Hello all,

Happy Friday or Saturday when ever you get this! It has been another crazy but wonderful week here at the MTC or CCM as us spanish speakers like to say. So much happens daily and weekly here that if feels like lifetimes before I write to you all again. Thank you so much for all of your love and support and I am so grateful for those outside my immediate family that have taken the time to write me. It is so Wonderful. Thank you espeically to Janice and Sis. Terrill. I love you all so much and it means so much to me that you support me while I am here.

So, A little bit of my comings and goings: Thise week has been so great. Last Friday ended with a substitute teacher that was actually one of my previous Home Teachers at BYU. It was so fun to see a friendly face. He is the one in the picture that I sent the first week. His name is Hermano Vargas and it was fun to kind of change things up a little. I felt so smooth in Spanish being able to understand and speak on a basic level. I feel so blessed to have the gift of tongues but it is easy to lose the gift as well. The next day was a good old Saturday which always tends to be a peak of being tired and stressed. It was a good day but ended with a lot of frustration with the language because it was 8:00 at night and we all just felt like we couldn't do it anymore. I think it is the Lords way of telling us that we are limited and that we need to be ready and alert for all that comes or we won't be worhty of his help. We also have to ask for it all the time because if not he could just take it away. One of the most stressful things on Saturdays is preparing our talks for Sunday for church in Spanish. It is defintely not something that you can just wing and be okay and we are all worried about the day that someone in our district actually gets picked.  

Sunday was great as normal. I love the opportunity we have to receive revelation at anytime. All of Sacrament I was scribbling thoughts that the Lord had given me to really help me feel good about serving a mission: 

• If I can ask myself everyday. "Have I done all I can today to progress?"  If I can give a shaky, "Yes" then I don't have to feel discouraged about the work I am doing
• Once I can do this work comfortably then nothing can stop me
• Humbling does not equally being broken apart and giving up
• If I have a testimony how can I not share it
• I have to enjoy this or it is going to be miserable
• I have some unknown purpose in the next 18 months and the Lord knows what I can handle and his hand is in everything
• I tend to put my whole heart in things and so if I put my heart in this work completely it will be natural to accomplish everything and do my best.

It is so great to have the Llord on my side to love, support and help me constantly. I also learned that being 100% keeps the focus. That 100% is impossible by ourselves, but it is completely possible with the Lord. I talked a little with a member of the branch presidency about a few things, like we do every Sunday and he gave me this wonderful advice of three things that if we have will make life and the work easier. Those three attributes are Peace-Tolerance-and Forgiveness. These were exactly the words I need to here and I am so glad that I have discerning leaders who are able to help with what I need.The church is so perfectly organized it is wonderful.

For our Sunday night devotional we had Stephen Allen and his wife speak to us. At the beginning of his talk he came to the pulpit and told us that he was not going to speak on what he had prepared. He was leaving his notes aside and was going to speak to us for 40 minutes on whatever the Spirit felt like we needed. It was amazing experience to be so nourished for the exact things we needed. He said some great things, but the most impactful part was when he brought up the song Come Come Ye Saints. He said that it is a perfect missionary hymn and I would have to say that I agree. What he had us do was to first watch the MoTab Choir sing and then the second time we would sing a long. The song was so powerful with just the choir but when hundreds of missionaries sang aloud the second time it was amazing how the words touched and I was amazed by the comfort that came when we sang the words "All is Well, All is Well". After that we watched Sister Monson's funeral. It was so nice to really be able understand what was going on and see her memorial services. What an amazing lady. We were all a little worried about President Monson and there are a lot of prayers coming his way from the CCM. I know it is weird but I have always liked funerals because they are a celebration of life and make us really contemplate the happiness that comes with Plan of Salvation. I am so grateful to be a part of this gospel and understand our purpose here.

Now on Monday I had a companionship break-through. It is funny how easy it is to get a little off at each other. Not to be mad but not to be happy either. This was such a day, but it was amazing how when we truly said our feelings it made all the difference. Hermana Vance is amazing. She has done so much for me and is so supportive and helpful. I love her with all my heart and I wouldn't have it anyother way. Each day our relationship grows more and more. We learn the language we teach the investigators and everday brings us closer together. It is amazing and I am so grateful for all I have already learned about companionship. Also, I have the nicest Elders in my Zone. They really care about us Sisters and are always there to love and support us in our role as a missionary no matter what we are doing or where we are. We are seeing off another district this next week which is sad but I am excited for them to do the work out in the field. We have not gotten any new districts but we hope to next week.

