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

Hot Summer Days in the Lord's Vineyard Speaking Spanish...Sort Of

Hey everyone!

It's been a great week doing the Lord's work. We had a few struggles
near the end of the week but we still worked as hard as we could,
which we were grateful that the Lord blessed us for our efforts.

On Wednesday, we had dinner over at the Whitfield's (Deborah was out
of town all of last week, so we didn't teach her. But she came to
church after her trip, read from the Book of Mormon, and kept other
commitments while she was away!) and we taught a friend of Sister
Whitfield's named Krista. Krista actually was really close to being
baptized a few years ago but it ended up not happening. It's always
the best when the members introduce the investigators because it flows
so smoothly right from the start. Krista told us she didn't have a lot
of self confidence in herself to be baptized. But we testified of the
power of the Atonement and helped her really feel the Spirit in really
feeling that she could actually do this. You could really see the
change in her countenance after the lesson, there was more hope
without question. I'm pretty excited to work with her towards that
goal of baptism! Anyone can get there, I have been a witness of that
for sure over my mission with doing interviews and helping my
investigators get to baptism as well.

Thursday was a blast! We had district meeting in Bridgeton (south of
Woodstown) which went so well. It was probably the best district
meeting I have ever conducted. It seemed like everything flowed and
everyone participated which make the District Leader's life a lot
easier because you can go off of insights others have instead of just
talking at everybody for an hour. After district meeting, we did an
exchange with the Bridgeton. Now, Bridgeton is a Spanish area, so it
was the first time since I was being trained I was in a Spanish area.
Fortunately, I had a good missionary back me up on my broken Spanish,
Elder Olvera. He's from Fort Worth, Texas and is Mexican, so we
clicked right off the bat with our Spanish heritage. It was an
experience for me because mostly all the lessons we taught were to
Hispanics who didn't speak any English at all. So I prayed a few times
in Spanish, I also taught in Spanish which actually didn't go as bad
as I thought. There were times where I just couldn't find the right
words, so Elder Olvera translated for me in some points of lessons.
But it went so well. We taught 7 lessons that day and everyone in
Bridgeton seems to be pretty humble. Those Elders actually have a
baptism this Sunday which I am very excited for! My hope is all the
areas in my District get one baptism this transfer. So far it is
looking like it will happen which is pretty exciting! But it back on
the exchange, I had so much fun being in a Spanish area for a day. It
made me really miss my Dad a bit, but it was a good kind of missing if
that makes sense.

Friday was an experience for sure. After we swapped back, we went to
take care of a member's front and back yard. Now, I was a little
nervous because I hadn't mowed a lawn in almost a year and Elder
Brewer had never mowed a lawn before. Also, these lawns were huge. But
it actually went pretty well, two hours later it was done and we
celebrated with some great chili dogs for lunch. Unfortunately, Elder
Brewer pretty much struggled the rest of the weekend with heat
exhaustion. We had to spend an extensive amount of time for him to
recover the past few days. It can be a little hard to stay in, but the
Lord was definitely building our patience as we stayed in. I was
thankful Deborah came to church is progressing very well in the
Gospel. Her baptismal interview is in about 2 weeks and her baptism
will be the first Sunday of August. I'm very excited and pray that
Deborah will be able to continue to progress towards baptism. We are
taking her and another investigator, Elizabeth, to the Philadelphia
Temple on Sunday. They have a special first viewing on Sunday for the
missionaries of the missionaries and their investigators. So Sunday is
going to be very exciting. We know both of them will feel the Spirit
within the building. It's going to be an exciting week!

I hope for all of you that you may truly take time to visit the
temple, even if it's just to visit the grounds. It truly is a place of
refuge from the world. I'm so excited to be inside a temple for the
first time in over a year. To just be inside even before it is
dedicated will be a special experience for me. I pray all of us make
take advantage of the special blessings that are given from these holy
houses of the Lord. May each of us find inner peace as we continue to
work towards returning to our Father in Heaven through the temple.


Elder Cortes

Woodstown, NJ

Serving in the Land of Freedom with One Year Left

Happy Fourth of July!

It's been a great week here in the PPM. And on this day, I'm thankful
for those who have fought and who continue to fight to preserve the
freedom of all of us. This is also the week where I hit my year mark
being out on my mission. Much has gone on this week, yet I'm thankful
to really reflect on how it has been on my mission so far.

