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
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