Christmas in the Mission!

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! It really was a special day and

I was so grateful for the spirit that was there.

Zone Conference was so great! It was this past Wednesday and it was so

fun seeing a lot of old friends, President and Sister Anderson, and

Ephraim's Rescue (movie about the pioneers). There was also a great

talent show and there were so many skits, great music, and a lot of

good jokes. We also got our gifts, which of course, was really

exciting!  We also had a lot of great meals from members and gifts we

weren't even expecting.

Christmas was just so special in so many ways. In the morning we

opened up all of our gifts which was really exciting! Elder Harris and

I had a great time with all the gifts we opened. I even received a box

of oranges at our doorstep! In the afternoon, we talked to our

families and let me

just say, I was so grateful for that one hour. I felt right at home,

and it was so great to catch up with my family. Just to hear how

everyone was doing really brought me a lot of happiness. But the day

didn't end there. We saw a couple named the Walchs. They were baptized

a little over a year ago and asked if we could give them blessings.

They were sick and we're going to have us over for dinner, but were

too sick to make anything. But I'm so thankful, on such a special day,

that I was able to exercise the power of God to help others. I truly

am thankful for such a blessing. We also met with a less active

brother named brother Orsi at the end of the night who was stressed

out and just not having a good day. It was so great to talk about the

Savior and why He was so important on Christmas. Doing missionary work

is so special on Christmas. You just get an additional confirmation

what you are doing is right.

But, this is the last week of 2015! To really look back on this year,

I'm grateful what I have went through and what is in store for 2016.

This is also the last week of the transfer, so I find out Friday if I

get transferred or not. We'll see...... Anyway, have a Happy New Year!

I hope the best for all of you!

Elder Cortes

Christmas with a change of location

Hey everybody!!!!

Wow, I can't believe it's almost Christmas! I also can't believe have

been out for almost 6 months! It's so strange how time has flown. But

it's just really exciting all around.

So for my week, it has just been busy all around during the Christmas

time. We have had 12 referrals all in the past week, which is  a lot

for a week in our mission. So throughout the week, we have just been

delivering Bibles to people throughout our area. It's been really

great to see how the Mormon.org Christmas initiative has really been

getting out there. It's been really great to see!

Wednesday, we went to a lesson to a less named Sister Punchello. It

was really great because we taught her for the first time in a few

months and talked about how Christ has changed her life. She really

was receptive and just talked about how she needs to come back to

church. What was a little plus was she let me borrow her daughter's

trumpet. Because...... I am playing a Christmas song for Zone

Conference! It's been to practice here and there for it. I can't wait

to perform after it's been so long!

Friday, all we did was street contact sharing the "A Savior is Born"

with our Zone Leaders. It was really great to share the video with

people. Their hearts just get softened after watching that. There's a

reason why missionaries say Christmas is the best time to be out

serving.

We also had our Christmas program this past week as well. It was so

great. There were so many songs and narrations, it really did invite

the spirit. Also, David Garduno, who we have given the sacrament every

week to, came to church for the first time since I have been here! It

was really exciting. He is on the way to getting a temple recommend!

He really is one of my favorite people to teach. All in all, just a

really humble guy.

Well, the weather has been the same, pretty warm. Christmas it is

supposed to be 70, which I am really excited about. It'll feel like I

never left Arizona. Just kidding! But to just leave you with

something, I am excited for Christmas to come. Throughout my studies,

I always come back to the Book of Mormon reading with Samuel the

Lamanite and his prophesies of the Holy Messiah's birth. Also, in 3rd

Nephi 1, where the believers' lives are literally on the line

depending on the Savior's coming. I ponder how much faith would we

have if we were in that same position. May we "watch steadfastly" as

the Nephites did on our Lord. Not just at this time, but at all times.

If we do so, we will have reason to "lift up our heads and be of good

cheer" as the Savior told Nephi. I pray you all have a special, safe,

Merry Christmas. There is reason to celebrate in our hearts and in our

lives. He was born so we can be born again. I testify of this as a

representative of Him.

Happy Holidays!

Elder Cortes

Mid-December

Hey everybody!

I hope everything is going well for all of you! It's getting really

busy here during the Christmas season, but that's how it should be!

Also, it's been pretty warm over here. Everyday it's in the 60's or

70's..... It reminds me of home so much! But that's okay, I guess I

will have to wait for a cold, snowy Christmas next year. But still, it

was another good week!

Tuesday, we saw Brother Kpalie, a less active member in the ward. What

is so great is that he told us that he is going to be trying to get

back to the temple. I was so excited to hear that because he has come

a long way since I came to Moorestown. He didn't go to church in the

longest time, but here he is now, trying to get a temple recommend. I

probably won't be here when he goes back, but to see someone progress

over time is one of the greatest things to experience on your mission.

