29 September 2014

Hola,

It was quite a week out here in the Santa Rosa Mission. I have learned
so much more about the importance of life - what I need to let go as a
human being and what I can do to help uplift and strengthen others.
How I have the ability to bless others, but only if I have all of my
stuff together!

Last Monday was a simple day with a lot of plans that fell through.
But p'day was fun because we went to Fort Bragg to go to the beach. I
didn't get pictures from one of the other Sisters but it was really
fun. It almost felt like Southern California beaches. The sun was out
the sand was warm! It was really fun!

Then on Tuesday I had the most unique lesson of my whole mission. Our
investigator Georgina had actually read the pamphlet, so rather than
us teaching her everything we answered questions. Her first question
was, "Who is Joseph Smith?" So we focused on the restoration, then we
hopped from principle to principle, out of order, but it totally made
sense for her. I really felt that we were teaching to her needs! It
was really enjoyable to learn about how the Lord cAn direct us in ways
that we never new.

Thursday it was raining! Which I was so happy about! I love
the rain! The only problem was I discovered that I had worn a hole in
my shoe and so the water really leaked in, but I didn't let that get
me down! Then we went to one of the member's homes who own this lovely
ranch and her cabiny house was so cosey and fun! Then we had soup and
cornbread and it was a very homey moment for all of us missionaries.
We taught her a practice lesson. It was all just so homey and
fun! I really enjoyed it!

Thursday it was also a little bit of a slow rainy day, but it
was good. We were at the family history booth again and that always
has its own little surprises with people being interested and others
who are definitely not interested. We had another member lesson
with the new couple that moved in who speak Spanish. They seem eager
to be part of missionary work and so we are excited to use them more
in the future! They are just such a sweet couple! They are great! Then
we headed home a little early to find one of the Sisters teenage
investigators at our door. We had an interesting experience trying to
help her with some things she was working through! It was a moment
where I truly felt needed for my skills and I was grateful to be
there. It also really strengthened my testimony of Jesus Christ and
how much he feels for us and the love he has for us!

Our little event on Thursday evening made Friday a little different.
We did serve lunch at the senior center so that was entertaining as
usual serving all the seniors. Then we planned for, we didn't know
what, because we didn't know what was happening for transfers! We
went to dinner at the Bishop's house which is always very enjoyable and
enlightening! Their family always fills us with power! We hope to help
them along the way too! We got the call about transfers. So drum
role....... I am staying in Willits and I am TRAINING, so I am getting
a GREENIE for my last transfer. I haven't been assigned a companion
yet, so that news will be forthcoming! We went to visit a sister
who's life is really troubled with dying family members and anxiety,
but somehow she can usually find the positive! So we just helped her have
that spiritual strength that she needed!

Saturday, our evening was very busy. We had a lovely evening with
the Women's Broadcast. Hearing from our leaders and prophets! I was so
uplifted and strengthened. Then we went to do the missionary moment
and the musical number at a baptism for the Elders! President Alba was
one of the speakers and it was just a wonderful meeting. It was a
little stressful, but it was good! It was fun for Hermana Hooton to go
to one last baptism as a missionary! Baptisms are always so wonderful!

Then Sunday of course was difficult to say goodbye. Also the second
counselor and his family, which makes up a significant amount of the
Aaronic Priesthood, were leaving also.  They are moved to Idaho.  We
got a new counselor and so all of the testimonies were about saying
goodbye. I wanted to share how my testimony had been strengthened this
week in the love of our Heavenly Father and also the knowledge of
Christ as our savior. It made everyone think that I was
getting transferred, but I quickly told them that I was not! It was a
good Sunday! I love the Willits Ward! They are so welcoming and kind!
I love that I am going to end my mission here.