Back to Monday - in the evening Hermana Vance and I met a new Investigator Pablo. He has a  belief in God but does not believe in one church having the truth. The amazing things was that Hermana Vance and I both had the same impression to share that this Gospel of Christ has the fulness of the truth and we are so excited to teach him more about it in our next visit.

Tuesday was good day. We have this program called "Tall" that are grammar lessons for the language and I jist love. I love being able to gain more knowledge about the language. Later in the day we participated in the Teaching Resource Center where members of the church come to volunteer and we teach them whatever message we feel they need to hear in Spanish. They are fluent speakers and it was so nice to just be there and let the spirit guide us. We have no preparation and we only have Spanish scriptures, but it was amazing. I felt so blessed by the language and also very directed by the spirit. It was a wonderful and strengthening experience. Our Tuseday devotional was with Elder Zwick. He is a very powerful speaker. He was able to give the love of the 12 and First Presidency and he talked about building Christ-like attributes. It was wonderful as always. Then afterwards we had a testimony meeting with the district. They are so awesome and I love being surrounded by them everyday.  

Wednesday was an amazing day because I got my package. It felt so good to get some home-baked cookies and love from home. Thank you! Also, I love the Hermanas in my district they are awesome. We love to hang out and it is so great. We got two brand new Sisters in our room and it was fun to welcome them and be the experienced ones with answers. They are speaking Spanish as well so it will be a fun little adventure.  

On Thursday I had another interesting day. First it started out with a mini salon session. The other Sisters love that I can braid and do hair and they are taking advantage and it is really fun. Also I have learned that you always need to write impressions down. I get impressions for our investigators daily and hourly and if I don't write them down I can't use them. Also we have two investigators now, Julio and Pablo. We have only taught them once so there will be more to come in the future.

 I must say that the work gets hard sometimes. I was feeling relly discouraged on Thurday about not being as good as I could. Some of my fellow district members were having fun singing  and it just made me want to be better and have complete dedication to the Lord.  It is easy to get discouraged with yourself when you want to be perfect. When one gets discouraged about anything Satan starts working really hard. He likes to make me doubt being here and miss you all lots. So, some days are harder than others to be here because I love you all so much. So, I encourage you to keep to the faith because it is the only true and righteous way.

I love you all so much and here is a little Spanish for you.

(I can't write accents so it may be a little off but I just wanted you to see a little of what I do everyday)

Yo se que Jesucristo es nuestro salvador y mi hermano. Yo se que el sufrio y murio para usted y para me. Yo se que Jose Smith was un profeta y que el restaurado el evangelio de Jesucristo en la tierra. Yo se que Presidente Thomas S. Monson es un profeta y el profeta. Estoy agradecida por la oprtunidad estar aqui a ensenar le evangelio. Gracias por todos su aman. Yo se que la iglesia es verdadero. En el nombre de Jseucristo Amen. 

Con Amor,

Hermana Cornwall

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Model Missionaries at the MTC Laundry

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District Temple Trip

New Sisters

Birthday Card for An Elder

The Traditional Pointing-At-The-Map Photo

Hermano Hepworth...

The View From Our Window

Guess Who I Ran Into? (Rachel's old companion Erin Petersen)

24 May 2013

Mail & Package From Jeff & Reesa

Well, I have officially completed a little over a week here at the MTC, but it has felt like much more time due to all the changes and developments I have made in this time with myself and those around me. It has been quite the roller-coaster, but all is wonderful - great even. I definitely was feeling tired after my p-day, ironically. The schedule is intense and I was definitely noticing it start to effect me. It is funny because you go to sleep every night exhausted and you kind-of wake up exhausted. It is hard, but now after a week I have really gotten used to the schedule.

We taught our first "investigator" on Friday after I wrote you. It was a crazy experience to teach someone about a gospel I don't know well in a language I don't know at all. It was hard, but my companion and I really tried to speak from the heart. It was amazing how the gift of tongues would just work on us. Now, I must say my perception of what the gift of tongues does compares to what it actually is is very different. I always assumed that the language would just come in the midst of my studying, but the problem is you have to put the work in for it to work. It does not just come and it definitely doesn't come immediately. Well, back to our "investigator" his name is Tito and he is very spiritual, but not very religious.  He knows and prays to God but does not agree with organized religion. It is amazing to really hunker down and focus on teaching this person. From my last letter you could see that they were definitely teaching us to focus on the investigator and that is what we tried to do. My companion and I combined all these different ideas and tried to make a cohesive lesson. It definitely took work. We also were the first ones to teach Tito, which we volunteered for, but we just did it and it went ok. We struggled really feeling the Spirit let alone communicating our thoughts. It was a good experience, but I realized that I had a lot of work to put in.  

