Tag Archives: Prayer

Service Helps! And So Does Chili :) – Joshua

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Dear Family and Friends,

I had many great experiences this past week. This first one I wanted to mention is about a less-active sister in our ward. We went by her house two weeks ago and at the end of the lesson we asked if we could have some more of her amazing cooking. She loves to cook (and we knew that) so she readily accepted. The result was DELICIOUS! Southern cooking is a hoot! (that means it is really good in southernese) I have come to find that one of my favorite southern dishes though is creamed corn, and acres peas. It is probably on the healthier side of the southern cuisine, which is good for a guy who eats as much as I do. (After my performance at a members home on Thursday I have received several comments haha.) Also the dinner gave us a good chance to invite her to church and talk some gospel with her.

On Wednesday I had an exchange with Elder Lake from Price Creek. During our trade-off with another member in our ward we found ourselves stuck in a pickle after striking out on all my plans. While praying silently for some direction I felt that we should visit the Greens. Upon arriving it seemed like their daughter was going to chase us off, but I stood my ground and insisted on doing some service for them. Once they realized that we were serious, they accepted. We proceeded to till and rake their garden for the next hour. The result was a gift bag of microwave meals and frozen deer leg, dirty hands, and softened hearts. They asked if we could come back Saturday and help finish the project. After that service project we part of the family according to their 38 year old daughter Michelle. They experienced some real hard ship two nights ago with the passing of their grandson/nephew though so if you could keep them in your prayers that would be great.

Lastly, we had some awesome success with the Fall Festival this past week. By the grace of God we were able to get Nick there are Camekco(who brought her sister). They both had a great time as we enjoyed some great conversation with great people, while eating great chili. Seeing things come together so well is such a great feeling!

All in all it was a terrific week and I hope it was for the rest of ya’ll!

Have a great week and don’t forget to pray. One simple prayer opened the doorway to some great service and new friends!

Love ya’ll!

Elder Joshua Cordon

My worst week of finding since week 2! Other than that not too bad haha :) – Joshua

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Dear Family and Friends,

Contrary to popular belief, Florida does have enjoyable weather. WHO KNEW? It caught me surprise, I can tell you that. I actually love biking now. Not only does it feel great, but it means that more people are outside. Which is weird now that I think about it because well as my title suggests, we didn’t find much.

On other news, we did an exchange this last week and I went down to Price Creek which is out in the country and my companion stayed in Deep Creek. The best part about all this is that the elder who served with him for the day was his MTC companion which means they both had only been out for 4 weeks or so. The thought of the two newbies wandering the streets trying to figure out what they are going to do made me laugh. Not surprisingly they had interesting experience, but not in the way I expected.Here is what happened to them while I was down in the country. They started there day by helping with Bingo at the senior center, and then after they left they didn’t bike 300 feet before the elder who was borrowing my bike (which is a loaner bike from his companion) managed to cause the back sprocket to practically explode and render the bike unrideable. They walked about half a mile to the house of our ward mission leader who is currently in Vermont. They waited there for a ride for about 3 hours and then managed to get a ride for the rest of the night. I just feel bad for them.

Until my bike gets fixed I have been riding a bike that a sister in the ward loaned me. Luckily it wasn’t too girly and it is actually pretty nimble.

My miracle that I wanted to share this week comes from last Monday night. We hadn’t used our time very wisely and with a only an hour left in the night we felt like we had accomplished almost nothing. Recognizing that by our own efforts nothing would be accomplished we decided to say a prayer, begging for forgiveness and asking for direction. After the prayer ended I felt prompted to go and visit a referral nearby. When we got there this guy was standing outside waiting for a ride. We decided to verify with him if this was in fact the right house. He confirmed that it was, but that the guy we were looking for was in bed. Just then he asked what we were doing. We told him a little bit about the logistics of missionary work and how it all happens. Then he asked us for our information–which never happens! We exchanged information and he said he wanted us to come by and teach him. Then we got a text from him an hour later saying you will be hearing from me soon. So pumped! God is good!

Then we were finally able to get in touch with the lady who gave us her info at the library. Her name is Camekco and after a great first lesson she committed to be baptized on the 26th of October! 🙂 It was awesome 🙂

Just remember that prayer actually works!

I love ya’ll!

Elder Joshua Cordon

Slow Start, Strong Finish! – Joshua

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Dear Family and Friends,

Things went really well this week. We started the week off with some really low numbers, though we still experienced some great moments, but from Thursday on, things really took off.

One of the early miracles was with Mati. We have been working with her for about 2 months and in all that time have only had 1 complete lesson with her. We were in her area Monday night so i decided to shoot her a text asking if we could come over. To my great surprise, she said yes. We quickly made our way over there to have a lesson with her. She told us when we got there that she had no sooner finished praying for guidance and help when the phone buzzed with my text. I had no idea at the time that it was a prompting from the spirit to send her a text, to me it was just a good idea. Nevertheless it was a spiritual prompting and it got her into tears as she shared it with us. We then set a baptismal date with her for the 19th of October. The spirit was so strong in that lesson, and she kept saying how much peace she felt. I love this gospel!

The pivotal point this week was a humble moment of prayer. Thursday night heavily relied on the fact that one or both of the members who agreed to go on trade-offs that night would still be able to make it, which is why it was so devastating that they both called and said they couldn’t make it that night. Granted they both were pretty legitimate excuses, but it was nonetheless very frustrating. I was lost… I had no idea what were were going to do for the last 3 hours of the evening. It was at this point that Elder Barcala, offered the humble advice of biking down a side street, to do a kneeling prayer and beg for help. That is what we did. After standing up after the prayer, an incredible feeling of peace fell upon me. I still didn’t know where to go, but I knew that God was in charge. We got back on our bikes, and just started heading down the street. We talked to everyone we saw…everyone. And it paid off. We taught four great lessons, and got two new investigators in only three hours. Those are good numbers for a days work.