I have been writing this letter off and on in the process of
sending off my old companion.  Now I am with temporary companions
finishing up their p-day activities.  It has all been exciting and
fun doing this and that and trying to be helpful. It is amazing how much
missionary life is now just a,part of me! I am so grateful to serve as
a servant of Jesus Christ! Well I love you all so much! I hope that
you all can know that I love you, that I am working hard and that I
plan on finishing strong!

Les quiero,
Hermana Cornwall

22 September 2014

.

Sarah sent a couple of songs she sang as attachments to her last email.  Blogger does not have an audio player so they are easiest to post as "videos" even tho' there are no visuals.

Hola,

I can not believe that we are already in week 6 of this transfer. The first couple of weeks were very slow and now it is almost over. For the first time I am 100% sure that a change will be made, but there is still the anticipation of [not] knowing what changes they are! It was another amazing week. With lots of great miracles and moments!

On Monday I had a great 16 month mark day. It just gave us reason to celebrate which was fun! Then we had an amazing 1st lesson with the Saldana family. When we originally met them the wife had stopped us and asked for a pamphlet. She said that she would call us but never did so we just kept bugging her. Then almost a month later we have an appointment with her. So, we knock on the door and her daughter answered. She told us she wasn't home. We were a little disappointed, but then she said that she was at her aunt's apartment so we go over there and she asked us to come back at 8:00. SO, we came back at 8 and the whole family was there! Even the daughter-in-law. We gave them a house blessing. Then we talked more about God and how he guides us. Everyone seemed engaged and interested so we are excited to see the future of their family.

Tuesday was another great day. We started it off with a wonderful district meeting! Then we went to do service at the senior center. It is always so interesting to be there and try to help out. Then we had an appointment with one of our investigators, Sandra.  We brought a new sister that just moved in, who speaks Spanish, but of course, she was not home. Then we went to a potential in the same trailer park and she let us in. We had given her a house blessing the previous week.  The one who had never let anyone from any religion come in. We came in and talked about the Book of Mormon. We had left her one the last time we were there so we explained a bit more in order to help her understand the importance and start reading it. Part way through her husband came in and joined in the lesson. It was a good family bonding moment for them. The accepted our invitation to read and so we are going to follow-up with them about it this week! We started teaching a second family! Then we had a practice member lesson with one the teenagers of the Ward. She is really sweet and had really good and deep questions for us. It was a good practice. It was also so nice just to get to know her! Anyway it was a really good day!

Then on Wednesday we had planned to do service for the Bishop's neighbor but she forgot to buy the paint. So, we went out in search of service and couldn't find anything. We stopped by the homes of members and went to some food banks, but no luck!

We went to an appointment for a house blessing with Georgina. She told us that she is a believer of the Catholic Church which means she isn't very active, but she believes in God. She enjoyed the house blessing and accepted a second visit.  We will see where that goes. Sometimes as missionaries you can't tell if someone is just being nice or they actually are interested. With her it is also very questionable, but the best part is that we can just try it out and see what happens. In the evening we had a nice talk with JB. She just moved back into town. She acts like our mom, so we wanted to take care of her for a change. It was nice to just talk openly with her and answer her questions and help her to learn more about the gospel!

Thursday we went to Laytonville to see a potential we had there. It was raining, but it just made all the trees and things look so pretty. We went by the potential's home and were a little surprised when an older non-hispanic woman answered the door. Turns out that her husband was the potential and when he came to the door he let us right in. They were very welcoming to us, not too interested, but we shared Because of Him with them and left them with a prayer.  At least we planted a seed of the Spirit for later! It was a wonderful experience.  We headed back to Willits for the Farmer's Market. The coolest part about it is that we met these 2 girls traveling from Spain.  Hermana Hooton and I got to talk to them in Spanish. It was really cool. The part that was even cooler was the man in the booth across from ours officially introduced himself and now we are acquaintances.  He sells produce and assorted meats like lamb. He gave us free lemon cucumbers just to snack on.  He was really nice! He is also a very good business man. I have noticed him before and how he networks with people and things like that.  He does a very good job.  It was nice to officially meet! In the evening we taught a member lesson to Sister Starr. I love being in a member's home because it helps us learn who they are, be in their environment.  To me that is when the relationship really develops! We talked about the spanish work and how it is starting to boom, but that we still need the members help. She gave us some people we should go and see. It was really nice. Except the scary part was that she lives up in Brooktrails.  We had to travel in the dark on a windy mountain road, but we made it home safe!

