Meet the Mormons!

Dear Family & Friends,

We watched Meet the Mormons this last week. President surprised us by playing it after ending zone conference a little early. He is so powerful and it was so uplifting. He talked so much about looking towards the mark. Meaning we don’t settle for less. But We will have here shortly Elder Ballard, President Rasband, Bishop Gary Steven, Elder Gong, Elder Wong, and Elder Funk. Its such a blessing to be in a spot that has such a presence of these men.

We had a great week! These consecrated finds have always produced results and I have been realizing why: its because we don’t looking at those times as what we do when we have nothing else better to do but as a missionary focused activity. So we will keep those going because it helps with time management but we will make sure to have the same mentality towards any other finding opportunities. I believe the lord really is blessing us with these opportunities. Its just hard because these people are not seeming to have the same mentality the lord and us have for them. Another thing about finding is we had a ward find yesterday and it went really well, for some they gained a little more appreciation for the work, for others they got to see the joy of their labors. Our ward leader is great and has an awesome mentality because of his efforts he helped us find a man about his same age who has got some good interest and already has a fellowshipper.

This last while visiting a family in the ward it was great to hear about their conversion stories, and it was also interesting to hear them talk about the missionaries that baptized them because they loved them so much. But they also told me with much disappointment that he was less active. I asked how they knew that and they said they didn’t know for sure but they assumed because they see his Facebook and they said he doesn’t look or sound like he used to. It was a good reminder for me that we can’t go back to who we were, we need to become something new and keep going!

But also in that visit we kinda did some weekly planning with them and they were brainstorming all kinds of ideas how we could get better, then it was funny as the brother talked about how he has seen us on the streets a lot and how our work is really hard and it would be way easier if members just provided friends. I thought that’s a really good Idea. But they brought up some great ideas one being scouting. I guess this sister who has at least 3 families who would love to do scouting but Wanchai is too inconvenient. Apparently there is enough between out two wards that we could do our own down here and it would be a great missionary opportunity so we sent that to our bishop for some consideration.

We also had exchanges, I went to west point this last week and a cool miracle that happened while I was with Elder Gillis is that right as English was wrapping up a kid walked in looking for English helped so we talked to him for a bit then ended up teaching a lesson but just as he walked in so did a member randomly asking to join us. So basically a perfect lesson just fell right into our hands. He said he would go to church but I am not sure how that all ended up.

Great stuff is happening because we got the Kwok family to come to all 3 hours of church this week for the first time and they all seemed to enjoy it. Except the son he is having a harder time so we are working with the young men’s leader for a way to really bring him in. Its his first time at young men’s so we just need him to go more so he can start having some friends.

Elder Jared Cordon

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Selfies with the Selfy Stick!

Jared Selfie 2

Selfies with the Selfy Stick!

 

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Dear Family and Friends,

What a wonderful week! I truly felt the Christmas Spirit and I will never forget these experiences!

We wanted to see miracles this week and so preparing for Christmas we did a special fast on wednesday. We asked to truly feel the love that Christ feels and to be able to find people that need our help. So Christmas after talking to family we went out to work and despite that fact that it was raining we met some really cool people who have had pretty hard lives! A ward member had given us these little christmas goodie bags to give to investigators and Less Actives so thats what we used. These people really enjoyed them and we also found other little ways to serve people. I think the greatest miracle I felt though is the pure love of Christ that filled my soul that whole day! We also saw some other miracles while doing some less active finding one ladies recorded said she did not want anybody to contact here ever again but we knocked anyway and she opened the door and said: “Elders I haven’t been to church forever, wow its been awhile since I have seen you, hows the ward…” She was so happy to be in touch with us again and we will see her next week. We also were able to see and give presents to some others as well. Also the ward Christmas party was this week and we were able to have a kid we met last week come who really enjoyed it then we taught him again the next day. Also another lady who we are working with drove from a mainland family vacation got to come then headed back after, and she loved it!

We also saw many other miracles this week and although most of everyone we are working with were too busy to meet up we were able to see some great success!

I have learned so much from these goals of 65 that just by pushing a little harder when you don’t want to go anymore and by just using every minute you have it really can make a huge difference!

Love you all and keep improving life is to precious and to sweet to stop!

Sorry for my poor english, my chinese is just getting better.

Elder Jared Cordon

The Work!

Dear Family and Friends,

We have put our heads down in prayer and our feet forward in faith and it has, as it always does, created amazing results. We found 4 new investigators this week, and looking for 4 more this next week. We are teaching a lot of people and the ward is seeing it. We had a family that we made contact with last week come to church this week. It was so wonderful to see them make that step towards God. We found a couple that live at the very edge of our boarders, we have to drive 1 hour to get to them, it was a referral from a missionary serving in the Salt Lake Central mission for us to go see his brother. It was a great lesson and they want us to come back. It kinda holds a special place in my heart to be able to teach this couple, he is a less active member and she is a non member.

