Ambato., Ecuador

¡hola!

Today for our zone activity we went to Parque de la familia, the park on the top of the mountain here in Ambato, and it is still my sector! :) Haha even though it is like a 35 minute ride in bus up the mountain. It is a pretty park, and we had fun playing the olympics with our zone. Rio has nothing on us :) haha 

We had verification this week for Hna Bench, since she is a new missionary, and it was fun! I really learned alot and I was reminded of a lot of basic principals that seem to get forgotten over time. Being with a newbie helps to remember how to love the work and just to keep it really simple. I love meetings with President Christensen, because it always reminds me of things that I can improve on and how I can become a better missionary. We also had zone conference this week, and that was great, I also learned a ton there as well. More than anything the importance of focusing on and commiting the people to read, pray, and go to church, and the importance of these three things. Hopefully I can improve on that. 

We didn´t get to work alot this week for the many meetings and spontaneous trip to Quito monday, that I feel we didn´t do much this week, but reflecting we were able to get a lot done. One cool thing was saturday night, when we finally were working in our sector after having been with the stake for a blood drive, contacting and bringing people to the blood drive, it was fun and we got a lot of contacts, but we were happy to be back in our sector. Once we started working all of our appointments fell through, so I started praying asking the Lord to guide us, because there was no one that we could go to, so when we rounded the corner there was a mom with her kid going into her house. We started talking to her and she started mentioning a lot of questions about religion that she has had for awhile and as we were talking we were able to invite her to let us in to share more and she accepted and we got to share something with her. It helped me to remember that the Lord is always watching over us and wants us to find His kids that are willing to listen to our message. It was a good lesson and we are going to be returning next week to talk to her more and help her to know for herself if these things are true. 

We were not able to find Mauricio like at all this week, but yesterday we had a very powerful lesson about the importance of baptism and that it opens the door to our salvation, between the wonderful testimony of my companion and the testimony of the members that were with us and my own testimony of the importance of baptism the spirit was really present and we could see in Mauricio the greater desire he had to find out if he needs to be baptized on the 10th. We are excited for him to be taking this step and I am praying that he finds comfort in this decision and that he can be strong with his family and can be an example to them. 

We had a really powerful lesson with Jessica yesterday about the atonement, and how she can really feel peace about herself and with God, once the atonement has been completed, and that process included forgiving yourself and letting yourself be forgiven as well. We testified a ton, and I seriously love the testimony of Hna Bench, everytime she testifies the spirit just comes pouring in, I love it. Jessica really felt the spirit, and broke down when we shared with her the experience of Alma the younger with the Atonement in Alma 38, we asked her if she felt like him, and as she was crying and said yes, we could see in her the desire to know how to change, and we testified to her that it is through our little actions everyday and our desire to follow God and our obedience to the commandments. The coolest part of this lesson though, for me, was the overwhelming feeling of love I felt for Jessica. A love so strong that I know through God I was able to feel that love for her. She is making big steps and I know that she will be able to come closer to God. 

Not only for Jessica, but for all these people here in my sector, I just love them. I love them and desire that all of them know and love the gospel for themselves. Ecuador seriously has stolen my heart and I will forever love these people and the wonderful love that they have so graciously shown me.

I also reflected this week on the scriptures alot and focusing on strengthening my testimony of them. I know that through the scriptures we can find answers to our questions. I know that the Book of Mormon does exactly what Joseph Smith testified that whoever reads this book will come closer to God than by any other book, because I have felt that change over my mission. I love the strength I can find from this book and all the other books of the gospel. I know that it shows how much God loves us, that we have these scriptures. And I know this because I have felt the truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. I invite all those who don´t know and can´t say these things with an assurity to read and pray to know for themselves, and I know that if you do it with a sincere heart, you will know for yourself.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Mucho Amor,

Hermana Cordon

Amor para las personas

¡Hola!