On Friday evening after planning, we went for a walk with a sister in our ward. I know she has had medical problems which restricts her at times from coming to church  She recently had a doctor appointment where they told her that her brain is like someone who is 85 when she is only in her 60s. In order to slow down the memory loss she needs to be more active, verbally and physically. SO, we went with her on her nightly walk and got her talking! It was a really nice stroll through the country side and a tour of her farm! We really enjoyed it. It was so peaceful and relaxing and we did a lot of good. We were also walking with her neighbor who works on the farm and is also a member.  When this sister went home, the other sister had us help move chickens and see the wool she had died from her sheep and things like that. I learned a lot about animals and got to be around a lot of them too! The best part was seeing their draft horse compared to their other horses. He was HUGE and I was amazed at the differences! It was a nice little experience.

On Saturday morning we went to a baptism for the spanish elders in Ukiah. We did the missionary moment, when they were changing.  I sang a song with Hermana Hooton accompanying (the Baptism Song included). It had been a while since I sang a solo.  I really enjoyed it. Baptisms are always great! We were so happy to be there to support. The Elders invited us to lunch with a member, one of the spanish member,s and so we got free tacos and boy were they good.  I realized how much I missed hispanic food.We had a night of finding because of canceled appointments and things.  W have some that have potential so we are excited to go back!

Sunday was lovely. We did a special presentation in PEC about how we all need to "Work together as one" and that missionary work really needs to start with the Ward Council if you want it to grow! It was the Primary program, which was awesome of course! I love to see those little kids being silly and bringing the Spirit! It is always a great experience. After church we went to Covelo. I don't know if I have explained Covelo before. It is a town in our area over an hour drive from Willits. Our ward missionary leader lives there as well as the 1st counselor in the bishopric.  They are currently the only active members. Every 3rd Sunday they have a Sacrament Meeting there in the afternoon. The 4 of us missionaries went to Covelo. The only problem is that it is in the valley and so the road to get there is very windy and doesn't make you feel very good, We got there safely.  Sadly, no one showed for Sacrament Meeting.  We just had a special meeting for missionary work in Covelo. We planned to organize a caroling group as well as a day we could come up and do missionary work in Covelo. It was great to support them in the efforts to strengthen the kingdom. The one default was I got pretty sick on the way back. I didn't actually throw up or anything, but I am still recovering from the symptoms.  We are going to Fort Bragg today, another windy road, so I don't know what is going to happen. Anyway I took it easy the rest of the night and I hope everything goes well today!

I hope you all are having a great day and I hope you will have a wonderful week. I am so very grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord. To see my weaknesses and turn to him in order to make them strengths. There really is plan for us here on this earth and my hope is to fulfill it the way God wants me too!

Les Quiero!

Hermana Cornwall

15 September 2014

Package from a nice mom

Hola,

16 months ago today I was dropped off by Katie at the Provo MTC to begin my service as a missionary for the Lord. Time had flown by so fast I can't even believe it. Every Sunday night I think about how I am going to talk to my family again and I can't believe that another week has already gone by. This week was a great week. Lots of moving forward and lifting up and committing to do more and be better and follow the will of the Lord for me and for my life!

