General Conference, Temple, What More Could You Ask For?

Hey everybody!

It's so good to be able to touch base with you all again. The adventures don't stop here on the East Coast that's for sure. We were blessed with exchanges, meetings, and a great weekend of conference!

We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders and I was with my good friend Elder Huber in Pennypack. It was pretty fun to talk to so many different people with different cultures. One lesson we had, the woman we were teaching sang an African song before we started with a prayer. I always love coming down to Pennypack, you just never know what you're going to see. 

Conference was also so great. It was nonstop going to members homes, having a great meal, then being able to see the Lord's servants speak to the world. We had our investigators, Eugene and Skylar, watch as well and they had many questions answered. Without a doubt, Conference is such a powerful missionary tool. Also, it was a blessing for me to be able to learn from the Lord and knowing very clearly what I need to do at this point in my mission as well as in my life. 

We also went to the temple today for our P-day, which has been such a blast. Riding SEPTA is always a fun time. You just never know what to really expect from it. We had an interesting talk with a man who was reading the Bible in Hebrew for a performance for his church. It was cool just because he was curious about the book of Mormon and our missions. Then we got into the city and I just felt so good being there. It's like it's become my home! Or even a part of me. Philadelphia will always have a special place in my heart. The Temple was also so good to just be inside of. It's hard to explain, but you feel so renewed after spending just a few minutes inside. I'm beyond grateful for the many blessings in which the Lord guides and directs us each day. It is a comforting feeling to know we are not alone. God is with us at all times and it is so apparent today, there's just no way God couldn't be there. It's the same thing with the Savior Jesus Christ. Because of His sacrifice, He will never leave us in our time of need. He will give us the strength to overcome any obstacle in life. It's pure knowledge I'll never forget and strive to show others. 

I have such a deep love for the mission. There's no other experience that can compare, you really learn who you are these two years. For that I'm forever grateful. 

Elder Cortes

Doylestown, PA

The 2 Mexicans That Can't Speak Spanish

Hey everyone!

It's been such a blast, so much that I didn't even send my weekly last week... That's my bad, it was a lot to do my first week in Reading. It's been so busy, probably my busiest area I have had on my mission. It is just nonstop appointments and picking up members. But I'm getting used to it.

My companion is Elder Martinez! He's from San Bernardino, California and has been out 18 months. He's such a great missionary. He has probably the most fire I have seen for the work. If he is in the zone you best get out of the way. He's also Mexican, but ironically, he does not speak a lick of Spanish. I'm glad I'm not the only one! It's been good though, we have had many good talks and learned a ton from each other.

Reading is so great! It was the Zone Leader area when I was in Kutztown so to be in the area with all the missionaries I look up to is so exciting. We are teaching a good number of people who are planning on being baptized this coming month. We already had a baptism my first weekend here which was pretty cool to walk into. Her name is Melissa who is such a solid member. All she wants to do is to be a better example for her family and teach the Gospel to her family. I can't wait for her to get to the temple. We also had MLC which was incredible, seeing my good friends and President Randall was incredible. The Spirit of unity was there, I was just so grateful to be a part of it.

What's super cool this week was that we had General Conference! I'm grateful for such incredible leaders in the church. The Prophet and Apostles just taught with such power and authority, you knew what they said was true. I'm grateful for a Heavenly Father who blessed me with answers to questions in my heart through his servants. I'm especially grateful for President Thomas S Monson, who had so much courage to teach on the Plan of Salvation. Truly I'm grateful for my mission. It's such a great time to serve. I'm changing everyday and I'm so thankful for Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. It's a scary thought to think I only have about 9 months left. But I'm definitely going to make the most of it. I hope all of you have a great week!

Elder Cortes

Reading, PA

General Conference Plus 6 More Weeks in Kutztown

Hey everybody!

It's been such a great week and we have had a lot of fun over here in
Kutztown. The weather is beautiful and we have talked to a lot of
great people.

On Tuesday, pretty much all of our appointments fell through and we
did a good amount of finding. It was worth it though because we were
able to find a great guy named Mike. He just so happened to get home
as we were knocking on his door. He told us he wanted to improve his
relationship with God and was very thankful we were able to stop by.
It just goes to show, the Lord truly does prepare people at the right
time to hear the Gospel.

Wednesday we had a good number of appointments. We first saw Eleanor
Brinker, the woman who we do service for. She has been reading the
Book of Mormon but refuses to come to church or act on any commitments
we give her. We felt like we needed a sit down lesson with her to
really talk about where she stood with what we were teaching her. She
pretty much told us that she knew the Book of Mormon was true and that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, but told us she would never join
the church because she doesn't think she needs to be baptized. That
Priesthood authority doesn't matter when it comes to baptism. We were
very bold with her on bearing pure testimony of Priesthood Authority
and its importance. The Spirit was very strong and she was very quiet
at the end of the lesson. She knew we cared about her, but knew our
distinct purpose as missionaries. She has met with missionaries for
years, but I think she understood why all of the missionaries came
over to teach her. We later saw Sister Donio who was very excited
about General Conference this past weekend as well as Sarah, who we
also saw at the end of the day. Overall, it was a really great day of
teaching!

Thursday we had the last District Meeting of the transfer which went
really well as well as the last exchange of the transfer. I went with
Elder Wilson to Reading and we saw so many miracles! We found 4 new
investigators, who all seemed really prepared to receive the Gospel.
They were all people we stopped on the street and really were
interested in what we had to say. Elder Jones and Elder Thielen were
also able to find 3 new investigators as well in Kutztown. Overall, it
was a great day for both of our areas.