On Tuesday, we saw Matt for the last time for a month or so. It was
great to talk about where he's at and how much he has grown since I
met him. He also asked Elder Brewer for a blessing before he left for
an internship in Connecticut. He asked Elder Brewer to give it because
he had never met him before, and it was such a powerful blessing. He
told him Heavenly Father has been giving him signs that He truly does
exist. For me personally, I couldn't stop smiling because I knew it
was the Lord speaking directly to Matt. You just know because the
Spirit of the Lord was in that room testifying to each one of us it
was His voice. We also later taught a guy who worked at Burger King
while we took lunch. He was on his break and ate with us and he was
searching for truth. It was great because we taught a bit of the
Restoration and we got all his info so we are hoping we can get in
touch with him soon!

Thursday was the eventful day all the missionaries in this part of the
mission were waiting for. We had a short, three hour Zone Conference
to meet President Randall and his family. All the missionaries lined
up to meet the Randall family. We met President and Sister Randall and
their three children; Haley (15), Morgan (13) and Brian (8). It was a
conference that I have never experience before. Their children were
kind and had sweet testimonies and President and Sister Randall were
great. Originally, President Randall is from Portland Oregon and
Sister Randall is from SLC. They left from Provo, Utah where President
Randall served as the Stake President before he came out. They have
been all over living in Chicago, New York, Portland, and Provo. They
are such great leaders. Throughout the conference we talked about
expectations about them and us. They also testified of the
truthfulness of the doctrine of Christ shown in 2nd Nephi 31. Both are
just so intelligent in the Gospel and have testimonies that are strong
and everlasting. The Spirit truly testified to me in person that my
Mission President and his wife were are leaders and that this mission
is under their stewardship. I'm just so thankful for the Lord with
such great leaders!

Following a great Zone Conference was a great District Meeting the
next day. After that, I went to Vineland to conduct my first exchange
with Elder Curtis. Elder Curtis goes home this Saturday, so I was able
to work with him just before he heads out. He's such a fun Elder. He
has jokes left and right, but at the same time, he had a lot of love
for me. He cared about me and I knew he trusted me. The best exchanges
are when you work in unity with an Elder you see only once a week. We
testify of the truthfulness of the Gospel and the importance of
keeping the commandments that God has given us. I'm just so thankful
for the Lord giving me such great Elders to work with.

Sunday was pretty intense at the end of the night. We met with Deborah
and she was in a really frustrated mood and told us she wasn't going
to be baptized. Now, when she said that, I was floored, I had no idea
what to say. But I just had the continual prompting to keep calm and
talk it over with her. We talked with her problems and continually
asked questions that really softened her heart. She calmed down and
told us she really wanted to be baptized, she just felt stressed with
smoking. We gave her a blessing Saturday for a sickness she had and
the next day she was healed. She told us how grateful she was for us
to help her, to help her come closer to the Savior and our Father in
Heaven. When we drove home, the member that drove us asked "how did
you know what to say"? All we could tell her is that we went by the
Spirit.

Really going off that, I'm just thankful for this past year of my
mission. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to teach by the
Spirit to others' needs. I'm thankful I have been obedient with
exactness and committed to building the church in each area I have
served in. I'm grateful to have seen growth in Moorestown, Kutztown,
and Woodstown. To see less actives become strengthened through
repentance and investigators light up with truths like the Book of
Mormon has been such a humbling experience. I know what I am doing is
not a waste. I know I am making a difference in the Lord's vineyard.
I'm thankful for my growth so far as a person, as a son of God.
Although I have changed, I know I'm not done yet. I'm excited for this
next year and to see what the Lord has in store for me!

Until then, I'm excited for the Fourth of July Party we are having at
the church. We have a booth for missionaries for the Philadelphia
temple! It'll be an exciting night for sure. I hope all of you have a
happy Fourth of July!

Elder Cortes

Woodstown, NJ

New Companion, New Transfer, Different Miracles!

Hey everybody!

It's been a very busy week for us over here in the great land of South
Jersey, but it's also been a lot of fun. We've seen the Lord's hand
over and over, it's ridiculous. But I'm so thankful I can be out here
to serve to see it. I know this great work were are in is divine. All
you have to do is just look at the small things.

I started the week actually in Smyrna, Delaware. Elder Yeates was
picking up a departing missionary in Delaware, so I stayed with
another Elder with the Zone Leaders of the Dover Zone. At the end of
P-Day, we went out on splits and I was with Elder Pule. Now, Elder
Pule is from New Zealand and English is his second language. But he is
such a great Elder. He's been out 18 months and has a heart of gold.
He was being transferred the next day, so we went and visited members
and investigators they were working with. We also did a lot of street
contact in a suburb area because a good number of people were out. We
even helped out this one lady who met with missionaries years before
cleaning her yard full of branches. We were able to get 3 people's
contact information and a return appointment. It was so much fun. I
was actually a little sad the day had to end, but I had such a blast.