So this last week I got to go on exchanges with my MTC companion. He is serving in a wonderful place called Leavenworth. If you haven’t heard of this place you need to Google it. I really hope that I get to stay around here for the holidays, so that I am able to see this place at Christmas. I met the best member missionaries up there, they talk to everyone about the gospel. It was a wonderful place that I will 100% be going back to.

I am so grateful to all of you that are supporting me on my mission.

I keep you in my prayers daily.

Elder S Cordon.

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Badabatadatbaa I’m Lovin’ It!!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Well just another wonderful week in the life of a missionary in Hong Kong. Training is going smoothly and the ward is picking up we are seeing a lot of good things happening. We have been doing a lot of Less Active work and tried our luck with some old investigators and we have seen some good things happening. Less active work we really stirred up the water so now we have some great potential there. But we really do have some characters for our investigators. Peter Lo is a man who is in a wheel chair cause of polio I mentioned him a few months back. He loves america. Uncle Fighter haha man love him. We actually visited a former and was teaching him a lesson at his door then the door right behind us opened and it was Uncle Fighter and his wife. It was cool to meet his wife. We got family potential there. Then of course you have this english class that we teach these these 9-11 year olds, they are the best! I love them its funny how no matter where you are your gonna get every stereotype of kid in your class. I cant wait to teach english in Mainland.

Elder Tam is just awesome though we do plenty of laughing and he has got so much potential we are going to see miracles together I know it.

But working with a lot of less actives recently has helped remind me of a principle that Joseph Smith taught is that when you fall away from the church your not on nuetral ground anymore you made your decision the only other option is the other direction. Well you choose to fall from a higher plane it hurts cause you fall hard. I have seen some sad situations but I have also seen some amazing ones where a few of these people a very sincere and they recognize what there decision has done to their lives and they are ready to change, they are ready to feel the warm embrace of gods love.

I know the work I am doing is of an eternal nature and that why I am doing it.

I love you all!

Elder Jared Cordon

What Would Jesus Do?

Dear Family and Friends,

This last week was a very hard, wonderful week. There was a lot of service hours that we did for members and non members in our ward. Service is such a wonderful way to show love for another person to give of your time and energy selflessly is an amazing experience. Unlike donating money, or cloths, or food, or anything material (not that people shouldn’t do that because it needs to be done) which all of those things can be earned back. Your time can not be earned back once used it is gone. So truly the ultimate selfless act it to give up what cant be returned. Everyday when the service ended I felt so much love for the people I had just served. I got to see them in such a different element, then in their living room on the couch, teaching a lesson. Serving next to a person really lets you see who they truly are.

The part member family that we helped lay concrete this week was such an amazing miracle. We stopped by a week ago to talk to the less active member of the family to just say hi and find out if they needed anything sure enough they did so we got the time and date and showed up ready to work. The non member husband was worried that he was “going to have to tell us what to do the whole time” not knowing that we both had done concrete before was very impressed with our work. It was VERY hot so we had to make fast work of the job or the concrete would set wrong, it was a great challenge and great to work next to all of them. Two days later the less active wife came to church, she hasn’t been in over a year, and not only came but she took the stand in testimony meeting and told the story of this service and how that morning her husband (who is anti church) told her that she needed to go to church. WHAT!!! I know that giving up your time and servicing others rains down blessings. Charity is the pure love of Christ.

Christ spent his life in the service of others and in building peoples faith. What a wonderful example that we have to follow, to always be looking for someone or somewhere to serve and then when you find it, DO IT. Don’t wait thinking that hopefully someone else will help, or that you are to busy, or that maybe they don’t want it. (if they chase you off with a stick for helping them you still will get the blessing for trying, but only if you try) God wants us to be in the service of each other so the blessings that will come from ALWAYS doing what he would have us do will ALWAYS out-way any possible worldly satisfaction that would come from passing by the opportunity to serve.

I know the blessings that come from truly giving of yourself to another. I know that selflessly, without any other motive then to just share love, giving of yourself to another WILL ALWAYS touch your heart and there with the pure love of Christ. I love this work. I love being able to get up everyday and my soul purpose is to build the faith of Jesus Christ in the people around me. I cant think of anything that I would rather be doing. To bad a mission cant last forever.

Thank you all so much for your love, support and prayers. I am praying for all of you and love you all so very much.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK

Love Elder Steven Cordon

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Oh ya totally went to a wedding this week it was awesome!!

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