Friday was a little tough because the Reading Elders had their car in
the shop, so instead of meeting halfway, they had to drive all the way
into Reading to switch back. We also had to take care of some car
registration with our Zone Leaders, which only left time for our
planning for the week. We weren't able to teach or talk to anyone
about the gospel, which is always lame. But days like that happen.

Saturday went really well though! It was the first day of General
Conference and we were able to have lunch with a family in the ward
named the Walmers, where they had a sandwich bar! It was a lot of fun,
and the first session was great seeing the new members of the Quorum
of the Twelve give powerful talks. We also watched the second session
of conference with the Thompsons and more powerful messages were
given. After the 2nd session, we received transfer calls and Elder
Thielen and I both found out we would be staying while pretty much the
rest of the district was leaving. It was pretty exciting to find out I
would be staying with Elder Thielen for another transfer, since I have
done one transfer with most of my companions. We also went to
Priesthood session at the church to end the night, which is always
inspirational. Powerful words were spoken by President Nelson and the
First Presidency.

On Sunday, we watched conference with only investigators! We went to
Eliud's home to have lunch before conference. He fed us pork empanadas
as well as beef tacos! It was so delicious and it was a great
experience watching conference with someone who has never watched it
before. He had many questions and was blown away by the attendance of
people and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It was a really good
experience. Also, hearing the Prophet was very insightful for him as
well. Later that day, we watched conference with a part member family
named the Monroes. The father is the only member in the family and
there's 5 kids along with his wife. It was a little crazy because most
of the kids are young, but overall, it was a really good experience
for the family. The children who are accountable are really thinking
about being baptized as well as the wife. It was a great last week of
the transfer. I'm glad we were able to watch and experience conference
on my mission. There were so many insights and I'm so thankful there
is a living Prophet on the earth, along with Apostles called of God to
guide and direct us in these latter days. I'm thankful for President
Monson, who is a true prophet. Although he didn't speak very long, he
spoke with conviction and power. He truly is a man of God, who I love
dearly. May we all follow his counsel as he is directed by the Lord.
Can't wait for the next 6 weeks in Kutztown!



Elder Cortes

Kutztown, PA

Meetings and Long, Long Days of Rain

Hey everyone!

Well, I'm really starting to see how cold it is getting here on the

East Coast. Everyday it's been below 60 degrees and the coldest it's

been was 40 degrees plus wind chill. But it's okay! It makes it that

much nicer when people let you in their house.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet with anyone we met last week

but it was still a good week nonetheless. On Wednesday I went to my

first Zone Conference! I saw missionaries from North Philadelphia,

Cherry Hill South, and Dover (Maryland Area). It was great to see a

lot of friends and President Andersen. It was for most of the day, but

really, it was worth it. We did all these trainings and practices on

being better with using the Book of Mormon. It was a lot of fun all

around!

Friday wasthe first day of raincoats and umbrellas and sweaters and

anything you can think of to stay warm. We went finding for 3-4 hours

in the pouring rain, just making sure our Books of Mormon wouldn't get

wet in the process. Now even though it was 45 degrees with wind chill,

I was okay. I never thought about going in or not knocking on doors. I

was just grateful the Lord gave me that blessing of not wanting to go

in and  just never really feeling cold. It probably was first in my

life, hopefully it's the same way in the snow.... Probably not! We

were also getting our investigators ready for General Conference! We

have an investigator named Spencer, who's getting baptized on November

1st. So we sat down with him and his fiancé, Rebecca, who is a member

and talked about General Conference and how conference really can

speak to you personally. They were so interested and excited when we

said if you have a question, you can get an answer to it through

conference. I'm excited for Spencer and to see him get baptized. He's

been taught for a year so he knows his stuff. They're also getting

married on Halloween so that's great! He'll be ready to go for the

next day. It was also the first day of raincoats and umbrellas and

sweaters and anything you can think of to stay warm. We went finding

for 3-4 hours in the pouring rain, just making sure our Books of

Mormon wouldn't get wet in the process. Now even though it was 45

degrees with wind chill, I was okay. I never thought about going in or

not knocking on doors. I was just grateful the Lord gave me that

blessing of not wanting to go in and  just never really feeling cold.

It probably was first in my life, hopefully it's the same way in the

snow.... Probably not!

Saturday and Sunday, of course, were General Conference. This was

probably the most spiritual conference I have had in my life. Every

talk, hymn, and testimony of the new apostles, was excellent. From

Elder Holland's talk on Mothers, to Elder Oaks' on the atonement, to

President Monson's powerful testimony yesterday, I felt the spirit. We

watched all of conference at the church, something I have never done.

I usually watched on my laptop back home or on the kitchen t.v. with

my Mom. But really, there was a different feeling watching it at the

chapel. It would usually be us and Brother and Sister Cleveland, and

one other family maybe. But to hear the Lord's servants talk was just

excellent. I'm grateful for the new apostles and their testimonies. I

already have a great love for them and can see how much they love the

Lord.

I know there wasn't a lot to talk about this week, but really my mind

has been focused on Conference. I invite all of you to watch the talks

again. Or to watch it as soon as you can if you haven't already. I

learn so much from watching a talk 2 or 3 times over. As long as your

heart is open, you will be able to feel the spirit hearing these men

and women talk. I testify President Monson is the true living prophet

of God. He is my friend, and I love and sustain him with all my heart.

Although I have not met him (and probably never will) I feel like I

know him so well. He is a great man, he showed that yesterday with the

incredible amount of courage he had to bear his testimony. May we all

follow the prophet and his counsel, along with his apostles and anyone

who speaks at General Conference. They are the mouthpiece of the Lord.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Cortes

  (Leo & Elder Foster with Bro. Dunn who translates Gen. Conference in 

                      Burmese with his wife below, every session)