So last Monday evening was amazing. We went to our appointment, a little late, and started teaching Sandra again. We had taught her 1 lesson before and she asked us to come back in September.  We came back and she let us in. She didn't have much time so we watched Because of Him and it really touch her and her daughter. She really wants her kids to know more about Jesus Christ. We talked more about the atonement and invited her to church! Then she tried to make our appointment [for next month] and I thought " We aren't your visiting teachers! We are here to teach you!" So, luckily she made an appointment for this week.  We won't have to wait until October! We went to an appointment for a house blessing with a woman named Belen. It means Bethlehem in spanish. We talked to her son and she came out to meet us. Within seconds she was crying and she asked how we knew that she needed help. We tried to tell her that the Lord takes care of us. She has been having some family problems.  We are not sure exactly what they are, but we said a prayer with her and her 2 children and they were really grateful and they felt the Spirit. She told us that she had never let anyone into her house even those from her own religion, but she let us in! It was really amazing. She definitely could feel the Spirit.  It was powerful to give someone exactly the comfort they needed from our Heavenly Father!

Tuesday we had another miracle. We went by to see Juliana. We have been trying to make daily contact with her, because she had kind of seemed odd when we have seen her in the past and she wasn't letting us come in or making appointments with us. We stopped by on Tuesday after having seen her a few days in row to see how she was doing AND SHE LET US IN! It was awesome. The lesson we had with her before we had brought Sister Southwick. Then 2 weeks ago Sister Southwick said hi to her in Taco Bell and that really impressed Juliana and her Husband. She told us more of how it was so nice to have someone say hi and be so nice to her and her family.  We told her that the Southwicks are moving to be the new temple president. Then we talked about temples and it just automatically lead to talking about the plan of salvation.  It was just a great lesson! WE were so happy that she let us come in again and we have an appointment for this week!

Wednesday we had interviews with President and Sister Alba. It is always nice to have just a few minutes one on one with our " Mission Parents".  I do my interviews with President Alba in spanish and it really seemed to flow this time.  I like how it felt that I had improved. It was my last regular interview with the Alba's. I will still have my exit interview, but that is it. It is funny how I am starting to get to all of the lasts. Then I went on exchanges with Sister Murphy. She is a great big ball of excitement and yet a little slow moving when it comes to getting out there and working! It was a fun exchange. I was in the [English] Sister's area and so there aren't too many people you would recognize.

On Thursday morning we went a saw a less-active from Fort Bragg who is in the hospital here. He is paralized on his left side and is also not an active member of the Church, but he accepted our visits. I have seen him a few times and it was wonderful to see his emotional and physical progress. I love that we can find home, even in desperate times! Then we had lunch with the Bishop's wife. We asked the Bishop what we could do for him and he said, "take my wife out to lunch". The wonderful part is that we benefitted more even though we were "giving" the service. She is a woman full of wisdom and willing to share it. We talked about the work and investigators and marriage and they were all just wonderful discussions on the struggles and expectations of it all. She is an amazing woman and I am grateful to know her! We decided we should make these lunches a regular thing.  We will see what happens. We were still on exchanges and we were at the family history booth at the farmer's market. We always meet such interesting people and help them get connected to their ancestors so they can feel the spirit, it is fun!  

 

Friday we did our planning and went to dinner to one of the investigators of the {English] Sisters. His name is Rob. He lives at a member's home. He is an ex-convict. He has been in jail multiple times and now is on parole so he can't get baptized until next year, but he is awesome. He has truly changed and repented and now it is just a matter of waiting, but in the time he is continuing to change and grow.  It is awesome to see. He is basically a member already, it just isn't official yet! We ended up being their for quite a while because he just kept talking about his life and the experiences he has had and lots of funny and crazy stories for a couple of Mormon girls like us.  It was really nice to just hear him out and understand him even more!

