"But Behold, I Will Show Unto You a God of Miracles"

I have to say, this week was a pretty special one for me. I always say how great my week has been, and they are, but this week is definitely going to have a special place in my heart. I was reminded time and time again of the power of God and that He is mindful of our situations, that is partly why miracles come to us in our lives, Heavenly Father knows exactly what miracles need to happen and as we are faithful in His power, but also in His timing, we will see mountains move in our lives and the lives of those we love.

It all started Tuesday when we received a text from the Jarrettown sisters. Long story short, one of them got super sick and was quarantined in her apartment for the day but she needed a blessing. So they call us and head right over, now, this is bad timing for this Sister because she's an STL, which means she's in charge of other sisters, is giving trainings at Zone Conference and Zone Training, and planning a good number of exchanges that week with other sisters. So we gave her a blessing and it was amazing, she was feeling at 100% the next morning. Unfortunately, I caught what she did, but what mattered to me at the time was how powerful faith and the Priesthood really are. I've given blessings before and people have been healed, but it was a kind reminder from God how quick He can work

Zone Conference and Zone Training were such a blast. I saw old friends to catch up with as well as receive a lot of instruction from the Lord through President Randall. Hands down one of the most inspired people I met. At the end of Zone Training on Friday, I went on exchanges with Elder Haws (Etheiopian friend) in Doylestown. Honestly, I was so tired and sick I just had no idea how we were going to get work done. But I prayed to God I'd be able to finish till the end of the night. Which we made happen! We made solid contacts, did service for Eugene, and had a really good time. This is where it gets pretty intense.

So Saturday morning, we help Eugene move some large stones for a wall he's trying to build. Now, keep in mind, Eugene is pretty old and has had a back surgery and all this stuff. So he has no business moving any of these stones. So after Elder Haws and I help him and change, we get a call and he tried moving a stone by himself which landed on the side of his foot. Thankfully, no bones were broken, but there were some scrapes here and there. It's worse because he has some sort of blood arthritis in his legs so he has a struggle walking in the first place. So you can probably tell all of us are pretty worried. But we decided to give him a blessing as well. 

I was praying so hard for God to heal Eugene and I just had this feeling keep coming everything would be okay. So Sunday rolls around, and get this, here comes Eugene walking into church as if nothing happened. He had no pain in his leg or foot. It was as if he had no rock fall on him. I was just speechless, I couldn't believe it. The Lord just took it all away, it was gone in less than a day. What was the cherry on top was with the last speaker for Sacrament meeting, Eugene got emotional at the end and it was the first time I have ever seen him cry at church. We all felt the Spirit so strong, I just said a prayer of gratitude in my heart. It couldn't have been more of an answer to our prayers. 

Later that day, we taught Skyler with a member of the bishopric about the purpose of Jesus Christ and the Atonement. The Spirit was so strong, Skylar was understanding everything so clearly, especially with the fact on why He should matter to her. She's definitely growing in her testimony, slowly but surely. It has been such a pleasure to work with her these past few months, she's so brave for trying to find out what is truth for herself. 

I have to say, yesterday was one of the best days of my mission. Of course we don't see amazing powerful healings everyday. But when we do, we are reminded who has our back. I know God will not fail us as we strive to follow Him and do His will. He will provide away, it may not be so apparent right away, but the Lord will be there for us always. That is knowledge I am sure of and know will never be taken from me. May we help other recognize this important truth. God is waiting to help us, sometimes all we have to do is ask and have faith something will happen.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Elder Cortes

Doylestown, PA

Determined in Doylestown

Hey everyone! 

It's been such a great week and a half since I last wrote. So much so, that I can't write all that happened (like it says over and over in the Book of Mormon). But I will cover a few highlights that really strengthened my testimony. 

We went on one last exchange with the Zone Leaders for this transfer and I went back to Pennypack to be with my other Zone Leader, Elder Haws. Elder Haws has such a cool story, he's from Ethiopia and immigrated to Idaho 5 years ago. He used to be Muslim but had such a powerful experience with The book of Mormon and knew as he read, that Christ is the Son of God. It was really inspiring for me because it just showed me how much a person can change from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I mean, I got to be with such a close friend for a day because of it. But our day in Pennypack was so amazing, we prayed consistently that we would find new people to talk to and it was so cool to talk to so many different people with different cultures. We talked to a woman who was Russian and a woman from Ghana, and people from Brooklyn throughout the day. It really was a lot of fun.