Me and Hna Morán

We had divisions this week, it was great :) I got to be with Hna Morán, she is gringa, but her dad is mexican so she looks latina. We had a great time in there sector, and we visited a family that I had visited with the Hna Leader about 3 months ago, and they remembered me :) There are 3 cute little girls that are super sweet, one wanted to brush my really snarly hair (Thanks to the wind and dust and walking everywhere :) ) haha It was fun to see them again, and I was able to learn alot, it was great.

Well three weeks ago our mission leader informed us that someone was at church that wasn´t a member and that he had been going for a long time, but he didn´t get any of his information and he informed us after church. So we had to wait a week until we got to church again, and we were grateful that he came again :) And this week we finally were able to visit with him, he is great! His family goes to the Jehovah Witness, but his mom is the only one baptized there. He has gone there his whole life, so he has studied a ton and knows alot, which means a lot of questions, but he really listens to our answers and has a lot of faith and is really open to knowing for himself. When we taught him about the restoration and invited him to pray about our message, he responded quickly saying yes. Since he has been coming to church for awhile, I then thought to ask him if he had ever prayed about it, he then responded with a no, because he didn´t know that you could pray and actually recieve an answer. I just love the knowledge we have of God and prayer, knowing that if we pray He listens and He answers us. I know that is true, because I have recieved answers from Him, in many different moments in many different ways. We testified to him and he left with a lot of desire to find out for himself and he accepted a baptism date for the 3rd of September! We are excited to be working with him and to guide him along this path, I just love how humble and open he his and we can see that he has a true desire to follow God. 

Dayana opened up with us this week and let us know what she is truly going through, and the obstacles she will have to overcome so that she will be able to be baptized. Thursday we had commited her to be baptized for the 26th of August and she had accepted and we were going to fast with her to help her to recieve an answer from God, but we weren´t able to find her saturday when we were supposed to start with her. And then she also didn´t come to church. When her grandparents got to church, we asked about her, and they responded saying she now doesn´t want anything and doesn´t want to be baptized... My heart dropped, I almost started crying right there in church hearing that, but I convinced myself that they were mistaken and that there was just a miscommunication and she just didn´t feel good to come to church. After church we went and passed by for her to talk to her to see what was up. As she was telling us why she had decided to not be baptized and stuff I felt my heart break, knowing that the decision she was making would prevent her from recieving all the blessings the Lord has for her. While listening to her I felt an overwhelming sense of love for her and a desire to help her. A love I know that God blessed me with to help her, and we began testifying and explaining to her the consequences of not being baptized. We testified a lot and she opened up to the idea again of really seeking an answer from God and doing a fast with us this week. I am praying for her and I want the absolute best for her. I know as a missionary the Lord has blessed me with a love for these people that would be impossible to create in such a short amount of time knowing a person. I love Dayana so much and I know how happy she can be coming closer to this gospel and I hope and pray that she makes the right decision so that she can have this happiness. But, it also helped me to realize how Christ feels when we make bad decisions, when we move away from Him. His heart breaks, He wants nothing more than to bless us, and we are choosing another path. But, for that He suffered and died for us, so that we could come back to Him, and that brings Him the greatest joy imaginable when we have come back into His. The joy we feel as missionaries when people make that step (come to church, read, pray, are baptized, etc..) is a small part of what Christ must feel, and that joy is something very difficult to describe, it really is true joy. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be working with Dayana and that she really is seeking to know for herself and to come closer to Christ.

This week went well, and we got some good work in. I have been stressing a bit, feeling like I can´t do all that I need to do, and not wanting to finish the mission, because I am not ready, but I just keep changing my mindset and focus on what I am doing, and focusing on always seeking the help of God in every situation. I just have to keep reminding myself to do that, and then I am good. :) I love the mission and I love the help that I recieve from God in every moment.

