust until we were leaving then we saw this man and his family pull up in there car. So we spoke for a second and he was super nice and wanted to meet back up. It struck us at this point that maybe that’s why we needed to go to Lung Gu Taan. So that time was last Friday. When we first met him he had posed the question how can someone read the gospel of John–he said its his favorite book–and be led to believe in our church then he told us to study it. Well this is pretty funny cause his name is John Johnson. But I added that to my study and man I never been more convinced that someone with the gift of the spirit can led to believe more deeply that this gospel the Church of Jesus Christ teaches is true. Now I knew that he wouldn’t put that question to us unless he had a reason someone couldn’t.

Well we met up because I felt this is what the spirit was telling us to do. Well we didn’t really discuss the Gospel of John, I just had to defend my faith against the pride of the world. This meeting was interesting it provided me greater insight on the war of words this world is facing. In this meeting you had two people sitting on one side of the table who had gained their testimony of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit in reverent prayer, while on the other side you had someone who gained his testimony from years and years of study starting from a degree in religion and then throughout his paid career.

I now understand why we needed to meet with this man, I know that all the words the world can throw at you have no effect compared to the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit in prayer. This has been a great reminder of the kind of missionary and teacher I should be, I can never convert anybody that power is the responsibility and calling of the Holy Spirit. I must not forget who the real teacher is. The people of Hong Kong deserve a foundation of stone not sand.

I love you all and wish you the best.

Elder Jared Cordon

Don’t Forget Him!

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Dear Family and Friends,

When you do work on a Monday and your mind thinks its P-day weird things start happening everybody in the district has been a little goofy and District meeting yesterday might have been the funniest district meeting I have had. Yet we all learned some great lessons. I did the training and nothing really went according to plan, but it ended up teaching some very valuable unplanned lessons about power statements which we took to use yesterday.

Yesterday was interesting and its also funny how the Lord does little things to remind us who is really in charge. When we first started looking for people to share the gospel with after district meeting, I am not sure why, but the constant no’s were getting at me more than normal. I started having all these thoughts come through my mind;

“Is this message really true nobody wants to hear it.”

Or

“Man why I am even trying these people just don’t get it.”

So it was pretty sad the thoughts going through my mind after doing that for a while and still not having success me and Elder Au said a prayer, rethought our approach and found one kid, who we taught and set up an appointment to come and teach him more. So that was cool. Then that evening after dinner, similar thoughts started haunting my mind, but I tried to shrug it off and keep looking for the people I was suppose to find. The Lord put three amazing people in our path 2 of which are new investigators. The lesson I learned is how quickly I forget the Lord sometimes but He doesn’t forget us, He picks us up when we are weak. We had 3 new investigators the same day I was thinking of quitting. That’s about the same amount of new investigators I had in my entire time in my first area. The Lord is pouring out a lot of blessings here in the Butterfly Ward and if all goes right we should have 3 baptisms in June with a few more for July!

Much Love
Elder Jared Cordon

Double Dunks & Back Flips

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Dear Family and Friends,

Oh the simple joys of life! One of the happiest moments for a missionary is to see someone who you felt came into your life by divine intervention enter the gate to eternal life through the waters of baptism. I am a very lucky Elder to have been so richly blessed. I will take just a few minutes to describe my two brothers who were baptized this weekend!

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Jim, oh Jim. He is honestly the most prepared person that I have ever met in my entire life. Once he knew it was true, which didn’t take long, there hasn’t been anything that has been a struggle for him to give up. Every time we taught him a knew principle he immediately started doing it. He had to get work off for Sundays and his job wouldn’t comply, so he quit! He spends every day serving his neighbors and doing acts of kindness. He is one of the most kind-hearted men I have ever met in my life. It was an honor to be able to baptize him. Sunday after he was confirmed he also got the priesthood and went and did home-teaching right after church! This church is in dire need of more Jims.

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Then you have the good ole Steevo! This brother has made me laugh more than anyone else. He truly understands good humor. He, like Jim, has been so willing to make the changes in his life to come closer to God. His love and enthusiasm for the Gospel has been an inspiration. He just wants this more than anyone I know. He has no problem with telling everyone he meets about the church! Especially via facebook! He has the potential to be a great missionary! I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet him and that the spirit softened his heart so that he let us in to teach him.

