He will take upon Him the pains and sicknesses of His people

Hey everyone!

It has been a roller coaster of a week, but by the end of it, I have
learned a lot and have grown in my patience and love.

Tuesday was probably the busiest day of the week. We had a number of
appointments and had little time for finding, but that's a good thing!
Especially since it rained nonstop between Tuesday and Thursday.
Probably the best part of the day was after Sarah's lesson, she
invited us to come for dinner at her college cafeteria. It felt like I
was back in the mtc. But we had a great time! I guess I got just a
small taste of what college people are like.

Wednesday, we had hours and hours of finding set up. None of our
investigators or less actives could meet with us. However, we had an
appointment set up with an investigator named Katie. My Zone Leader,
Elder Holden, and I dropped a Bible off to her that she ordered. That
was a little over a month ago and we have tried to meet with her three
or four times, but she had to cancel for various reasons. However,
when we visited that night, it was great! She was open with us about
her struggles in life since graduating college. But as we shared the
message of the Restoration, she began to feel peace. It was one of
those things where you could just tell by their countenance. I even
asked her how she felt at the end of the lesson and she told us how
relieved she felt. It was a real powerful lesson, probably one of the
best lessons I have had on my mission. We even committed her to a date
to be baptized on Easter! However, there's more to her story later.

Thursday we had District Meeting and after that, we went on exchanges
with our District Leader, Elder Jones and his companion, Elder Wilson.
Elder Jones came with me to Kutztown. We spent a part of our day
talking to college kids near KU, although we didn't get any return
appointments, it was really good to get some practice with our
finding.

Friday was a little tough to be honest. Almost all of our appointments
fell through but we did have a great lesson with Noel. However, we had
to drop his date because he and his parents didn't agree with him
being baptized. It was a little hard to hear, but totally
understandable! He still wants to meet with us and has a sincere
desire to know if the church is true.

Saturday, we helped a family move in the ward. It was really awesome
because we talked to one of the daughter's boyfriends who helped with
the move. It's so great to do missionary work while giving service. He
seemed a little interested in the gospel, which was really exciting!
At the end of the day, we saw Sister Sherman to talk about missionary
work. It was a emotional topic for her because she is a convert to the
church and has done a lot of missionary work with people in her life.
It really got her excited to go to church the next day, which is what
we were going for!

Sunday had its ups and downs pretty all day. None of our investigators
came to church and later we received a text from Katie telling us that
this may not be the path she needs to take. It was a little
heartbreaking to receive that kind of message from her because she was
so prepared and had such a great experience the other night. I
couldn't believe how much I cared about Katie in less than a week of
knowing her.... It really does goes to show that a mission truly does
allow missionaries to see others in such a different way. You really
learn the value of the Gospel and how much it truly can change
people's lives. By the end of the night, I just felt sick with the
worst headache. I just thought of what Elder Thielen says with days
like this "don't worry about the hints you can't control, just worry
about the things you can control". All I could do at the end of the
night was ask for relief for my pains and ask for forgiveness with my
frustrations. This morning, my pains and my frustration were gone. It
was such a testimony to me that the Lord truly can take away the bad
in our lives. The only perfect being that has come down on this earth
suffered and sacrificed Himself for us. From studying Isaiah 53:3-5
and Alma 7:11-13, I know the Lord knows each one of us perfectly and
is waiting for us to come unto Him. We can change and be strengthened
beyond our own strength. All we need to do is have enough humility and
faith in the Holy Messiah, as we do, our lives will be enriched as I
have experienced for myself firsthand. It is my sincere hope and
prayer all of you may do the same. Have a great first week of March!
It is starting to feel like Spring over here! I'm excited for the days
to come.


Elder Cortes

Kutztown, PA

Transfers, Exchanges, and So Much More!

Hey everybody!

It's been such a great week! I have had a lot of fun with my new
companion working here in Kutztown. We have definitely seen many
miracles and are planning to see many more!

Tuesday, I got my new companion. His name is Elder Thielen. He is such
a great Elder. He is from Carson City, Nevada and has been out 11
months, so he is experienced. He has such a positive attitude and
really knows the gospel. Right after we picked him up in Allentown, we
came back to Kutztown to work in a packed day of appointments. We met
with Noel and he is such a stud. He has been reading the Book of
Mormon and really understands what we are teaching him. He is planning
on coming to church this coming Sunday. We are so excited for him! We
are also seeing him tomorrow, he's a real stud. I really am hoping and
praying he is baptized in March! Right now, his date is set on the
20th so we will see. We also saw Sarah, who is planning to go to the
temple in less than two weeks! We are so excited for her to go. It's
just getting closer and closer, which is so exciting to see for her.
Although it was raining, we met a good number of people and are hoping
to get a few new investigators this coming week. The miracles truly
are happening! It's small things like setting appointments that really
make the day. You just hope and pray you can share the gospel with
these people, because it will bless their lives.