Tuesday was transfer day! So we drove two hours up to Broomall to meet
my new companion and get back to New Jersey. I was able to see
President Anderson for the last time in person in the field. He goes
home today, so this whole last week has just been absolutely crazy
getting all their stuff home and having a lot of final meetings. But
it was so good to see his smiling face one last time before he went
back to Utah. I also met my new companion named Elder Brewer! Elder
Brewer and I actually have a few of similarities we never really would
imagine. The most obvious is that he is a red head, but we also came
out together and he is from Arizona as well, but Show Low. He's also
only a week older than me. So it's been great to get to know him this
past week. We did a good amount of finding and also had a great
meeting with our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Vann. It's been going so
well getting to work with the ward. It's amazing how supportive and
helpful everyone is to the work.

Wednesday we were out finding in Woodstown and talked to this couple
named Carmen and William. They are both from Puerto Rico and they have
looked into many religions but are not a part of any belief right now.
They asked a good amount of questions about us and our missions and
why we came out. You could really tell they felt the Holy Ghost as we
told them sincerely why we came out and we love being missionaries. We
also met with Deborah who is doing so well. She's so receptive to
everything we teach her, except now all she has to do is quit smoking
and she will be ready to be baptized at the end of the month.

Thursday we had District Meeting here in Woodstown. It was my first
one I've conducted in 7 months, so I was a little nervous. But it was
so great! I have such an amazing District. It was pretty much a group
discussion rather than me getting up and preaching to everyone what we
need to do to be better. We also had a few lessons later in the
evening Brother Vann took us out to which was a lot of fun.

Friday we met with one of our investigators with a date, Elizabeth
Divacarro. It's been tough to match up our schedules the past few
weeks, but we were able to finally meet with her. She's practically
there. Her date is set in September, but we can push her date up when
she quits smoking. That's the part we are working on with her, is
quitting her smoking. That's pretty much all she needs to do, but of
course, addictions are a struggle to quit. So we will be working with
precision and care as we help her quit. We also found out some
unexpected news that Jeremy and Stacey were getting married the next
day! I can't even tell you how excited I was for that
I was so happy to hear they decided to get married right then and
there. It was a miracle from the Lord without question.

So the next day we had a very emotional morning. Every week we have a
conference call for the whole mission. It's usually on Wednesday, but
the new missionaries came in so they moved it to Saturday. Honestly,
it was such a powerful experience for me. President and Sister
Anderson bore their testimonies with such conviction and power. They
also gave us long lasting instruction. I can still President
Anderson's final words of the call: "We will always love you, and we
will never forget you". It just made so thankful for such great
leaders in my life. The Lord truly has brought people to me that help
me change for the better. After that call, we did some service tearing
down wallpaper and helping members move, then we went to the wedding!
It was so much fun and it was the best wedding I've been to on my
mission. There was probably 20 people there and a small reception
right after. After the wedding, Bishop showed Jeremy and Stacey the
baptismal font where Stacey would be baptized. I couldn't believe all
the progress they've made together. Everything is going so well with
them. We also saw a less active, Brother Morgan. He was in a lot of
pain with his back because he works long hours in construction, but he
asked us to give him a blessing and we did and it was as if the pain
in his back was gone. It was amazing! I love priesthood blessings,
they truly show God's power to help and aid others.

Sunday we closed it out by visiting a few people and the Whitfields.
We read 6 chapters of the Book of Mormon with Deborah which she really
enjoyed. She's been reading everyday and is planning on continuing to
do it. It's such a great miracle to be a part of this work. I love the
Lord and the blessings he has bestowed upon us. I love being a
missionary, we were talking to people on the street and it hit me that
I only have about a year left to do this, to proclaim the Gospel. I'm
definitely not going to waste any time that's for sure! I hope all of
you are well and safe. May the Lord bless you beyond your dreams, I
know He will, for all things are possible unto them that believe. I
love each and every one of you. Thank you for all the letters, emails,
prayers, and support. I truly do feel it everyday, and I'm so thankful
for it. I'm also thankful that Jesus Christ is my Savior. He truly
sustains me everyday. Although I make mistakes everyday, He's there to
lift me. I hope all of you feel that same lift through the power of
the Atonement.

Elder Cortes

Woodstown, NJ