Wednesday, we saw Kevin, our investigator who is Muslim. It was so

great because he cooked us dinner, which comprised of seasoned

chicken, cooked green beans, and spaghetti with meat sauce. But the

best part about it was we showed him the Christmas website the church

set up for the holiday season. There was a video he watched called "A

world without a Savior" which really touched him. It just testified of

Jesus Christ which really brought the spirit into the house. All in

all, it was a great lesson on Jesus Christ!

On Friday, I unfortunately got sick with a cold. Needless to say, it

has not been fun the past few days. But the Zone Leaders did give me a

blessing, so I'm just waiting patiently, because I know I will get

over this soon! The work went a little slow that day, but we ended the

night very well because we were invited to a ward council Christmas

party. The next night we had our ward Christmas party as well! It was

great to spend time with the ward getting ready for the holiday

season. At the ward Christmas Party, Elder Harris played Jesus in a

Christmas story a woman in the ward put on.

It's been fun getting ready for the Christmas season. Less than two

weeks now! It'll be great to see the miracles come as Christmas comes

closer and closer. I hope you all are able to get ready for the

Christmas season! Just always remember what it's all really about.

Elder Cortes

No Snow Yet, But it Still Pours

Hey everybody!

I hope you all have been doing well, getting ready for the holiday

season! We definitely have been.

Throughout the week, we have been sharing the video "A Savior is Born"

to people on the street and have given the pass along cards that go

along with it. It's been an effective way to talk to people on the

street. But it also helps us understand more and more what the true

meaning of Christmas is all about and what it means to have a Savior.

Wednesday I went up to Cherry Hill with Elder Bowman, my zone leader,

for an exchange. It was really good! Elder Bowman is.....not afraid to

be himself. But he is a spiritual giant. It was great to work with him

because you know how much he cares about his great work. Although it

was pouring, we still got a lot done in his area. We met with his

woman who has a son who is pretty much restricted to his bed and can't

talk. But it's so great to see her faith even through all her

hardships, she still presses on and shares the gospel in every way she

can.

Thursday, we had Zone Training! It was great to hear all the trainings

from the Zone Leaders and the Sister Training Leaders. We also gave a

training ourselves, which was a lot of fun and very spiritual! Later

that day we had an appointment with this woman whose name is Amy. Amy

is the only member in her family, but her husband and son were

interested in hearing about the Restoration. It was so great, her son,

Nick, told us how everything we were teaching sounded so true. I was

so glad being able to see this young man (he's 14), be open and say

what we were teaching is true. We're hoping we can set him with a date

in January, so I might not be here when he gets baptized, if I get

transferred, but it'd still be great to see Nick, and his dad, Chris

accept the gospel.

Sunday, we had stake conference, which was very spiritual. It was

great to hear from the Stake Presidency, members of the D.C. temple

presidency, and special testimonies given by two returned sister

missionaries. One of the missionaries came home after three weeks in

the mtc because she had cancer. Her address was very emotional. You

knew how badly she wanted to stay out in the mission field. It really

made me ponder how this time is so important for me,mot be out here on

a mission. I really just want to look back at my service and say I did

all the Lord asked me to do, because not everyone gets this chance

like I do, and I have to do my absolute best. Like it says in Alma

34:32, this time is to prepare to meet God. It is my hope and prayer

all of us are doing what we can to prepare to meet our Father in

Heaven at the last day. I'm grateful to be out here, especially during

the Holidays. I hope all of you have a great week! I know finals are

either here or coming up, but after that, you can just take a step

back and remember the Savior even more. I know I have as I have been

in His service everyday.

Elder Cortes

Thanksgiving and Birthday!

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We sure did. It was a good

week overall. It was a little tough on lessons because almost

everybody went out of town, but it's okay! We still kept busy like we

always do.

So, for the entire week were helping out this family who have been

investigators to the church for years. They were moving out today and

they needed so much stuff done last week. We helped take down a $7000

playground set, moved out boxes and boxes in the garage, and took out

a lot of furniture. We were so grateful to help out the Kings, almost

every day last week for a few hours. But it finally got done and they

were so relieved and so happy about all the things we were able to

move out. It's always so great to give service like that, because

seeing people happy and glad stuff gets done is a blessing.

Tuesday, we were able to see the Bramhalls, a really great family in

the ward. Their kids gave us 10 or so bags of candy with turkey

drawings on them. They asked if we can give them to people we see and

we were like "of course!", because who's going to turn down candy from

kids right? We already have passed out a good number of bags already

and got great turnouts from it.

