"I Love to See the Temple"

Hey everybody!

It's been such a great week here in Hazleton. We have seen so many
miracles and had too many great miracles to count. Elder Neilson and I
have been so blessed as we continue to just work hard for the Lord and
for all the missionaries we serve.

A really cool experience was that Elder Neilson and I went to the
Temple Open House again with a few investigators. Our Senior Couple
Drove us down with two investigators, Bob and Alice, who are going to
be baptized this Sunday! It was amazing to see the temple again and to
just take in how magnificent this Holy House of the Lord is. Elder
Neilson and I were also able to see members from past areas and also a
few Sisters we have worked with in the past. But it was incredible,
Bob and Alice both loved the temple and want to go back to do
baptisms! It was worth driving a total of 5 hours for them to really
feel the Spirit and love of God.

Another cool experience was that the Assistants to the President
doubled in and we went on exchanges with them. They came from a
funeral so it was more of a 3 hour exchange, but it was probably the
one of the best exchange I have had on my mission. I was with Elder
Oldroyd and it's his first transfer being an Assistant, but I gotta
say, he's such a strong leader. I learned so much and felt the Spirit
in abundance throughout the time we had together. We taught a less
active member, Brother Hornick, who only comes to sacrament meeting.
But we taught with such unity and testimony it must have really
touched him because he came to Sunday School for the first time since
Elder Neilson or I have been here! I learn so much on exchanges, but I
especially learned from this one in a special way. We even talked
about what we saw. Elder Oldroyd and I never looked at weaknesses or
flaws, but how we can learn and improve from one another. That, I
believe, is a true sign of unity. When you and your companion or
leader are striving to learn and apply the best that you have, that is
when we are one. That is when we strive to become like the Savior
Jesus Christ. I love the Assistants so much, Elder Weisler, the other
Assistant, was so great too. All of us had such great conversations at
the end of the night. It was so real and mature, I just was on
overload with the Spirit that day. It was awesome! I know without a
doubt the PPM has the best leaders in the world. My Mission President,
the Assistants, my companion, all the missionaries I serve with, all
of them are leaders in the Gospel. How grateful I am to be led
personally by such great examples. It makes me think how grateful I am
for the Prophet and Apostles of the church, they are incredible
leaders ordained by the Priesthood of God. I know as we follow our
modern day leaders in the Gospel, we will never be lost. I know that
without doubt or uncertainty.

One last thing, this past Sunday was so great. We had 50 people come
to our tiny strip mall building which was awesome! When I first came
here, there were 30 people, but now we have had 4 less actives, two
investigators, and a new family that moved into the ward coming. Elder
Neilson and I are just so excited for the work that is moving forward
here in Hazy! The Lord is sustaining us as we go, it's incredible to
see how much He does for us daily in our missions. I realized now,
that the mission is my way of life. It's always been that way, but I
just see the blesses that come from living and serving as a
representative of Jesus Christ. I have been set apart to help others
strengthen their faith and come closer to God, which I have seen
countless times on my mission. Truly there is no greater cause to be a
part of. It the "Cause of Christians" (Alma 48:10) that makes this
work divine. There is no other calling I love more than being a
missionary. It is who I am and who I will always be. For that, I'm
grateful to my Father in Heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ who bless me
and strengthen me to be the disciple I need to be. May we all remember
what cause we are in and press forward against any opposition that
would come our way. I'm thankful for my family and for my friends,
both at home and in the mission. I love each and every one of them,
these relationships are for the eternities which I will always cherish
forever. May the Lord bless us all this coming week!

Elder Cortes

Hazleton, PA

Learning How to Find a Wife in Elders Quorum...

Hey everybody!

It's been a great week here in Hazleton! Elder Neilson and I have been
busy going to meetings, conducting exchanges, and getting work done in
our area.

On Tuesday, we had a leadership meeting with three of the other Zones
(us, Scranton, Lehigh Valley, and Reading). So all the District
Leaders, Zone Leaders, and the Assistants all did a huge round table
discussion. It was such a great training on how to be a leader and
really know how to communicate with people in general. It was life
lessons pretty much on how to really strengthen people. Probably what
stuck the most was that President Randall gave his trainings with a
lot of emotion. You can really tell how much he loves every single
missionary and that he would do anything for us. I'm grateful for such
a fantastic Mission President.