I know this is the true church, I know that we pass through trials so that we can become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that I am a representative of Jesus Christ and for that reason I proudly put my nametag on everyday and boldly claim that I am a representative of His true church. I don´t doubt it, I never have. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I love you all and thank you for your prayers!! :)

Mucho Amor,
Hermana Cordon

Me and my companion

My companion, Deyni (a less active that always goes to appointments with us), and me 

Me and my companion with a rainbow 

Lunch at the mall with Hna Morán and Hna Loayza

Caldo de Pata aka cow foot soup again. This time I tried the cow foot. It was really, really chewy....

The Most Important Work!

¡Hola!

So this was a very exciting week, because Elder Holland is here in Ecuador and we had a conference with our whole mission on saturday. And boy was that a very special experience. We had an apostle yelling at us for over an hour, but yelling at us with the spirit and a ton of love. We could just feel the love he has for the Savior, for missionary work, and for missionaries. It was a privilege to sit and listen and be taught by him and the Holy Ghost. He was very firm on the fact that we are engaged in THE most important work on the planet, and that is bringing the gospel of Christ to the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. He was emphasizing how we take our calling very lightly, and don´t realize the importance of what a mission really is. He also was saying how when Christ suffered for us so that we could have the atonement, he was COMPLETELY alone. Now we, as missionaries and members, enjoy the blessing of the Atonement. But, we should never leave Christ alone again. And we can stay by His side when we help others know about this gospel. and thats the most important thing. We should not leave Christ alone again, we need to make sure we stay with Him. I also liked something he said about missionaries are shepards. We guide His sheep back to Him, and a shepard CAN NEVER LEAVE THE CHURCH. We made a lifelong commitment to stay faithful when we signed up to be a missionary, and we made a covenant when we went through the temple to go on a mission and we expect people to change on the mission and so we need to make sure we change and we stay changed. We cannot leave the church, because we have to show the importance of the church to the people we are teaching here. When a missionary leaves, they tell their converts that the gospel doesn´t matter. But it does, its THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. He also emphasized how the Book of Mormon is the evidence and the most important tool that we have right now! We need to use it and to testify of it and to always strengthen our testimony of it.

I hope all that made sense, because I am trying to type really fast, but really was a huge blessing we had to listen to an apostle of the Lord share his testimony and to really be blessed and edified by him. 

I know that this is the true church, I know without a doubt. I know that this is the most important work, and I realize I have a lot to change to show the Lord that this really is important to me. 

Also this week we started exploring a new area that´s called Ontaneda, its on a mountain and really high up! It has an amazing view and it´s gorgeous!! And we have found some really interested people and have found a couple of new people from exploring up there!! 

Funny story: I was saying, when we were talking with some members, how if missionaries don´t get to the house on time at night, we turn green (like shrek) and then this member replied, and he said ¡Claro, por eso se llama gringo!-Of course, that´s why they are called gringo! (Pronounced green-go) I thought it was a pretty funny joke, and I hope you guys do too :)

I love you all and sorry that this letter is kind of all over the place!!!

Mucho Amor,

Hermana Cordon

My group from the MTC, first time we were all together again, since verification meeting in June!

6 Months!

¡Hola familia!

Time is really flying by here in Ecuador and the fact that it`s monday again really gets to me every week, because it always feels like yesterday the last time I wrote. And the fact that I can say I have 6 months in the mission is so crazy, it feels like yesterday that I stepped off the plane here, but yet not at the same time. I have had so many experiences and have met so many people these last 6 months and I am excited for the next year to keep growing and learning and meeting even more people to share this gospel with! Make the most of every second, because before you know the seconds will have passed and you haven`t changed. Make sure you are always changing and growing!

My thoughts on the policy change: I know that we have a prophet called of God guiding this church, and I know that we will never go astray if we follow and trust President Monson. Don`t doubt your testimony of this amazing church, because it`s not the popular opinion according to the world. 