Wednesday, we had District Meeting because we usually have it on

Thursday. We had two new missionaries in the Zone. One of them is the

new District leader, named Elder Chapman,for the other district, and

I'm pretty excited to work with him. The other missionary is Sister

Eckman, which I was pretty glad about. She was a Restoration Site

sister when she came out on her mission. But with the winter, a lot of

the Restoration Site sisters go into the mission to proselyte because

they don't get many visitors at that time. So this is her first area

pretty much! It's cool because we flew on the plane to the mission

together so it was pretty great to have friends like that you serve

around. She asked me to give her a blessing right after District

Meeting which I was more than happy to. It was probably the most

powerful blessing that I have given. I will be honest, it is such a

blessing to hold the Priesthood because you feel so good after using

it to help others, to act in the way the Lord would act. After that we

were able to see a few less actives we never met before which was

pretty nice. We were able to set up a few appointments with them this

week so hopefully I'll be able to talk about it next week!

Thanksgiving!!!!! Wow, it was so much fun. We started off by getting

up at like 5:00 a.m. to drive to Cherry Hill to have a big breakfast

and play in the Turkey Bowl (football) with all the Elders in the

Zone. We were there for probably 4-5 hours just having a great time

playing football. Except one Elder had cleats and the field was really

wet, so all of us were slipping except him. I'll be honest, it's been

a long while since I played any football, but I did pretty decent a

few TD's and a pick! But it was so fun having that quality time with

the other Elders. When we got home, we cleaned up and went right to

visiting as many people as we could. We visited Bishop Poaletti and

his wife, the Walches (two of my favorite people in the ward), David

Garduno, and so many more! It was so fun being able to just go and

visit so many different families and we ended the night having a huge

meal with the Davis Family! Oh my gosh, there was so much food

everywhere we went and the Davis' had the most. What was a downer was

I didn't feel all that well after we left the Davis' at 8. We had a

few more people to visit but my stomach had other plans.... So that

was pretty sad we didn't see 1 or 2 more families. But I was really

glad with all the visits we were able to make.

Friday we helped out with service with the Kings then we went to

Cherry Hill again at the end of the night because I needed to do a

baptismal interview for an investigator who was getting baptized the

next day. His name is Tunde and he is from Ethiopia! He is a

professional soccer player who plays in Europe Leagues. But it's great

to interview these brothers and sisters who are ready to make that

sacred covenant of baptism. They just have a special countenance about

them and you can just tell this is something they truly want. By the

time we were done with the interview, it was too late to drive back

home so we stayed the night with the the Zone Leaders.

The next day we decided to come to Tunde's baptism and it went so

well! Of course it's always so neat to see someone get baptized and to

see the difference in them. After that, we got back and did some more

service and went to Spencer and Rebecca's place for dinner! It was

great to sit down with them because they have all these different

goals they plan on reaching like being sealed in the temple, getting

temple recommends, getting patriarchal blessings, and so much other

stuff! They both already got callings, which I thought was pretty

great. They really are doing well for themselves and I'm going to have

such a party when they get sealed next year wherever I am in the

mission.

Sunday was really great! It happened to be my birthday which I thought

was pretty cool. We also had testimony meeting this week because of

Stake Conference next week. It was the first time having that on my

birthday, a lot of good testimonies were given and the chapel is all

set for the holidays. I also got a pretty nice tie from the Davis',

it's solid teal. Everyone loved it! Sara was so happy when she saw me

in it, it was such a great day. Nothing super different, we just went

out knocking on doors and visited people, but I was glad to see tender

mercies on my birthday.

Well, I just got done taking my first full trip into Philly. The Zone

Leaders showed us around for my birthday! There's really so much you

can do over there, I really do hope I get to serve there at one point.

But now we are getting ready for Christmas! There's a new video on

LDS.org called A Savior is Born. We are planning on showing that to as

many people as we can. But I want you all to know I am grateful for

you and I'm grateful for this mission. I have learned so much about my

Savior Jesus Christ, and I continue to do so. It is my hope and prayer

you all have that chance this holiday season. Have a great week! Oh,

it's below 30 degrees now, no snow yet, but it'll come!

Sincerely,

Elder Cortes

               (Leo with Sara Davis & her husband)      

Long Rides to Philly and Another Goodbye

Hey guys!

It's been getting pretty cold out here in Jersey. But we are still

pressing on! This was the last week of the transfer so we had a few

changes in the district, a few goodbyes, but still, it was a great

week!