On Wednesday, we met with Sister Donio, who is doing so great to go to
the temple. We are so excited for her and it's really great because
every time we visit, she learns something new. That's the best part
about strengthening members, when you feel the Holy Ghost is helping
them grow and strengthen their testimonies, you just feel like you are
doing the right thing. I just k ew when I was there, that was where I
needed to be. Of course I know being on my mission is where I need to
be, but I get those strong convictions from the Lord in lessons that
what I'm doing is the right thing. At the end of the night, we got an
unexpected call from the Zone Leaders to do exchanges the next day,
which was really exciting to hear because I love exchanges. So we got
ready for exchanges and District Meeting.

The next day, we traveled to Reading and had a great District Meeting.
Our District Leader's name is Elder Jones. He's been out about 4
months, but is a really humble Elder. We had a great meeting and did
our exchange with the Zone Leaders. Elder Thielen went to Reading and
Elder Jewkes came with me to Kutztown. Elder Jewkes is a fun Elder. We
started by contacting a referral in Kutztown. We knocked on the door
and this man answers. His name is Davey, and told us he would get in
touch with us when he was ready to talk. But Elder Jewkes wanted to
read him Moroni 10:4 in the Book of Mormon. By the end of it, he was
crying and told us he would get in touch with us when he was ready. Is
was such an experience. I was shocked for the rest of the day because
the Spirit was so strong with him. It was another testimony to me,
that scriptures truly do have power to them. Later, we had homemade
sushi and had a great lesson with the Skidmores (Tony and Laura). Now,
we were teaching about missionary work, and Tony felt like he needed
to know more before he could do missionary work because he felt like
he wouldn't know what to say every time. It was perfect because I
shared with him DC 84:85 which talks about not worry about what you
say but to search the scriptures and the Lord will help you in knowing
what to say at the right time. It was a little funny because when Tony
was reading the scripture, Laura was snickering a bit just because it
answered his concern perfectly. Elder Jewkes was even smiling a bit
because he knew that scripture well. Overall, it was such a fun day. I
really learned a lot from the exchange.

Friday we met back up and had lunch together. Later we saw Sister
Sherman and her daughter, Katie. We had such a great visit reading
scriptures and talking about the Plan of Salvation. They were also
talking about how excited they were with coming to church. They missed
the past week, but were determined to come this Sunday.

On Saturday, we did service for a man in Kutztown, who lives in
Reading. His name is Daniel. Pretty much what we did was unload stuff
from a storage unit to a basement. It was great because we got to talk
to him about the gospel. He told us he was baptist, but as we talked
about the Book of Mormon, the Spirit really was working on him. He was
getting a little uncomfortable talking, but in a good way. But hey, it
happens when you ask for missionaries help.

Sunday was great! Sister Sherman and Katie came to church and came to
gospel principles. It was the first time they stayed after sacrament
which was great! We also taught an unexpected friend of a member at a
dinner appointment. It was such a blessing to teach at dinner.
Overall, I'm excited for this transfer. It's 7 weeks so we can do a
lot of work together. We are planning on it. I hope all of you have a
great week! I'm so grateful to be a missionary and serve the Lord.
Learning and reading the scriptures and teaching the Gospel is
something I would never trade. I'm thankful to God and my Savior Jesus
Christ for this opportunity, I pray and hope all of you have a great
week!




Elder Cortes

Kutztown, PA

A Strong Close to a Cold Transfer

Hey everybody!

I just want to update you with everything that is going on over here
in Kutztown. It has been great over here as of late. The Lord truly is
blessing us as we continue to serve diligently.

Throughout the week, we have been meeting with members of the ward who
we want to prepare to go to the temple. One of these people is sister
Donio. She is a great lady who teaches primary.

We had such a great lesson on Tuesday about the temple and she is
planning to get the process going for that! It was nice because the
hour before we tracked and so many people had some pretty colorful
this to say about us, so that was a tender mercy in and of itself.
Later that day, we tracted into guy named John and his brother Darrien
who listened to our message on the Restoration. However, we were
interrupted by John's girlfriend who did not want us there. But it was
a tender mercy we were able to teach, even if it was only for 5
minutes.

On Thursday,  we met this less active named Carlos Vargas. He is in
our apartment complex and the ward has no information on him. He
hasn't been to church in 7 years! He has a fiancé and a 5 year old son
who aren't members, so we are really excited to start teaching them.