Saturday we helped with a memorial service. We helped set up the luncheon and then we sang in the service. I played the piano, which was fun because I don't get to do that very often because Hermana Hooton is a superior pianist.  She always gets asked, but I offered since it was just a missionary number.  We sang I Am a Child of God. We were just going to do it straight from the Children's Song Book.  We just kept adding and changing and it turned really good. I recorded it, but didn't bring my i-pad to e-mail so I will have to send it next week.  You can all anticipate my wonderful piano playing. Thank you Mom for making me practice and stick with it so that I not only could have that skill but bless the lives of others also! It was a lovely service and we were happy to be the support. The cool thing is that the daughter of the woman that died, who isn't a member, is very interested in temples and eternal families. She just loves the idea of being sealed to her mother and her son that died as a child for time and all eternity! She lives in Santa Rosa.  We are getting her connected with the missionaries down there.  We are excited!

Sunday was a crazy day. Jose, the less-active, came to church. SO I translated for him! Though I am not perfect I am glad to make some sense. Then Hermana Hooton played the piano in Primary for a little bit. Then we went out to find Jose and we looked in all the priesthood meetings and then we called him and he had gone home. SO we had hopped from place to place and still ended up in Relief Society! Then I passed off my  investigator online to have her go meet with the missionaries in her area!  SO I am hopeful for her! We went around trying to see people with little success.  We ended our night very happily and I am just trying to finish strong and happy, because it is much better than anything else.

I hope you had all an amazing week and another one to come! I love you so much!

Love,

Hermana Cornwall

08 September 2014

Hola,

This week was exceptionally good! I say exceptionally because one good thing kept happening over another and even though there were a few bad things it really doesn't matter! All the bad was outweighed by the good. There is a part of Preach my Gospel that I love. It is in lesson 3 when talking about our life here on earth! "While we are in mortality, we have experiences that bring us happiness. We also have experiences that bring us pain and sorrow". I don't know why but I always liked how this is plainly said as doctrine for part of our life here on earth! The thing I have learned from this is that we are meant to focus on the happy times and so the bad times can just drift away. Even though the pain and sorrow is still there, we can get up each day and depend on Him for our peace and strength.  We can be happy!

So last Monday we gave our presentation to one of the members in the ward. She is a single sister and so we turned it into an FHE. We gave her a little packet of spanish materials and played hi-ho cherrio which was simple and fun! She is excited to find opportunities to find spanish people. That is what I have been amazed with in this whole process, that people get really excited to talk to spanish people. They are a little nervous, but because we personally invited them they get more interested! I love it!

Tuesday was an AWESOME day! We went to zone meeting! All of it was really good. It made me want to do better even though time is slipping away! There was some more emphasis on 10 hours of service a week and the website Just Serve! I had the hope of moving onward and upward with my missionary work. We ended with a video of a representation of a literal situation in our world of a man losing his son for the sacrifice of others compared to our Heavenly Father's sacrifice of his son for us. It was very, very powerful. It made me truly consider what it would have been like for him, to save us, his imperfect children! I would all give you the link if I knew where it came from, but maybe I will find it for you one day! In the evening we had our first official English class.  We had our 1st student! It was awesome! The wait and patience was worth it! 

Wednesday we did our regular volunteering at the thrift store. We got to dress barbies and clean them up and brush their hair! It was entertaining! Then we went to go visit a potential named Liana. The story behind her was when we were calling everyone for the special fast a couple of months back,  the other sisters were making their calls but one of the numbers was the wrong number. All of a sudden Sister Andreasen runs into the room and says here talk to her she speaks spanish. SO Hermana Hooton got her address and we got a new potential. We had gone by before but she wasn't home.  On Wednesday night, she was home. We did a simple house blessing and she accepted another visit. She seemed to enjoy the peace that came for her family, especially with their family troubles. Then we had a lesson with JP, our last lesson with her in her not so nice hotel room.  She is moving in with a member to help her around the house. It was awesome to just be around her, when everything is now going right! I love it! In the evening, when we were home, we were all getting prepped and ready to go to the temple in the morning. The new Sister, Sister Murphy and I were talking as I was ironing. We were sharing some of our personal struggles and hardships and then she told me of a bad night she had recently where she prayed to have the comfort of her grandpa's spirit with her because of how bad she felt.  She told me how powerful and peaceful it was to receive that comfort from him.