Tuesday and Thursday, we saw the Davis family and taught the kids

simple things like the Godhead and Families. It's really great because

teaching the gospel in basic terms is how it should always be. With

kids, that just sticks out. They always have good questions and really

do want to listen.

Wednesday, we saw the Williams Family, who are members in the ward.

However, Sister Williams hasn't been to church for a few months. She

works at a hotel and says she could never get Sundays off. But we

promised her if she asked to get Sundays off. What was so awesome was

yesterday, she was at church! She put our promise to the test and she

was able to get off. I love promising people blessings as we invite

them to keep commitments, it just feels like it always comes true. It

also feels like there is a divine power that backs it up as well as we

promise them a blessing in keeping a commitment.

Thursday and Sunday, we took Elder Thomas to Philadelphia. I'll be

honest, it is something else driving through Philadelphia. You learn

so much! But anyway, the reason we did was on Thursday we dropped him

off so he could go to the temple on Friday, because all the departing

missionaries get to go to the temple before they go home. Sunday was

the finisher! It was so great, because we met the Assistants at the

Philadelphia Temple and it was such a great sight.

Saturday, we also saw David Garduno. We started teaching him about

temples and he is on his way to getting ready! I'm excited for him and

hopefully we can get him there. That will be a really exciting time.

Also, before we took Elder Thomas home, we taught Relief Society on

Missionary Work.....and our Stake President was our escort because we

need a guy in the room full of sisters. Even though it was different

on a many different levels, we had a great time getting all the

sisters ready for the Holidays and what they can do to spread the

gospel!

Also, transfer calls were Friday and I am not getting transferred!

Neither is Elder Harris. So we will be together for another six weeks.

Which means I will be in Moorestown for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and

the New Year! It'll be a good transfer. I'm excited to find new people

and hopefully get a baptism!

Well, Thanksgiving is this week! We have a lot of plans to go to a lot

of houses. I can't wait!

I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving and a great break. I hope

all is well back home. Take care and have a great holiday!

Elder Cortes

Mid-November

Hey everyone!

It's been such a busy week, especially with Thanksgiving coming up.

But that's exactly how it should be!!

We had a a day filled with interviews with our mission president and

training from the Assistants. It was a really good day learning how to

teach more simply and efficiently. Also, our President is so great. He

truly does care about each of his missionaries individually. It really

does make me want to have more charity with everyone I see.

We also had a new investigator this past week named James. We met him

Saturday and he's a real down to earth guy. He has mild autism and he

has a son about 6 who has autism as well. He also has a cool two year

old daughter. We taught him the plan of salvation and he had so many

honest questions. Those are the best lessons, when there are so many

questions asked. He's great, we are meeting with him sometime this

week.

We also had Spencer's confirmation Sunday. It's always great to be a

part of confirmations. He's getting the Aaronic Priesthood soon, so he

just keeps progressing! Last week of the transfer! We are having a

blast together, but it'll tough to see Elder Thomas go. Transfers are

next Tuesday, so we will see if I'm staying or leaving! If I stay,

it'll be until after Christmas.

Hope all of you are doing well! Take care and be happy and safe.

Elder Cortes

Busy Cold Days and a Baptism!

Hey Everyone!

Time just doesn't stop, that's for sure. I have just been going

nonstop this week, but that's a good thing. I can't even imagine

wasting time on the mission. I hope you all are doing great! I'm sure

you're a all excited for the holidays. I know I am. Thanksgiving and

Christmas are going to be so fun here! But anyway, I'm excited to

share my experiences this past week with you, there's a lot of good

ones.

Tuesday we drove to Broomall, PA for Elder Harris' Golden Retraining.

It was really great! They talked about the same things for the most

part when I went to my retraining, but I learned so much more. It was

like the Lord just always has something to teach me, which I am so

grateful for. I also got to do a role play of a street contact with my

Mission President which was pretty fun and different at the same time.

All of us had such a blast, trainers and Goldens. I really loved

getting to know the trainers and seeing good friends, like my friend

Elder Drake, who is serving in Pottsville. I'm also glad my son, Elder

Harris, did a great job (trainers are dads). He's doing a good job so

far in his mission, I can tell he really does care and is progressing

very well. Also, traffic to Broomall is insane. We went on the road

call Roosevelt Lane, which has six lane and a divider between three

lanes. It's one of the most accident prone roads in the country and it

was just so crazy. But on the way home we drove through center city,

and it was so amazing. There were all these murals and endless amounts

of people. I just want to stay there the rest of the day and do street

contacting. But I'm not worried, I'll get there one day!