This week was an interesting week, but great!! Here is an interesting story for all of you: This week 2 different investigator families told us that after the first visit with us that had an interesting experience with evil spirits. This family that I have been talking about, Flia Medina, had one of these experiences. They said that in the middle of the night something threw 4 pens really hard from one end of the house to the other end of the house. And they said that they knew it wasn`t from God, and that they weren`t scared. I am so happy that they weren`t scared and that they recognized immediately that it wasn`t from God. Satan is really trying and the people here in Ecuador are so perceptive to spiritual things both good and bad, that they have these experiences so insane with evil spirits. But, we were able to bring an Hermano from the church with us so that he could bless their house so that they can have protection from these spirits at all time. I am thankful for the power of the priesthood and the knowledge that the evil spirits can`t do anything if we don`t let them. 

Also something really cool, Flia Medina and Flia Aguiler, (our 4 progressing investigators) all have really old BOM that they recieved from someone a long time ago. That is just evidence to me that the Lord has been preparing these people for some time so that they would be receptive and open to this gospel at this time with me and Hna Molina. And these BOM are really cool the 1980 and 1960 versions of the BOM :) 

Ecuador is very predictable in the weather here. It is always really nice and sunny in the morning and then really rainy and windy in the afternoons. Every day. And the rainy season here is their winter. Everyone is saying how this is winter and it`s so cold, yet I am always perfectly comfortable with a light cardigan. They just don`t understand what a true winter is here in Ecuador. haha :) 

I love you all and I hope you all have an amazing week! 

Hna Cordon

La Primera Vision

¡Hola Familia y amigos! 

Espero todo está bien con todos! 

Today for pday we had a zone activity to play some group games; dodgeball and ultimate frisbee! It was so nice to just be able to run around and spend time with the missionaries! I love the activities where I get to wear pants :) The little things such a pants on the mission make me so happy! And the pictures are me and the other hermanas in my zone. In the photo with everyone on piggybacks is the companionships, and on bottom is the gringas (hermanas from the US) and on top is the Latinas. Each companionship is a latina and a gringa it´s pretty cool :)

This gospel is simple and we should be so quick to just follow the commandments and know that the commandments are not hard to follow and nor should they be. Yesterday we had a lesson with the family that we found last week, and they weren´t able to go to church because of their jobs. So we decided to have a lesson about the sabbath day and how we need to keep it holy. And in the lesson we always start with explaining the commandment and then we tell them the blessings and the blessings are always to comfort the people that they won´t suffer if they follow this commandment, but yesterday was a completely new experience for me. When we explained the commandment, before we even mentioned the blessings, the father said "I need to follow this commandment, so I need to find a new job so that I can go to church every sunday and not work on sundays." Hearing that made me so happy! It really should be that simple! We shouldn´t even have to hesitate to be obedient to the Lord´s commandments and his desires! 

This week the Lord has really blessed us with putting a lot of new people in our paths who want to listen and are open to following God in a different path than they are currently on. I had many opportunities to share my testimony with a lot of new people this week and I love being able to share my testimony and helping others know how to come closer to Christ. It truly is a blessing to me that everytime I share or listen to my companion share the first vision, the Spirit that I feel everytime confirms to me that this gospel is true. I know that this church is true, I know it without a doubt. I know it´s true, because EVERYTIME I hear the first vision the Spirit is so strong and I cannot deny the feeling that is testifying to me every single time. Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God, and he restored the gospel of Jesus Christ. He didn´t create a new church with his own opinion on the things of God, but he was a humble boy who sought the will of the Lord and recieved an answer that has affected my entire life. Because I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I have been guided in every moment of my life. I am who I am today, because of this gospel. I am a missionary here in Ecuador, because I know that this is the true church of God on the earth and I have a divine mission to share my testimony and let others know about this gospel and give them the opportunity to accept this gospel in their lives. And that´s the wonderful thing about God, we have our agency. And with our agency we CHOOSE to live with God again or we CHOOSE our own path with our own desires. God doesn´t have different opinions and with that we know that their is only one way to follow God the way God wants us to follow Him. And I know that this is the way and their is no other way that can bring the true happiness that everyone is looking for! With this gospel we can have never-ending happiness! (Mosiah 2:41) I know these things are true and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

LOVE YOU ALL!! :)
Mucho Amor, 

Hermana Cordon