The other special miracle we saw was that we visited Noel again and
had a great discussion on the Plan of Salvation. At the end of the
lesson, we committed him to be baptized in March! It was so exciting
and such a blessing. He is the first person we have committed to a
date this whole transfer. It's been a blessing this whole week because
even though we have been going through 13 degree weather, rain, and
snow, the Lord opens many doors for us all the time.

I'm sorry this email is going to be short. Elder Maughan is getting
transferred tomorrow so we are taking care of a lot of things here in
Kutztown. Which means I'm getting a new companion! His name is Elder
Thielen. I have no idea who he is, but I will find out tomorrow! We
will see what happens this upcoming week. It's supposed to snow 5-8
inches, so let's hope we can get a lot of work done. Stay warm! I
certainly will try.

Elder Cortes

Kutztown, PA

By Small and Simple Things...

Hey everyone!

I'm really excited to tell you how my week went. It had plenty of ups
and downs, but in the end, the Lord was able to lift me higher than I
could ever imagine. It's so great to have experiences like this on
your mission because it does show that God does hear your prayers and
loves you, no matter where you are at.

On Tuesday, we went tracting in our apartment complex after a few
appointments cancelled on us. We found no luck for about a half hour,
then on the last house we knocked on there was this 19 year old guy
named Noel who answered the door. He told us we could stop by on
Sunday to talk to him. Now, when future appointments are made, I hold
on to them, I just keep having faith we are going to meet with these
people. Many times they cancel, but I keep holding on, especially if
nothing else comes from the day. For the rest of the day, appointments
fell through and no one wanted to talk to us. Julianna, our
progressing investigator, called us out of the blue and told us she
was not interested and did not want to visit anymore. That was
probably the toughest part of the day for both of us because we really
cared about her and thought she was doing so well. Even with all those
hardships, I still kept in mind that young man we visited in the
morning which we will get back to.

Wednesday, we had so much rain and fog it was unbelievable! I honestly
felt a little uneasy driving through because the weather was so bad.
However, we pressed on, we talked to a good number of people and set
another appointment for this week.

We had a great learning experience this past Thursday. We are teaching
this older couple who have a baptismal date this month, and we asked
them how they felt about what we were teaching. They were being taught
even before I came to Kutztown, but they had a few issues regarding
Joseph Smith and baptism. Elder Maughan and I felt the spirit so
strong knowing we need to address their needs better as well as to
push their date. But we set all these great plans and ways we can help
them out this week which we are really excited about.

On Friday, we had a great time teaching a recent convert named Sarah.
She goes to Kutztown University so we teach her in her dorm. It's been
tough for her because she has been sick this past month but I saw her
at church for the first time which was so great! It was pretty funny
because she has a roommate we met who plays trumpet and was in the
college marching band. So it was pretty cool to relate to her and
hopefully talk to her about the gospel a little bit. We also had
dinner with this older couple named the Opparasono's. He is a
counselor in Bishopric and she is the Relief Society President and
they have been in the church for 10 years! It just shows the Lord
qualifies who He calls. It was great to talk to them about their
testimonies and how they knew the church was true. It was a delicious
dinner as well. We had pizza and they got it at a New York style shop
because they are both from Brooklyn. They are great!

Saturday had a lot of readjustments to our plans. We were going to do
service for this man who lives in Reading, but has a storage unit in
Kutztown. We were going to be there for about two to two and a half
hours helping him move his stuff. However, he cancelled at the last
minute, so our backup plan was to go to a city in our area where it's
just farmland and mountains. So we travelled to New Tripoli and it was
a blessing to go up there. We met a less active family named the
Lawley's (parents, 16 year old son, 14 year old girl, 7 year old
girl). They hadn't had missionaries over to their house in 6 years! We
had dinner and gave the mom and their daughter, McKayla, blessings
because they have been struggling with health problems. It was a great
visit. They even told us they would be at church the next day. Elder
Maughan has never seen them at church the 4 and a half months he has
been in Kutztown. So we were excited to hopefully see them at church.
Later that night we saw Sister Sherman and her daughter, Katie. We
discussed meeting with the bishop to get temple recommends to get
ready to go to the Philadelphia temple. They said they really wanted
to and that they would, which we got really excited about.