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This week was just an unbeatable one with that great weekend coming to a close! I am looking forward to helping these brothers down the path of growth and progression in this amazing church! Sadly Kevin and Lori were unable to join them in the font on Saturday but when they get baptized in a few weeks the joy will be just as sweet!

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A quick word of caution for all yall! If you are going to be attempting a back-flip off of a swing at 6:45 in the morning any time soon, don’t tuck your legs too much or you will over-rotate and turn that back-flip into a back-flop. Trust me I know! It is okay though, the swings and I are still on good terms.

Love Y’all!
Have a great week!

Elder Joshua Cordon

Let Bygones Be Bygones

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Dear Family and Friends,

This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 3:13–14]

I decided to write about this topic today because of a trade-off that I went on with an elder earlier this week. To often we spend way to much time living our lives in the past. This is seen in phrases like, “the good ole days,” or “I wish I could just go back.” The beauty of the atonement of Jesus Christ is that because of him we can always be happier tomorrow than we are today if we allow his grace to work in our lives. Life is not intended to have a peak of happiness and then go down hill from there. Men are that they might have joy (2 Nephi 2:22), not men were that they used to have joy. Not only is that wrong doctrinally, but probably grammatically too.

This philosophy of seeing every new day as a possibility to progress rather than regress has changed the way that I look at my mission and at life. I am excited by the fact that through Jesus Christ the future will always be something to look to with eager excitement. This is the case because true lasting happiness is never determined by our circumstances, but instead by our character. Even through Christ, death is not the end, but the pathway to an even brighter and more glorious day, that is of course–like always–if you apply the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Often however, through our own stubbornness and pride we hold ourselves back from progressing by not letting go of the past. This wonderful quote somes up my thoughts on that quite nicely. “When something is over and done with, when it has been repented of as fully as it can be repented of, when life has moved on as it should and a lot of other wonderfully good things have happened since then, it is not right to go back and open up some ancient wound that the Son of God Himself died trying to heal.” (Elder Holland, ‘Remember Lot’s Wife’)

Anyhow, I hope y’all loved my spiritual thought. I just thought it was a fitting message for Easter. This past week was a great one as always. It started with a wonderful FHE at the mission home, and then we got to see a wonderful ward function for the Messiah by Handel on Saturday. Then Sunday was great when this young guy named Mat who we met the day before came to church and loved it! However, that is the past now 😉 And though it warms my soul like the hot sun on my back, I am more concerned by the beautiful scene ahead of me. I have the blessed opportunity of seeing 4 wonderful children of God enter the waters of baptism this Saturday! Boy the future looks so bright, I might need sunglasses!

I love ya’ll! I hope this week is better than any before, which is your choice by the way 😉

Elder Joshua Cordon

Some Old Friends

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Dear Family and Friends,

Well this last week we saw a lot of change in the District and Zone. It was a pretty crazy moves call! I can say I was pretty surprised and also very excited about my new companion. His Name is Elder Au, he is a native from Sha Tin. He is super awesome I knew him before on the Island and told him when I left Cause Way Bay: “Hey you following me out to Butterfly next move”. Well that came true. Its so nice to have someone whose is fluent in the language. Even in the last couple of days my language has improved a lot. We have done some awesome things so far.

This last Saturday we went less active finding. We found a guy who hasn’t been in contact with the missionaries for over two years. So we knocked on his door and the parents where pretty mean and he wasn’t there so when we were heading back to the elevator, right when the doors where about to close, we saw him walk by and remembered him from the picture. So we jumped out after him and waited for a second in the hallway for him to come back. So we ended up stopping and chatting with him for a while, teaching a lesson and rescheduling another lesson with him. That was good timing! I know God puts us missionaries where we need to be, we also found out he can’t let his parents know we are meeting with him or they will disown him. So its perfect we met him outside of his house.

We have seen an abundant supply of miracles in such a short time together I thought I would share a little one.

Also speaking of friends, an even older friend an american in my district also in my apartment is Elder Connor Townsend we played football together back in the little league days. He is an awesome missionary and its gonna be fun living with him!

Love you all

Elder Jared Cordon
(Tang Jeung Louh)

Tang is my chinese last name and jeung louh means elder.