Wednesday and Thursday, we did a two day exchange with Elders in
Stroudsburg as well as Lehighton. It was bittersweet because I was out
of Hazleton for two days, but I was with two really great Elders. I
went to Stroudburg first with Elder DeGarmo, who goes home next
transfer. It was a blast because everything to him is so simple. He's
from California (or as he says "Calibronia") but he taught me so much.
He really knows how to teach by the Spirit and the whole day we had a
blast. He covers two wards,an English and a Spanish. Probably the best
part of the exchange we taught a Spanish lady and in the middle of the
lesson he just stops talking and looks at me to keep going. I was a
little surprised but I winged it and Elder DeGarmo backed me up, which
I was pretty glad about. The next day I was with an Elder named Elder
Wilko in Lehighton, who came out with me. It was so much fun catching
up and just getting work done. We did some service and I got to chop
wood and drive one of those grass cutter things. It was pretty fun. I
know now, if I have to go backwoods, I'd maybe survive.

Friday, Elder Neilson and I found this family and taught the
Restoration right in front of their home. It was pretty cool because I
hadn't taught kids in a while, but it was a blast. Throughout the
whole weekend, Elder Neilson and I had so many great miracles happen
to us. Most of our appointments fell through throughout the week, but
the weekend just exploded with people to teach. It was so great to see
the Lord blessed us with so many people to teach even though we were
so busy with meetings and hours of driving. It was really good though.
The highlight of the week without question was that in Elder's Quorum,
we had a lesson on marriage and the teacher pretty much focused on us,
the only two single guys in the branch. It was funny because he just
made continual eye contact on how to find a wife and when anyone made
a comment, they would look at us when they spoke. I don't know what
the Lord is trying to tell us, but I should be all set when I get home
getting instruction from the greatest branch in the world!

Hazleton is a blast. I see the blessings everyday working here. Im
excited for the week to come. I will be taking over Hazleton for the
first time 3 times in a row for exchanges. One of them will be with
the Assistants which will be a blast for sure! I hope all of you are
doing well, it's been such a blessed month for me. It is my hope all
of you have had one as well. Keep trying even when things are
frustrating. The Lord will have it all work out in the end. I am a
firm witness of that. Love from the Golden City of Hazy!

Elder Cortes

Hazleton, PA

Good Ol' Hazy, a Brand New Experience

Bienvenidos!

I hope all of you have been doing well! It's been great over here in
Pennsylvania! A lot of changes and new experiences. Also, my emails
may be a bit shorter since I have a ton to do, but I will do my best.

So Tuesday (aka transfer day) we drove up to Broomall to see where I
would go. And I went to Hazleton PA! It's around Scranton which is
pretty north. We are about 3 hours away from Philadelphia, but it's so
great here. Hazleton is full of Dominicans. So much that there are two
Spanish companionships working here along with us, who are the English
missionaries. But we pretty much have to speak Spanish everyday. It's
a blast. In all of my past areas, I have been in farmland and rural
area for the most part. Here in Hazleton, it is not the case. It's
super city and we pretty much street contact people all day. It's such
a blast.

My new companion is Elder Neilson. He came out a transfer after me, so
he's been out 14 months. He's a fairly new Zone Leader (2 transfers),
so we are pretty much figuring everything out as we go. He's probably
been my hardest working companion I have ever had. He's from Orem,
Utah. He's also the biggest hipster I have ever met. He told me he's
wearing cut off slacks, fuzzy socks, and his hipster hat he bought at
a garage sale we were at. He's hilarious. He's been showing me the
ropes on how to do things here in Hazy and how to be a Zone Leader.
It's been great to work with someone who is willing to be patient with
me. It's awesome.

