I hope you all had a great Easter! We had a great one doing this great
work. It was a really good week overall and we saw so many miracles.
I'm still a little exhausted after it all, but it goes to show you
know you're getting work done.
So to start the week, we had a great dinner with a member named
Brother Espinoza on Monday night. He was a little less active a few
months ago, but now he comes to church every week! He is such a funny
guy. He calls us dudes every time he sees us. But we had a great
dinner talking about his mission in Ecuador and he actually gave some
pretty good advice.
On Tuesday, we met with our investigator, Michelle. We brought Brother
Kirkland, our go to member. We bring him because he is really
persistent with people on keeping commitments, but he does it with a
lot of love, it's a real skill. With Michelle, she is really sweet,
but hasn't read from the Book of Mormon or has come to church. But we
got her to commit to reading from the Book of Mormon. We even
downloaded the app on her phone. So we will see what happens when we
visit with her again. But Brother Kirkland, he really pulled through
for us because he told about his wife's conversion story (Sister
Kirkland grew up Jewish) and that really touched Michelle. Members are
the best!
On Wednesday, I started my two day exchange in Reading! I was with my
District Leader, Elder Jones. It was a really productive day as we
shared the Easter Video the church put out to a number of people on
the street. We talked to a lot of Hispanics, which was really great! A
few of them laughed when I told them I am half Mexican, but it broke
the ice! Elder Jones and I have had a lot of fun working together the
past few months, he's probably going to leave Reading since he has
been there for 6 months but it was great to work with him again!
Thursday was a lot of fun too! We had District Meeting, so I was able
to reunite with Elder Thielen for a few hours. But after we got
Wendy's with the Zone Leaders, Elder Holden and I went to work on the
East part of Reading. Elder Holden is a lot of fun and we did a good
amount of walking up some steep streets, but it was so productive! We
taught 8 lessons in one day and we worked so well together. One of the
lessons we taught was a guy named John who was just sitting on the
street feeling pretty down. But after we taught him about Jesus Christ
and how he can find peace in his life, it seemed like he had a new
light in his eyes. It was really cool! Elder Holden even knew how to
respond to people who were telling us what we were doing was wrong and
not true. He always had an answer. Let me tell you, if there's any
missionary who has been a huge role model, it's gotta be Elder Holden.
At the end of the night we were playing catch with a tennis ball and I
got my head stuck in an empty package box they recently got. It was
fun no doubt.
After the exchange, Elder Holden and I drove up to Kutztown on a rainy
Friday morning. We had some good laughs when we met up with a Elder
Jewkes and Elder Thielen. But then we got right to work. Elder Thielen
set up 3 appointments while I was gone (what a great companion). We
taught Eleanor, who we are struggling with on being on the same page
as her. She really looks at scripture into great detail. Except there
are misconceptions she has about the scriptures (i.e. the 12 Apostles
weren't really apostles). We might have to drop her, but we are being
pretty persistent with her. We also saw Sister Donio, who we are
really working with to get her a temple recommend. She has been doing
so well! She has been keeping every commitment we have left her. At
the end of our lesson, she bore a very powerful testimony on how
excited and determined she is to go to the temple. She was even
telling us how much she appreciated us and what we were doing. The
spirit was so strong as we taught her. We ended the night when we
visited Corbin and Jenny. They are doing really well! We taught them
the end of the Plan of Salvation, which turned out pretty great! We
actually saw them Saturday, and Sunday too.
On Saturday, we did hours of finding in Kutztown. I was a little
frustrated because I just didn't feel well, so we sat on a curb for 10
minutes. But it's amazing how the Lord provides. We talked to 3 people
who walked by us for a good amount of time. By the time I got back up,
I was full of energy and I wanted to talk to more people. It was
really comforting to know the Lord was with me and visited me in my
time of weakness. That's what it's all about, as we submit ourselves
to the Master Healer, he can do so much with us than we could ever do
with ourselves. We also saw Jenny and Corbin, who weren't doing so
well. Jenny's daughter Atteah, was pretty sick. She was throwing up
pretty bad and was so exhausted. The worst thing was that her birthday
was on Easter. So we gave her a blessing and shared a message about
faith. It just seemed everyone was stressed out, but by the time we
ended our visit, you could really feel the mood change in the house.
The Holy Spirit really abided in that home. It was great.
On Easter Sunday, we had such a great day! We had 8 investigators come
to church which has been the most I have ever had on my mission. It
was great because all of church really focused on the Resurrection and
the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Later, we stopped at a member's house
named the Wills. A few other families were there as well and we had a
great Easter dinner. They wanted us to go for an egg hunt, but we ran
out of time because we wanted to see Jenny and Corbin. They actually
had a pre marital vow ceremony on Easter and Atteah was back to
perfect health. It was a great time to end the night. We were so
grateful for all the progress we have had since I have been here.
There's only one week left of the transfer, and it's possible Elder
Thielen or I might be leaving. But we will see! We are going to work
pretty hard to match the great week we had. We are also pretty excited
for general conference! It's going to be so great to hear from the
Prophet and Apostles again on my mission. Things are looking up here
in Kutztown. I hope it's the same for all of you back home! Just
remember, the Lord is with you if you let Him in. That is my sincere
testimony to you. As we are willing, just as the people in the Bible
and the Book of Mormon were, we will find unbreakable strength through
the everlasting Atonement. I hope and pray all of you may find
everlasting peace and comfort through the Lord.
Elder Cortes
Kutztown, PA
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