Thursday, we went to Zone Training and had a really fun time. Elder

Bowman and Elder McCarthur did a great job with the training. We also

met some mini missionaries (16 year olds who are with missionaries for

a few days) from Delaware and the North Jersey. They were pretty smart

in the gospel, I'm just grateful the youth understands the importance

of preparing now for a mission. After Zone Training, I did a two day

exchange with Elder McCarthur, we went to Cherry Hill the first day

and Moorestown the second. He's been my Zone Leader ever since I have

been out on my mission, so needless to say, it was pretty nice to

spend two days with him just working together.

Sunday was pretty much the best part of the week. All week we were

getting ready for Spencer's baptism (interview, the program, etc.) and

to finally see him be baptized was great. His wife, Rebecca, was

sitting next to me and she was just beaming constantly. I was just so

happy for her, it was her first time seeing a baptism besides her own.

She gave the closing prayer and was so nervous, but it was pretty

powerful. I truly did feel the spirit as she prayed. The end of the

night was pretty much perfect. We taught David, who we have been

teaching for months. When we got there, he had almost finished 1st

Nephi and just wants to do everything he can to strengthen his faith.

He had all these questions written down and we just had a great

discussion with him. At the end of it, he gave the prayer and was so

emotional, I was so happy with the progress he is making to get back

to being active.

It's constant 40's over here but that doesn't bother us. We just keep

on moving, because that's all you can do. Anyway, I hope all of you

have a great week. I truly do love you guys and I do love the gospel,

may we all be strengthened in the Lord and His everlasting grace. Keep

being great!

Elder Cortes

Halloween

Hey everyone!

I hope all of you had a great Halloween. Mine was a little....

different. But it was a great time nonetheless! But I'll get to that

in a little bit. There were a lot of great miracles that happened and

we just continue to learn and grow by the spirit!

It was a pretty great Tuesday for us! We saw Brother Madueke before he

took a trip with his Mom to Nigeria for a couple weeks. We talked

about him getting a calling and he said he was all for it! It is so

great because all he wants to do is help the youth in the area and I'm

just thinking "Oh my gosh, he could be a perfect Sunday school

teacher"! So I can't wait to see what happens because I think that is

what will get him completely active again. We also met a man named

Marcello who was locked out of his house. It was perfect timing

because we had 30 minutes before we needed to be at a lesson so we

went to do some finding. He was such a kind guy, he's from Brazil and

just moved here two weeks ago! He's been studying English for 8 years

before he came and he was very interested in meeting with us! What a

tender mercy by the Lord.

Wednesday we met with a young boy named Mateus who just turned 8 this

past week. It's pretty great! We met him two weeks ago and he asked

what we were doing, so we explained we were missionaries. He was

pretty curious what we were all about, so we told him we would stop by

sometime and give him a Finding Faith in Christ dvd. So we did and his

mom only speaks Portuguese but is so nice. We had a great lesson with

Mateus and he was pretty receptive to all that we were saying to him.

Later that night we went to the Davis' (Sara Davis was baptized in

August). We stopped by and simply invited them to church (they had not

been coming for a long while due to personal issues with extended

family). It was so great! They both opened up and said they knew they

needed to come back to church, that they could feel a difference when

they did not go. They committed right then and there to go to church.

Then, before we left, we asked their kids in the other room if they

want to be taught and be baptized. Two of them were interested and

honestly, it was such a great feeling to see these young kids, all

three I saw, take a sincere interest to our message. The Lord truly

did soften my heart that day to see these special young kids take bold

steps in coming closer to our Father in Heaven.

I also had a pretty inspirational district meeting on Thursday. It's

pretty great, the past three weeks I had topics all relating to the

scriptures: The Book of Mormon is the Keystone of our Religion, How to

use Scriptures, and How to use the Book of Mormon. At first when I got

these topics I was a little confused because they are all so similar.

But my friends, they are all so different. I truly have learned so

much on the Book of Mormon and to use it more effectively and to treat

it with such great respect and love it deserves. I also have learned

new ways to help and to teach those to use the scriptures and to help

them feel the spirit as we read. This week it's zone training, but

next week the topic is the Book of Mormon answers questions of the

Soul. I'm really excited for that. It's also been a struggle lately

with Carmen. She did research about the church. When you hear the word

"research", that isn't a good sign. She saw some anti stuff on YouTube

and it broke my heart because it really had her confused. We are not

giving up though, we are seeing her tomorrow and we're hoping the Lord

is with us as we teach her.