The Zone is great as well! We have 6 companionships, the smallest Zone
in the mission, but they are all wonderful. We range from old
missionaries, to a brand new golden, to some who are in between.
Hazleton is also a branch, which is smaller than a ward. We meet in a
small building that is part of a strip mall. It's such a blast. They
are short handed, so we gave talks and taught priesthood as well. We
also share the building with the Spanish branch so we see the other
two companionships all the time. Not much to report on for this week,
it's been a lot of trial and error as well as getting to know the
people. All I know is that my Spanish is being tried and tested
everyday, I wish my brother in law was here to coach me. But that's
alright, I learn somehow someway.

I hope all of you have a great week! Just remember it's up to you to
choose to be happy, no matter what circumstance you are in. I love the
Savior Jesus Christ and I know He is strengthening me as I go, which I
am forever grateful.

Tengo buen noche! (Elder Neilson's favorite Spanish phrase)

Elder Cortes

Hazleton, PA

Leaving Woodstown on a Good Note

Hey everybody!

It's been such a busy week to end the transfer, but like always, it's
a pleasure to be in the service to the Lord. Like the title of this
week's update says, I am leaving Woodstown which was pretty shocking
for me. But you know, I went out of New Jersey with a bang which I'm
so thankful for.

It was really busy Tuesday as we had a few lessons, had coordination
meeting, and had a baptismal interview for Debra! It was a blast
because we had dinner with our ward mission leader and the Zone
Leaders which was such a fun time. After that, my Zone Leader, Elder
Uriostegui, interviewed Debra at the church and she passed! So we were
excited to get everything ready for her baptism.

Wednesday, we taught Krista, who we hadn't seen in a week, but it was
just between me being sick and her with a work schedule thing. But it
was so great this week, we taught her 3 times this week on the first 3
discussions and she is understanding it all very clearly. She is also
keeping commitments on reading and prayer. She's been marking in the
Book of Mormon, so you can just tell she is set on having the Gospel
being a part of her life. She has a date for the 28th and is
progressing very well towards that. We also had dinner at the
Whitfield home which was a blast. Debra made pork chops and red velvet
cake for all of us and Brother and Sister Whitfield. It was definitely
a fun time as we kept preparing her for her baptism.

Thursday was a pretty crazy. At Zone Training we were doing trainings
in preparation for using Facebook as missionaries. It was pretty much
how to keep your purpose in mind as you always use Facebook. It has a
lot of really cool safeguards on following the spirit, being
disciplined, being united as a companionship, and always keeping the
missionary purpose in your heart. There are actually a lot of really
great ideas in using Facebook. The best part is that you know how to
use it effectively, especially in missionary work. Back home, it was
easy for me to just mindlessly scroll through my news feed, now I'm
going to be productive on it, especially in missionary work, which is
so exciting. It'll be cool to see when I get back home how my use of
social media will change compared to when I used it before my mission.
After Zone Training, we went on an exchange with Vineland because I
needed to do a baptismal interview for them the following morning. It
was a blast being with Elder Beach again in Vineland. We found a
pretty good amount of new investigators and taught pretty powerful
lessons in unity. That's the best when you just click with members of
your District and the Spirit and the message we share don't skip a
beat. It was the best exchange of the transfer I have to say because
Elder Beach and I had some pretty heartfelt moments and it was just
great. He's actually going to be the District Leader over here which
I'm pretty excited for him and the District in general. All of us have
been working hard here in the Cherry Hill South Zone which is awesome.

Friday, I conducted a baptismal interview for the Vineland's
investigator Kevin and he passed! Later on we swapped back and taught
Debra! We were also looking for baptismal clothes and usually you wear
the thin jumpsuit, but they didn't have any of those kind of
jumpsuits. So Debra wore for her baptism a thicker material. But it
was fun we got her program all set and the baptismal clothes as well.

Saturday was pretty standard until the end of the night. After we
taught Debra and a few less actives, we went home and waited for
transfer calls. It was strange because we didn't get them until 10:15
at night but when we got them, we found out Elder Brewer was staying
in Woodstown and I was leaving which was the surprise for the Zone.
Mostly everyone stayed, it was just two other Elders leaving.