On Saturday I was still tired and we had to teach Tito again. I was feeling horrible about this next lesson. I was frustrated on what to teach, I was frustrated on trying to have unity with my companion. Then right before the time we had to teach we decided to play rock-paper-scissors as a zone to decide who goes first. Of course I lost and so we had to just go and teach him. I did not have the right mind set and I was too worried about me to really have a good experience. Needless to say the lesson did not go so well. I felt like I didn't talk at all and that I couldn't do it. I talked to one of our Zone Resource teachers, who is a teacher that comes to help us when they don't have a district of their own, and he said that we, as a companionship needed to practice. I was so excited because this was the hope I had been needing. That there was something I could do to feel more confidence.

Then Sunday came - I was told it was a very enjoyable day and they were right. The weirdest thing was the schedule. So, to keep with our missionary time we had church at 7:30 in the morning. It was so weird to have it that early, then after Sacrament we had breakfast, then we had study time, then we had Relief Society which is for all the Sisters at the MTC. Sacrament was interesting because a lot of it is in Spanish and we all have to prepare talks for every Sunday because we could be called on to speak.  Relief Society was wonderful because they have guest speakers come to speak to us to teach our"lesson". The cool things was that the week before Janice Kapp Perry came to speak and she introduced two more verses to As Sisters In Zion and she actually changed the title to The Sisters In Zion. They are very missionary oriented and we got to sing them in the meeting and it just made me feel empowered to be supported through song as a missionary. Then we just have study time, doing anything we want and it was nice to not be pressured to do anything in particular. The evening was filled with two powerful meetings - the first was the Devotional. Mary Ellen Edmunds spoke to us and she was so funny and spiritual.  She has served on the RS board and has served 4 full-time missions. She was the perfect person to talk to us. She made us all feel really optimistic and to try to be optimistic about our missions and that Jesus is the perfect boss. Then we watched a talk from Elder Bednar on Christmas from here at the MTC about the character of Christ. I wish I could give you every detail but the summary of it was that we should be focused outward not inward. Our natural man wants us to focus on us when we are out on a mission, but in order to be a better missionary we must be like Christ and focus on others and what they need. That is the definition of Christ and it will take a long time but it will be worth it in the end. The best part is that he helps us to be better and so he just helps us all around.

We taught again on Monday and it was amazing. We felt the spirit and spoke the language to the best of our abilities and just felt great about it. The whole day I had just felt empowered that I was doing well. Then we had the lesson that night with Hermano Ferguson. After it I felt discouraged and Homesick but I talked it out with my companion and it was so nice to let her know what I was feeling and she was so understanding and empathetic. Companionships really are divinely instituted and I definitely got one of the best ones out there.  

On Tuesday I was charged and ready to go. We had an amazing class with Hermano Ferguson on the doctrine of Christ. It was in English and it was so nice to be able to understand what was going on and to be able to say my thoughts. Most days I don't feel like the oldest girl in my district but I am definitely one of the few people that are willing to bare their soul in class. It has taken me all three years of college to be able to comment on what is going on so I don't blame others for not being as talkative about things. The lesson was amazing. I really felt  encouraged by it all. Then we had a devotional by Elder Nash of the 70 and his wife and he spoke on the doctrine of Christ. I wish I could write everything he said because it was amazing but my general thoughts of the whole meeting were that the Lord knows what I am doing even if I don't and that I would feel incomplete if I didn't fulfill my personal call to serve. The talk was amazing and I truly needed it. Then we had a district testimony meeting that was so sweet. After that, by request all of the Sisters got blessings from the Elders. Each one of the Elders gave one of us a blessing and each of them were in the circle for ours. It was  such a powerful and wonderful and bonding experience. I am so glad to be surrounded by worthy priesthood holders and to be able to partake of the blessing of the priesthood.  

Wednesday was more of down day. Our lesson with Tito went well but we didn't improve in any way and the language was hard again but all was well. Then yesterday, Thursday, we had a wonderful class with Hermano Ferguson and a little surprise for our evening class. We got a new teacher. His name is Hermano Hepworth and it was one of the best lessons yet here at the MTC. Probably because most of it was in English.   I am so excited to work more with him. He helped us out so much with really using our time and resources and building our testimony. 

Life here at the MTC is amazing. Everyday brings ups and downs, but it is truly the perfect preparation to be out in the field. I realized on Thursday that I am so excited for the next 5 weeks and I am so excited for all the things I am going to learn. Thank you for all of your love and support. You all are the greatest. I think of you all every day and cannot wait until we are all reunited again. 

Love you with all of my heart.