Regarding my Halloween, we have to be in before dark (which is 5:30

over here) unless we are with members. Well, I spent my Halloween at a

wedding! It was for Rebecca and Spencer Mora. Spencer is getting

baptized this Sunday so we were excited for them to be married and for

him to be baptized. It's pretty special to see, especially since I

have been teaching them since the beginning of my mission. I'm just so

grateful the Lord has given me this opportunity to see both Spencer

and Rebecca have such special life changing events. There was also a

candy bar, so I guess you can say I got my trick or treating in before

we went back to the apartment.

Sunday, it was so strange. We had a sewage problem and it was a health

hazard.... So we had to leave church after Sacrament Meeting. It was

the weirdest thing. I don't think I have ever had church cancelled. It

was pretty strange seeing everyone just file out and go home. I was

blown away. I also experience daylight savings for the first time in

my life. It was so nice getting an extra hour of sleep. I can safely

say, I know I can live outside of Arizona now.

But to end this, I just wanted to talk a little more about what I was

thinking regarding the children I met. Imagine if all of us had the

great wisdom children do. We all have trials and struggles in our

lives. But if we had the great love and the positive attitude children

have, our lives would be so much better. It really put things into

perspective as Christ said be as little children. We really can learn

so much from them. May we all be as children, full of faith and

righteousness. As we do, we will press forward in this life with love

and joy, I guarantee you that.

I hope all of you have a great first week of November. 3 weeks left

for Elder Thomas. We are going to be putting in some work! We also

have Elder Harris' Golden Retraining tomorrow. It's so different

having both ends of the spectrum for companions. But it's exciting!

Take care.

Elder Cortes

Priesthood Restoration Site

Hey everybody!

I can't believe it's so close to Halloween. It feels like yesterday I

left four days after the Fourth of July. But that's how the mission

goes! So fast.

I know I usually focus on my week, but I wanted to focus on an

important part of my week for my email. This past Tuesday, I went to

the Priesthood Restoration site. It was in this area, Joseph Smith and

Oliver Cowdery received the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist

and the Melchizedek Priesthood from the apostles Peter, James, and

John. It is also where 70% of the Book of Mormon was translated.

This Restoration site has been open for about 2 months and we had the

privilege to go and see it as a mission. It was so great seeing many

friends I have made over the course of my mission. As well as two of

my trainers, Elder Foster and Elder Froc. Even though we left at four

in the morning to travel four hours, it was worth it. I loved the

spirit I felt from walking those sacred grounds. And to be addressed

by President Anderson on how special, this place really was, I was

touched. It made me reflect on my own receiving of the Priesthood and

how important that truly is to me. It also gave me a chance to renew

my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and how dedicated he was to

this work of the Lord, along with his trusted companion, Emma. I pray

as I go and do all the Lord asks me to do, I may do it with honor to

my Savior, Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith did that to the very end of his

life. May we all appreciate the love and appreciate from this great

prophet and the work he has done in order for us to understand the

truth of the Master and our perfect Father in Heaven.

                     (Leo & his 1st Zone Leader, Elder Riley)

40-Degree Weather and First Week Training

Hey everybody! How are you doing??? It's been a little crazy and all

the time busy, but that's a good thing! There's nothing better for

missionaries than work.

So to start off, I had a pretty good last day with Elder Foster on

Monday. We ate food, said goodbye to members and investigators, and

got him packed to go to his new area (Which is Honesdale in the

Scranton Zone).

Tuesday was pretty early for us. We woke up at around 4:30 a.m. and

left at around 5:30 to go to transfers and pick up some missionaries

in Camden along the way. I needed to be there at around 7:45 to get a

trained on...well training. It was good, I learned a lot and got so

pumped to train after transfers. Transfers were so fun, I got to see

so many Elders and Sisters I came out with. 3 other missionaries I

came out with are also training and it was crazy to just look back and

see how all of us have progressed since we came out. But transfers

were unpredictable, like always. I am in another trio again! (I pretty

much came to the conclusion I'll just be in trios my entire

mission).The Elder I'm training is Elder Harris. He just turned 18

last month and is from Orderville, Utah. He's a big hunter. But he's

excited to work. My other companion is Elder Thomas, he is from Provo

Utah and a big music person. He has 5 weeks left, so I'm killing

another missionary, which is pretty rough because I hate saying

goodbyes. But I'm grateful for his knowledge, he's such a great Elder

and we talk so much about music, band, songs. It's so great! I'm

grateful for both of my companions, they have so much to contribute

and really are going to be essential in moving the work forward. Right

after we got home, we went and knocked on doors in our home town,

Riverside. It was great for Elder Harris to just get the real life

experience.