So with that in mind, we went to church and let everyone know I was
leaving. It was pretty tough because I have made such great friends
here in Woodstown. Yesterday was so bittersweet. It had to be the most
bittersweet day of my mission. It was a pretty powerful testimony
meeting and the baptism was fantastic. I'm grateful I was there that
Sunday because Sister Whitfield bore her testimony for the first time
ever being a member of the church for 4 years. Her and Brother can
Whitfield bore their testimony and were just saying how much they
loved Debra and she was sitting next to us and was crying because the
Spirit pretty much got her so strong. At the end of the meeting, the
three of them hugged and it was probably the strongest feeling of love
I have seen with that family. Brother and Sister Whitfield are
currently trying to be reactivated, quit smoking, and be sealed in the
temple in October. So to see the progress with all three of them is
amazing. At the baptism. it was so special. So many people came and
such heartfelt talks were given for Debra. Brother Whitfield gave his
testimony and a prayer and he couldn't stop crying. It was amazing
because Brother Whitfield is a big tough guy who grew up on the
streets. But for him seeing his sister baptized just touched his heart
so strong, it really showed me in person another witness of the
truthfulness of the Gospel. It was great, I baptized Debra and I
didn't mess up with it being my first person I baptized. Later that
night, she said she felt a lot better when she went out of the water.
It was a great service. We found out from our Bishop it was the
first baptism Woodstown had in 2 years! So it was a great day for the
Whitfields, the ward, and just everyone pretty much. To end the night,
I got a call from President Randall and he asked if I would accept the
assignment of being a Zone Leader! So I'm pretty excited with good
things to come working with a new Zone. I'm very grateful for the Lord
and what great miracles I saw in Woodstown. It's hard to say goodbye
to this area, an area that a few missionaries considered to be "dead".
I'm just grateful for the gems I found here, I know that this has
prepared me for my next area and my next assignment. What's comforting
is that no matter what, the Gospel is still true wherever I go. I
can't wait for tomorrow with my new companion and new area! I hope all
of you have a great week!


Elder Cortes

Woodstown, NJ

Miracles and Sicknesses

Hey friends and family!

I hope all of you have been doing well. It's been a slow week to be
honest. I came down with a pretty bad cold that left me in bed for 3
days. Good stuff happened though! And great stuff is going to happen
this week as well.

Tuesday was just full of miracles left and right. We were walking in
Pennsville (city right next to the Delaware River) and it was a pretty
hot day. So what happened was a lady pulled up in front of us to help
out her neighbor whose electric scooter pretty much died in some park.
So we walked to this park and put the scooter in her truck and she
gave us a giant cooler of waterbottles in her front yard (she had to
run errands). So we drank a few of those which was really refreshing.
Then when we were walking again, Elder Brewer started to feel pretty
bad from the heat and so we stop in front of some abandoned store and
a registered nurse comes walking around the corner and tells us she
had the impression to stop and go to the corner. So she checks out
Elder Brewer to make sure he's okay and gives him some water before
she leaves. It was a definite witness to me that God does look out for
His missionaries. It was really comforting to me personally.

Thursday we had our final District Meeting of the transfer which went
really well! After that, I went on an exchange in Vineland with Elder
Dean. He's been out 3 months longer than me and he's got a good heart.
It's pretty funny, we actually got caught in a rainstorm while we were
walking. It just came out of nowhere and we were drenched by the time
we came back to the apartment. So after a few showers and a change of
clothes later, we went back out in the storm (with umbrellas) and
travelled throughout Vineland visiting a few people. But by the end of
the night, that's when the cold started to hit and I just shut down.

The next few days were tough, we swapped back Friday and I was in bed
for the next few days. It  drove me crazy I couldn't go out and work,
but I was just praying so hard to just get pass this sickness. It's
been good because I have gotten better little by little up to now.
It'll be a good week to bounce back to though! It's the last week of
the transfer and we have a baptism lined up for this Sunday for
Deborah! We can't wait for Sunday! I apologize I didn't write a lot,
it happens when you're out of commission for a few days. I hope you
all have a great week!

Elder Cortes

Woodstown, NJ