Sunday, however, had to be the best day of the whole transfer. Ann and
Don were at church the first time I was here. The Lawley's were at
church for the first time since both of us have been here. Sister
Sherman and Katie came to church and Sister Sherman bore her testimony
for the first time in 9 years. A part member family named the Monroes
came to church and the husband, who is a member, bore his testimony
for the first time since he joined the church at 16. We received two
referrals, one from a member, and one fro

m the Lehighton branch, which
is where my mtc companion Elder Maynard is serving! We had a great
three minute phone call and the referral the Elders sent us was a part
member family, who we set an appointment for this Wednesday! We also
taught Noel, who we met Tuesday and we taught him the restoration. I
was able to invite him to be baptized and he said yes! It was all the
Lord. There's no other way. I fasted so hard to have some sort of turn
around with all the trails we have been facing these past few weeks.
This was His answer. We are really excited for this coming week since
this is the last week of the transfer. It just shows if you sincerely
ask the Lord for help and you are willing to do His will, He will give
you aid. That is a principle I have seen over and over on my mission.
It's incredible. It is my hope and prayer all of you receive the
answers to your prayers. I know you will if you act sincerely to the
answer the Lord gives you. I hope you all have a great week! We are
planning on getting a little snow this week, hopefully not as much as
we did the first time!



Elder Cortes

Kutztown, PA

The Storm Passes and the Work Progresses

Hey everybody!

I hope all of you are doing well. I cannot wait to talk about my week
this week. So much happened with investigators and spiritual
experiences it was amazing!

Tuesday we were on exchanges I was with my Zone Leader Elder Holden
here in Kutztown. It was a little hard to go around and park because
so many spaces and side streets were still blocked by snow. But we
made it work! We actually met with a recent convert named Sarah who
got back into school at Kutztown University 2 weeks ago. We were able
to talk about the temple with her to go do baptisms and it was so
great to hear she already had a plan to go with members of the ward!
I'm so excited for her, especially since she's preparing to go for the
first time. It's so important for new members to go to the temple as
soon as they are able. To feel the power of the temple for the first
time is such an experience. I know it'll be a great time for her when
she goes. But working with Elder Holden was so great! He reminded me
so much of my trainers Elder Hendricks and Elder Foster, so it felt
natural just to teach and tract with him. We even stopped by a college
girl named Katie who ordered a Bible and told us she is looking to
change her life around. Of course, as missionaries, we asked if we
could help out with that. It ended up with us setting up an
appointment tomorrow!

The next day Elder Maughan came back into Moorestown and it was a
rough day all around. All our appointments fell through and no one
really wanted to talk to us. It was hard to really focus because we
really did try to make the day productive. But Heavenly Father
answered our prayers and we met with this woman named Michelle in our
apartment complex. She told us about how she had come to have God in
her life. The spirit was so strong when we taught her the Restoration,
I mean you could just feel it. Elder Maughan invited her to be
baptized and she told us if she sincerely knew this was true, she
would! It was such a blessing to us at the end of the day. Somehow the
Lord always finds a way to lift our spirits when we are discouraged.
It always happens, without a doubt.

Thursday, we met with Julianna (the woman we met my first week in
Kutztown). She had to take care of her sick kids the past few weeks
but it was a miracle she got back in touch with us we could come over!
She read in the Book of Mormon and really liked it! She was asking how
the Book of Mormon and the church can bless her family and how she can
raise her 4 sons the best way possible. It was so great to talk about
that and transition to the Plan of Salvation. You could tell she was
feeling the spirit because she said she felt different when we talked
about the purpose of life and where do we go after our time on earth.
It was amazing!

At this point, I was thinking what else is the Lord going to do? What
have we done to have all these blessings in our appointments? But He
just kept going. We met with this couple named Dot and Michael on
Friday.Dot is an investigator and Michael is a less active. The thing
with them is they are living together and are not married. So this
lesson we taught the Law of Chastity, which talks about how couples
need to be married if they are living together to be baptized. We
asked them what they thought about it and they told us it's something
they want to do. They just said "you know, I think it might be time
for us to get married". I was just dying inside. The Lord just works
wonders, if people are prepared, their hearts will be softened. I have
a huge testimony of that.

Saturday we contacted this less active named Paul. Paul and his wife
live with their two autistic grandchildren. At first, he wasn't
interested in talking to us, but as we talked more about his
grandchildren, he became more open. I was so happy I could relate to
him somehow with my sister Annie. It was not a coincidence I happened
to stop there. It happens all the time with missionaries. They find
people who they can invite the spirit into their home somehow, it's so
great!

What really topped it all of was after church, we went finding and
looking up addresses to less actives. We were getting no success and
then, we met this great guy named Tony who lives like 5 minutes away
from the church. He was really open and told us we could stop by later
this week. So we are hoping and praying for new investigators,
investigators with a date, and a continuation to be worthy of these
blessings we have been given. Heavenly Father truly does see the work
we put in and the intent of our heart. That's truly something I have
seen on my mission. The blessings do come if we are submissive to His
will and do what He would want us to do. We are lifted heavenward as
we do so.

I'm excited for this month! Hopefully many good things come out of the
miracles we have seen so far, I pray all of you are doing great and
are happy. I'll talk to you all next week!

Sincerely,
Elder Cortes

Kutztown, PA