Thursday, I conducted my first District Meeting. It went really well

and there was a great discussion on the Book of Mormon. I was just so

glad the Lord blessed me in leading out an effective discussion. I was

so happy by the end of it. We also did service for Brother Lopata (the

member who will die if he quits smoking). He told us he appreciated

the work we did for him so much, he told us he would go to church the

first week of November. I was so glad by the end of moving furniture,

paperwork, and boxed for four hours to hear him say that. It truly was

a tender mercy.

Friday I conducted my first two baptismal interviews. It was to a mom

and her 13-year old daughter. It is so amazing to see these people who

are ready to make changes in their lives. The spirit truly was felt as

I asked them the baptismal interview questions and they answered

honestly and openly. The best thing was when they bore their testimony

and it was so powerful to see daughters of God who are completely

committed to the gospel. After that, I got a text from a sister

missionary in Medford who requested a blessing from us. I had the

special privilege to give this Sister a blessing and I was just so

grateful for the Lord to bless me with this chance to be over a

district and not only teach and learn from them, but to help them in

any way I could.

Elder Harris invited his first person to be baptized on Saturday! I

was so proud of him. He is just trying his hardest and I couldn't be

happier about it. Everything he does in teaching, inviting, and

studying reminds me when I first started in the field 3 months ago.

He's progressing very well and I know he will be a great missionary.

We also had the fall festival where it was pretty much a get to know

you for Elder Thomas and Elder Harris with the ward.

Carmen and Spencer are both doing well and are progressing toward

their baptisms in November! I'm excited for them and their spouses as

they strive for baptism. Also, we are going to Susquehanna to see the

Priesthood Restoration Site tomorrow! We only have a few hours for

P-Day today, but tomorrow is our real P-Day for this week. So I will

respond to individual letters tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your

thoughts and prayers. I pray you all have a great week!

Elder Cortes

                       (Leo & Elder Harris)

                        (Elder Thomas playing his Ukelele)

   (Elder Thomas teaching Leo to play Piano)

From Trainee to Trainer

Wow, it's been a crazy past few days everybody. I hope you all are

alright and are doing well, I'm doing great here and had a great last

week of being a golden! I'll get to the exciting stuff later, but to

just say right now, I have been called to be a District Leader and a

Trainer!

So to start off, on Tuesday, Elder Foster and I made the goal of

getting 18 lessons in during the week. We have been getting an average

of 12 or 13, which we thought was pretty decent, but President

Andersen told us the mission committed to 18 back before I came into

the mission. So on the way home, we just said to each other "let's get

18 lessons". By that point, we had 6. Now, numbers aren't the main

thing in the mission, but we knew we could do better. Also, we just

wanted to work like it was our last week together and that's exactly

what we did.

Wednesday, it was really tough because we tried contacting about 15

names of less actives and we were only able to touch base with one and

set a return appointment. But Elder Foster and I just kept being

diligent in the work and we were able to make Sister Theurer's night

(The woman I have my first blessing to). It was for about a half hour

and we haven't been able to see her for weeks since she has been in

and out of the hospital. But she told us it was so great to see us

again. She called us the next day in tears just saying it was a

blessing from God heat we came over. I was just so filled with the

Spirit at that point and just got me motivated to work that Thursday.

Thursday, it was a hard day of finding. We did teach a young mom in

about her young 20's, but she told us she wasn't interested. But after

a long day, we were able to get 2 more lessons by the end of the

night. We pretty much had the mindset of getting 18 lessons by the end

of the week.

Friday, is when it got interesting. We taught Carmen and Rodrigo on

keeping the Sabbath Day and we committed them to coming to church. The

members we commonly take with us to their home, the Cluffs, even

volunteered to drive them to church. It was so great! Carmen is

getting closer and closer to baptism, I can feel it. At the end of the

night we got transfer calls ( phone calls letting us know if we would

be leaving our areas or not). We found out Elder Foster would be

leaving Moorestown on Tuesday and I would stay. We were shocked, we

thought we might get 6 more weeks together, but that's not where the

Lord wants Elder Foster to be. By this point, we were just focused on

our goal. We wanted to reach this together for our last week.

The next morning, we both found out we would be district leaders. So

here I am, just blown away because I'm just finishing my training. I'm

still a little surprised by it. It's a good thing we did serviceable

dat Saturday! By this point we had 11 lessons, but we had faith we

would get 18. We prayed and Sunday was an absolute miracle.

Sunday was a great fast testimony meeting. Elder Foster and I bore our

testimonies and so many spiritual testimonies were given. Our Bishop

came for the first time in 3 weeks because he was in a motorcycle

accident. So it was a great day at church. But after, we were getting

lesson after lesson. Some of them weren't even planned. By the end of

the night, we taught 7 lessons! I was thanking Heavenly Father so much

Sunday night and was so happy that we got to this point.

