Hey everybody!
The first thing I have to say is that the snow finally came. It wasn't
terrible, but it finally came and it has been in the mid 20's all
week. But we have kept busy regardless!
The snow came on Tuesday night when we were driving home from an
appointment. I was so excited! The first time snow has come on my
mission! It caught us by surprise because when we went to the
appointment it was just a regular cold night. Then, we got outside and
the ground was covered in snow. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would
be driving home, we made it back safely. But that brings up part two
of the snow experience.
On Wednesday I went on an exchange with a young Elder over in Reading,
PA while my District Leader came here to Kutztown. So I was with Elder
Jones for the day (which was great because he is from Mesa as well! He
went to Red Mountain). Reading is such an exciting place. Pretty much
what they do when they don't have appointments is go street contact.
Well, it just so happened to be 2 of the 5 lessons that were set up
cancelled. So we did a total of 3 hours of street contacting. It was
so exciting because I haven't been into an area that has a lot of
street contacting. However, the snow covered the streets and the were
outside in 20 degree weather. On top of that, it felt every direction
we went, the wind blew right in our face. Even when you are bundled up
with a few layers, it's still pretty cold. But we saw many miracles
happen that day. Elder Jones knew I hadn't street contacted a lot on
my mission, so he wanted me to take the lead in where we should go. To
be in a big city, it can be a little intimidating and confusing on
where to go. But I asked for guidance and direction from the Lord. As
I prayed privately and quietly on street corners, the Holy Spirit
showed me which direction I should take. One time, we went around an
entire block and we taught a man, waiting for his bus, the
Restoration! It was so great because he wasn't there when we first
started, but after we went in a circle, he just happened to be there
and ready to listen. All in all, we taught 4 lessons on the street! I
was just so grateful to have such a great day like that over here in
Reading.
Thursday, we had Zone Training, which was very uplifting. My new Zone
Leaders, Elder Holden and Elder Jewkes, are great teachers. A lot of
it was on personal improvement and goals the mission has for the new
year. Also, I'm grateful for the Reading Zone. There are Elders and
Sisters who were in my last Zone in Cherry Hill, Elders I came out
with, and so many great examples I have had since I have been on my
mission. Later that night, we went to visit a member in a care center.
While we were waiting for the member we were going to take with us, we
talked to the receptionist in the lobby. She was so interested in what
we did and had so many questions about missionaries. In the end, we
got her contact information and are planning on having missionaries go
and see her (because she lives outside our area).
Friday and Saturday, all of our appointments cancelled. But what our
Zone was doing was to see how many pass along cards we could give with
our church address. By the end of it, we had passed out 198 pass along
cards in two days. Which is pretty hard in our area because there is
practically no one on the street to give them to. Despite the snow,
cold, and wind, I just worked as hard as I could with the Elders I was
with. I'm grateful to the Lord and allowing me to have the strength
and diligence to continue to find people. Although it may not be easy,
somehow I keep finding strength in Christ to persevere and press
forward. I pray all of you may do the same. The highest it is supposed
to get is 34 degrees. But that doesn't phase me. I am going back to
Reading tomorrow with my District Leader so I'm hoping for the same
success! We also are having a worldwide missionary broadcast Wednesday
which I am very excited for. Hopefully the week will turn around with
our investigators! May the Lord bless you in all your efforts!
Elder Cortes
Kutztown, PA
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