Hermana Cornwall

p.s.   Thank you for all of the notes and emails, especially Jeff and Ressa for the package

Girls in our Zone - 4 of them left this week and it was really sad for all of us even tho' it was a short time

My District

Girls in our room - 2 left this week

 

Friday, May 17. 2013

Hermana Vance & Hermana Cornwall

Dear Family,

Hello from the MTC! Wow it has just been wonderful! Everything has been so great! 

So, now I will tell you everything I have done in the past few days. The first I did was to get wisked away by another missionary and taken to go get my missionary tag, key and all the little things that I would need. They definitely have the system down of how to get everyone's stuff out in an efficient manner. It was amazing how I instantly forgot all the sadness I had been feeling all day and that I just jumped in with both feet.Then we went ot drop off my stuff in my room. I was the first one there, besides two sisters who were already living in my room, and so then we went to go pick my big bag of materials. It has all the books and papers I need to be an effective missionary in Spanish. 

I then went to my classroom and met my teacher. His name is Hermono Ferguson. He served his mission in Uraguay and he is amazing. He spoke in Spanish right off. When I say spoke in Spanish I mean everything so we have been truly immersed. The first day of class was so great. Spanish slowly started coming back and it was just empowering. The one thing I really loved was our phrase SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE. It means to, as much as possible, speak in your assigned language. I am really excited to do it. It has definitely been the best part. The language is awesome, I love it. 

By the time we finished class my companion still had not come so I joined with the other sisters. To describe my district - there are four hermanas, all going to Santa Rosa and four elders all going to different places. Two are going to San Bernardino, one to the Tallahassee Florida! (Jeff- if you have any tips let me know) and the other I can't remember. Than we went to a meeting with MTC mission presidency and they gave great council and it was very fun to be in a room of brand new missionaries all on our first day. Then we had dinner which was very fun and then we just had personal time. All of us sisters decided to make our beds and unpack. By the way, I did not need my sheets yet either. Then low and behold my companion walked in. Her name is Hermana Vance. She is so wonderful and kind and truly is a strength to me all ready. She is from Alberta, Canada and is 20 years old. By the way, I think I am the oldest sister in my zone so far, but it honestly doesn't feel like it. 

My companion is great and I am really excited to get to know her even more. After our free time we had the Wednesday experiences of possible investigator situations that we could be put in. I was grateful for the opportunity to gauge how I would react because it gave me confidence that I am on the right track with how I teach others. 

Then we came back and tried to unpack. We met the other two sisters in our room - one is named Sister Singh and she is from New Zealand. They leave next week but it is still fun to get to know them. Then we met our zone leaders and they leave next week as well but they were really kind and helpful. All of my zone speaks Spanish so it is so nice to be able to ask them questions. The funny thing is that they seem so much older even though they aren't. There is something about your experience at the MTC that really makes you seem experienced. 

Then yesterday [Thursday], our first full day was great. We had some study time and then a workshop on people and your purpose. It was really nice to focus on the investigator, if that it is the one thing I have learned it is that the investigator is key to it all. Hermana Vance and I are really well matched and are pretty similar in wants and needs.  It is all working out really well. Then we had gym time and then we had more class. I love class because I just love my district and teacher. I get excited in class rather than discouraged. At times it is very hard to understand but then it all works out in the end. 

Then they told us that we would need to teach a lesson in Spanish today, Friday, to Tito, an investigator. All of us got very nervous and it is a lot of pressure but Hermana Vance and I have faith in our abilities and understand our weaknesses. Then, we met our Branch President and his counselors and they all seem really kind and generous and I am thankful to have such leaders. 

My companion and I are committed and determined to speak our language as much as possible. We are doing pretty good and I am glad for the experience. The more I speak it the better it gets. Then today was obviously my p-day. The first thing we did was go to the temple as a zone. I really enjoy being with them and we did an endowment session and it was nice to be able to just be peaceful in the temple. For fun afterwards we went and ate in the temple cafeteria and it was just fun to be with all the Hermanas. We took a zone picture but it is on my companion's camera so I will get it to you another day. 

Then my companion and I prepared for our lesson with Tito tonight. We are really trying to focus on the spirit of the lesson rather than the Spanish, but I am trying to do a little of both. In the temple today Spanish really flowed freely through my thoughts and it gave me confidence in my abilities. I am one of the few in my class who actually have experience so I really try to use that to my advantage. 