That brings me to today, 3 hours ago, President Andersen called me an

extended the call to train a new missionary! I was floored. I start

training him tomorrow. I'm also going to be driving for the first time

in 3 months. You know you're moving up in the world when you start

driving a minivan. My first drive will be from Broomall Pennsylvania

to Moorestown New Jersey. It'll be something else. I'm grateful for

this opportunity to train and to be a District Leader. It is like what

Elder Stevenson said, "the Lord will qualify who he calls". I just got

done being trained, so I'm a little anxious, but I will keep what

Elder Stevenson said in my heart. I don't know what it's going to be

like the next transfer or two, but I'm ready! I can't wait to get my

4th companion  tomorrow! I pray all of you are well. I invite all of

you to set a goal or two, as you strive for it, you will be blessed.

You may not always reach that goal, but that is okay. The Lord is

waiting to see what you are going to do with your time on this Earth.

Elder Cortes

Meetings and Long, Long Days of Rain

Hey everyone!

Well, I'm really starting to see how cold it is getting here on the

East Coast. Everyday it's been below 60 degrees and the coldest it's

been was 40 degrees plus wind chill. But it's okay! It makes it that

much nicer when people let you in their house.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet with anyone we met last week

but it was still a good week nonetheless. On Wednesday I went to my

first Zone Conference! I saw missionaries from North Philadelphia,

Cherry Hill South, and Dover (Maryland Area). It was great to see a

lot of friends and President Andersen. It was for most of the day, but

really, it was worth it. We did all these trainings and practices on

being better with using the Book of Mormon. It was a lot of fun all

around!

Friday wasthe first day of raincoats and umbrellas and sweaters and

anything you can think of to stay warm. We went finding for 3-4 hours

in the pouring rain, just making sure our Books of Mormon wouldn't get

wet in the process. Now even though it was 45 degrees with wind chill,

I was okay. I never thought about going in or not knocking on doors. I

was just grateful the Lord gave me that blessing of not wanting to go

in and  just never really feeling cold. It probably was first in my

life, hopefully it's the same way in the snow.... Probably not! We

were also getting our investigators ready for General Conference! We

have an investigator named Spencer, who's getting baptized on November

1st. So we sat down with him and his fiancé, Rebecca, who is a member

and talked about General Conference and how conference really can

speak to you personally. They were so interested and excited when we

said if you have a question, you can get an answer to it through

conference. I'm excited for Spencer and to see him get baptized. He's

been taught for a year so he knows his stuff. They're also getting

married on Halloween so that's great! He'll be ready to go for the

next day. It was also the first day of raincoats and umbrellas and

sweaters and anything you can think of to stay warm. We went finding

for 3-4 hours in the pouring rain, just making sure our Books of

Mormon wouldn't get wet in the process. Now even though it was 45

degrees with wind chill, I was okay. I never thought about going in or

not knocking on doors. I was just grateful the Lord gave me that

blessing of not wanting to go in and  just never really feeling cold.

It probably was first in my life, hopefully it's the same way in the

snow.... Probably not!

Saturday and Sunday, of course, were General Conference. This was

probably the most spiritual conference I have had in my life. Every

talk, hymn, and testimony of the new apostles, was excellent. From

Elder Holland's talk on Mothers, to Elder Oaks' on the atonement, to

President Monson's powerful testimony yesterday, I felt the spirit. We

watched all of conference at the church, something I have never done.

I usually watched on my laptop back home or on the kitchen t.v. with

my Mom. But really, there was a different feeling watching it at the

chapel. It would usually be us and Brother and Sister Cleveland, and

one other family maybe. But to hear the Lord's servants talk was just

excellent. I'm grateful for the new apostles and their testimonies. I

already have a great love for them and can see how much they love the

Lord.

I know there wasn't a lot to talk about this week, but really my mind

has been focused on Conference. I invite all of you to watch the talks

again. Or to watch it as soon as you can if you haven't already. I

learn so much from watching a talk 2 or 3 times over. As long as your

heart is open, you will be able to feel the spirit hearing these men

and women talk. I testify President Monson is the true living prophet

of God. He is my friend, and I love and sustain him with all my heart.

Although I have not met him (and probably never will) I feel like I

know him so well. He is a great man, he showed that yesterday with the

incredible amount of courage he had to bear his testimony. May we all

follow the prophet and his counsel, along with his apostles and anyone

who speaks at General Conference. They are the mouthpiece of the Lord.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Cortes

  (Leo & Elder Foster with Bro. Dunn who translates Gen. Conference in 

                      Burmese with his wife below, every session)