We also saw Skyler later in the week and we felt prompted to ask her how she has felt with the discussions so far and it's made such a huge difference for her. She said since we met, she starts to see how the Gospel can apply to her personally. It been such a great transfer to see her conversion process, she is gaining her testimony slowly but surely, it's so amazing.

A testimony builder for me this week was that the Souderton Sisters had a baptism this past week. Now the reason why I bring up their baptism is because both Sisters have been out less than 6 months and they are working so hard in relying on the Lord. It has been so cool to see the fruits of their labors, the baptism being the highlight for them this transfer. It just showed me that this is the Lord's work because there is no way we would be able to see the success we see in the mission unless He was involved. 

As for the work, it has been coming along so well. We have had a few people drop for one reason or another, which is always heartbreaking of course, but we never give up or complain with what happens. We're just thankful for every blessing we have and continue to ask the Lord for more people to teach and it happens. We just find people out of the blue, it's so incredible to see the Lord answer prayers. He really has been with us in Doylestown, as with the rest of my mission. I'm thankful for His love and His willingness to be with us at our side in the work. I couldn't ask for anything better.

We also had the special opportunity to go to the temple just now. It was such a blessing to not only go, but seeing so many members from past areas like Kutztown and Woodstown. It was a sweet reminder for me I am in the right place because my friends are with me. I have learned so much in my time receiving revelation from the Lord in His Holy House. It is such a blessing to be able to have a temple in our mission. Temples truly are a beacon to the world, I know because of the simple fact that I turn to the Lord every time I go. Well, it's the last week of the transfer! We find out what happens with transfers this Saturday, I'm probably staying since I just got to Doylestown but the Lord has proven me otherwise!

 Keep the Faith,

Elder Cortes

Doylestown, PA

Priceless Pennypack!

Hey everyone! 

It's been a phenomenal week full of miracles as I'm getting used to the great area of Doylestown. It all started off with District Meeting on Tuesday. It was a pretty powerful discussion on prayer and we also had the Stake President's wife observing what a District Meeting was like since her and her husband are going on a mission in Houston which is pretty neat. But after, we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders who I have an incredible amount of love for. Elder Drake and Elder Haws have to be some of my favorite Zone Leaders. I went with Elder Drake to his area called Pennypack, which is borderline to Philadelphia. There were a good amount of ghetto parts so that really brought some good memories of Reading back. Elder Drake is such a great missionary! He came out one transfer before I did and we had such great talks about old companions we both had and really getting to know one another. The best part of the exchange was that we had an appointment fall through with an investigator St an apartment complex so while we headed back to the car we talked to this guy who was about to head into his apartment building. He wasn't interested at all, in fact, he was high as a kite unfortunately. But he told us we could knock on doors in his building and we decided to give it a shot. The first door we knocked one was a young couple with an infant son who let us right in. It was amazing to see how the Restoration just clicked for Khallel and Stephenie, Elder Drake is such a great teacher too. We just kept bouncing back and forth with each other which was so nice. When you can teach with clarity and unity at the same time, the Spirit is in abundance. It was pretty fun to go to Pennypack and do some work in that area. We only do 2-3 exchanges here since there's only sisters in the District but exchanges are so powerful without a doubt.

The next day we taught our investigator Skylar and she brought up a good amount of concerns regarding her testimony. So we started off with the basics of God and Jesus Christ and she knew about them, but she was searching for a personal connection. Well, Elder Morton was impressed to show an old holiday video of the Savior and by the end of it, everyone was in tears. The Spirit was beyond strong in that room, probably one of the strongest lessons I have been apart of on my mission. She knew from that point God was there, and He did hear her prayers. It was so great!

Something pretty neat that happened also was that we had an appointment with a less active named Brother Bachin. He's been less active for a couple years so he feeds the missionaries and is willing to have a lesson with the Elders after. So the interesting part of it all was he is uncomfortable sharing a message with us around his wife, so we went in a small RV in his garage to read the Book of Mormon with him. It was actually pretty neat, I've never had a lesson in an RV so it was an experience for sure!

We also had stake conference and it was a pretty big deal this weekend. There was a new Stake Presidency called and we were able to hear some pretty great testimonies from the old and new Presidencies. We also got to hear two Seventies speak which were pretty impressive and powerful messages as well as President Randall, who is one of the best speakers I know without question. Overall, it was a pretty good week! We don't have anyone on date yet for baptism, but we are going to go above and beyond to find those who are ready! I know the Lord can do the impossible. As we exercise faith in Him, believing we will get an answer, it will come to pass. I hope we can all remember that our Lord is waiting to bless us, we just need to ask in faith, believing we shall receive.

Elder Cortes

Doylestown, PA