Another miracle we had this week was that on Saturday after two great sessions of Stake Conference, we decided to go and visit a former investigator. We happened to pull up to his house the same time he did, which was a miracle because he is never home. We talked to him for a bit and then he ended up offering us a ride home. We had a great conversation with him and he made several comments about how he was looking for a church that he was be comforted in. Seeing how he is a pretty bright guy, I am sure he had to have known what kind of reaction that missionaries would have to such a comment. Either he is pulling our leg or he is interested in investigating the church again. I pray it is the latter.

On Sunday, Nick and the Suttons were all able to come to Stake Conference and it made it such a great session. They all had great experiences and we are expecting to see their faces there quite frequently. It surprised Nick to find out how many Mormons he knew. He ended up talking with people for a solid 15 minutes after conference ended. We worked hard for the rest of the day and had two really great lessons with one of them resulting in a new investigator. Her name is Kim. She has two children in the military which was our original connection point. We went over there on Sunday and stood on her porch for an hour and one of the more spiritual lessons of my mission. She readily agreed for us to come back.

I have no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father cares about every single one of us. He proves that by making time for everyone of us, so that whenever we want to talk to him through prayer, he is listening. Listening with pure understanding and love. I know Heavenly Father hears our prayers, and he proves it by answering every sincere prayer we humbly offer. He wants to hear from us, so talk to him tonight.

I love ya’ll!

Elder Joshua Cordon

Here are some updated pictures of Joshua from his missions’ blog.

Crazy! Can you spot Elder (Josh) Cordon?

Just chipping away at those weeks -Jared

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Dear my beloved Family and Friends,

This week was another one of those average weeks! You know one of the 12 apostles(Elder Anderson), and getting soaked in the rain afterwards! I had to farewell to my friend Elder Cheung heading to teach the wonderful Cantonese people of San Francisco. I had to give up the double bed to my roommates they think we need to share!

But man has it been a test of faith this week!

I had a point one night where I was wondering my purpose and why I am doing this, because I can’t seem to get the Language in the MTC how am I supposed to get it in Hong Kong! So I did a lot of contemplating and after everyone retired to there beds, and were softly snoring. I snuck out of the room to the janitors closet where I could be alone, I said a really big prayer out loud to my Father in heaven. I started out by apologizing for being so forgetful of all the Blessings he has given me! Then after saying some other things and closing my prayer. I sat there for a moment and just such an overwhelming feeling came over me! I knew that the lord will help me! No doubt in my mine! It doesn’t mean it will get easier! Because from the words of Elder Holland if your mission is Easy your doing it wrong! No one here in the MTC is smart enough to learn Cantonese in 9 weeks. Except maybe the spirit.

Another thing I would like to inform everyone you don’t have to get fat in the MTC cause I have lost 5 pounds already and its not like I don’t eat that! Just make sure I work out when my roommate doesn’t have giardia.

Overall here in the MTC life is good I have had to pleasure to see a lot of friends, make a lot of friends, and just grow closer to my spirit! Plus anyone and everyone should go rewatch Elder Hollands talk Safety for the Soul.

Love you all!
Elder Jared Todd Cordon

Life is Good!

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Dear Friends & Family,
 
My time here at the MTC has been awesome!!! I have learned so much and I have already had the opportunity to hear two amazing devotionals. The first was by Ted Gibbons, who did a narative about Joseph Smith’s his finals days from the eyes of Willard Richards. They guy talked really fast and loud, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It was one of those ones that when you get out you are completely speechless and you feel like you are walking on a cloud.
 
Then on Tuesday we had a devotional by Tad R. Callister of the Presidency of the Seventy. (I think it is really funny that the two devotionals are given by Ted and Tad. I hope the next guy is a Todd.) It was literally perfect for a Southern mission in the bible belt. I have never taken notes so furiously in my life. He gave scripture after scripture, and showed how the blueprints for Christ’s church can be found completely in the New Testament, and that we are the only church that matches those blueprints. My district and the Branch presidency collaborated for an hour afterwards, combining notes to make a handout for everyone to put in their scriptures.
 
On other news, our zone lost three districts on Tuesday, but we only had one show up. So our zone consists of only 22 people. Basically it is tiny it feels like. The new district seems really cool we just haven’t had much opportunity to interact with them.
 
I finally get to do some much needed laundery today. I personally hate re-wearing workout shirts, I am just saying.
 
One of the biggest lessons I have learned over the past week, is the role the Holy Ghost plays in my life. I am comforted by it everytime I pray and read the scriptures, but as far as it guiding my actions, I supposed I didn’t understand it fully. I wanted the Holy Ghost to either comfirm or chastise everyone of my actions, but more often than not I will be acting by the spirit and never even realize it. As Elder Bednar put it, “Be a good boy, honor your covenants, keep that commandments, and STOP worrying about it.” A lesson I very much need to learn.
 
I just want to say that I have such a powerful testimony of prayer. I know that if you prayer with a sincere heart, and a true desire for answers that you will receive answers. If you feel like this is not the case, I challenge you to pray tonight if your Heavenly Father loves, and ask with a true desire to know, and with faith that he will answer, and I promise that the Holy Ghost will confirm it to you.
 
I love you all!
 
Elder Joshua Cordon