I must say, overall it has been a very enjoyable experience. The Lord truly blesses those that try to serve him. It is hard but it is wonderful. I am so grateful for the spirit's influence in my life and the blessing it is to have him constantly around me. I am filled with the spirit and ready to serve in anyway I can. I love you all so much and I hope that everything is going well in your families. My time is running out, but I love you all so much. The Church is true and I am thankful we all get to enjoy it's blessings together. I have faith that this is the place I am supposed to be and I am glad that I am actually doing it. I hope I get better at writing letters, but I will write a few by hand this week. Also I hope I answered all of your questions from 'Dear Elder' and thank you for all of the letters!

- Hermano Cornwall 

P.S. The transition has been great, it has been pretty natural and easy to conform to the missionary schedule so far but I am still it will have its ups and downs.

P.S. To Mom:   Mom: I love the MTC, it doesn't even feel like I am in Provo. I love, love, love, Hermano Ferguson.  He is so awesome and I have learned so much already. I am so excited to have him for 6 weeks...  The food is good. . Spanish is going amazing. I learn so much everyday. Until next time!

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Sister Cornwall's District  Hermanas - Whitely, Lemmon, Vance, Cornwall

Hermana Vance with Hermana Cornwall

Hermana Lemmon

Hermana Whitely

Hermana Cornwall's District

Hermana Cornwall with "a boy I know who teaches at the MTC"

Sister Cornwall Lands

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Sister Cornwall's sister, Katie Anderson (and family) picked her up at the Salt Lake airport.  She had a nice lunch which included Sister Cornwall's brother and sister-in-law, Jeff and Reesa, at Jeff's school. Then Katie and family dropped her off at the MTC.  It was a fun experience for the kids to understand what the MTC (Missionary Training Center) is.  Katie said, "Elizabeth and I cried and cried as we drove away.  I explained to my kids that sometimes the things that Heavenly Father asks us to do are hard and we are so proud of Sister Cornwall for doing exactly what Heavenly Father wants her to do."

Sister Cornwall Soars

The day started early, leaving home at 4 a.m. for Ontario Airport for Sister Cornwall to catch a 6:00 a.m. flight to Salt Lake. She was ready and set to go. There were tears... more than a few and then Sister Cornwall glided up the escalator and off onto her 18th months of service, love, growth, giving and goodness

There were 4 other missionaries on the flight - two more Sisters and two Elders.  So there were not only Cornwall tears at ONT this morning.  The 5 missionaries held a little conference at the baggage claim in SLC.

Sister Cornwall She Is

Mom and Sarah took a trip to the L.A. temple this morning after Sister Frandsen's class in La Canada.

After a yummy dinner at Stonefire Grill it was down to the Stake Center.
Sister Cornwall was set-apart by the Stake Presidency.
The evening was completed with Mom & Dad reading the "Missionary Advice" shared via email from Sister Cornwall's siblings and siblings-in-law. Each one shared wonderful, inspiring, thoughtful advice and encouragement.

For Those That Are Interested

So in an e-mail I received the MTC stipulated some rules that my friends and family must follow, I am not concerned about anyone in particular but I thought I would post them just for fun before I left.

Also, please pay close attention to the following instructions:

  1. Your service begins the day you check into the MTC.  Remind your family that complete separation from loved ones is part of the sacrifice that families and missionaries contribute to the work.  For this reason, you should ask your family and friends not to attempt to see or visit with you while you are at the MTC, not even during your temple walks or at other places near the MTC.
  2. All missionary mail must come through the US Mail or commercial delivery services.  These services should not be used to send pizzas, fast foods, ice-cream, or any items that will spoil if they are not refrigerated within 24 hours.  Missionaries are not called out of class to receive packages, nor do they have access to a refrigerator.  For security reasons, we cannot accept any items delivered by hand.
  3. Communication with family can be done through your missionary email account on your weekly Preparation Day. We cannot accept telephone calls for missionaries.
  4. Families and friends should not visit missionaries as they depart to their field of labor, whether at the MTC or at the airport.

28 April 2013

Sarah spoke in Sacrament Meeting (a.k.a. farewell) in the Monrovia Ward on April 28th, just 2 days after her sister Rachel was married in the Los Angeles Temple.  All Cornwall family members came.  In addition were Grandpa C., Grandma H. and Aunt Teri, the Todd Larsens from Glendora, the uncle Jon Cornwalls, the Chris Cornwalls and Aunt Cherie & Uncle Kurt and Sarah's good friend from college, Melanie.  The Twelmeyers were also invited

15 February 2013

 As part of the whole mission process I was able to take out my endowment and go through  the temple for the first time on Feb. 15th.  Mom and Dad traveled to Utah and all of us living in Utah at the time all went to Mt. Timpanogas Temple together to come along with me. It was such a wonderful experience and I was so grateful to have that opportunity to make those commitments that come in the house of the lord.

 

03 February 2013 - The Call Comes