 

With that in mind, I was going to the temple with a special request in my heart. To feel close to my Grandpa Cornwall. A few weeks earlier I received a blessing saying that I would have the gift of connecting with those across the veil. Not knowing when it would happen I was preparing for it to happen in the temple. Then hearing the story of Sister Murphy I realized that I could ask for it. So as I was in the celestial room I reached out and the spirit was so strong that I know he was there beside me.  It was such a pleasant experience to not have to worry that I would never see my Grandpa again because I knew that I would and I was able to receive that confirmation in the temple! I am so grateful for the sacredness of temples and the opportunities we have to prepare to be uplifted and enlightened. It also was the last time I will be in the temple as a missionary.  That also made it a tender moment. I love the feelings I have had being a missionary in the House of the Lord. Then we got back to Willits around dinner time so we had a great English class again with our student and a wonderful night!

Then on Friday we saw Liana again. We taught her the Restoration. She was interested in it all and said she would read the Book of Mormon that we left with her. She did explain to us how at the age of 9 she chose to be baptized in the Catholic Church and what she believed.  She still accepted our message and said she would ask God for herself. The only problem is that her boyfriend's mother is coming to stay for 3 weeks so we can't visit her until October.  We will see what happens. Then in the evening we got kicked out of an apartment complex by the manager even though I really wanted to tell her that we weren't soliciting anything. But it wasn't the time. We just kind of walked around, trying to talk to people! 

Then on Saturday we were going to do service with the [English] Sisters, but they canceled so we went and did more service at the thrift store.  This time we just did regular dolls! It was fun! We had an awesome dinner with the Bragdens. They were practicing on us for a luau and so there was a lot of food and it was all delicious. It is also one of those members homes were I just laugh and laugh, so it was really entertaining! Then we went out and talked to 21 people! It was awesome! We just went out and did it! We meet a lot of interesting people.  Everyone was actually really nice and it was a good experience. 

Sunday meetings were great! The 2nd counselor announced that they were moving so I was a little sad about that.. No one at church for us, even though we had the system all set up. Then for the 1st time ever I had a Skype lesson. Her boyfriend is a member and so she is familiar with the Church but just wants to learn. She is already reading the Book of Mormon and going to church. I am excited she has the opportunity to learn more! Then we had our hour of prayer. Mine was amazing of course.  Communing with our Heavenly Father usually is. I read my patriarchal blessing, thought more about the skills and patterns I still want to develop and keep as a missionary.  With only a few minutes left I decided to pick up where I left off in the Book of Mormon. Right after we got off Facebook we received word from President Alba that we would be taking a break from Facebook for a while, like a long while. SO,  I was a little bummed because I have this awesome investigator.  I wasn't too worried about it.   I opened to Helaman 5:40-52 and it answered all my concern and worry perfectly. (please insert scripture here). I am excited to take away the darkness so I can be purified and more effectively teach the gospel. I hadn't had that experience in a while where God has directly answered my concern with a block of scriptures.  It was just so powerful! Then we had a great house blessing and service opportunity after dinner. We started teaching a new family and so our teaching pool has more than doubled and I was just really feeling the blessings of Heavenly Father. It was an amazing week! I could not have asked for one better.

This week I understood more the role of Heavenly Father. He sacrificed so much for us with giving us his son, Jesus Christ, He blessed us so much and he continues to do so. His hand is in our lives. As I was receiving my personal revelation from him I asked the question - how many other people is he helping right now? I was amazed to find how powerful and watchful He really is. SO if you were worrying about it, don't ,because Heaven;y Father is watching over you! I love you all! I hope your week goes well!

Les Quiero,

Hermana Cornwall

01 September 2014

The Redwood Forest

 Hola,

I had a great this week! Crazy as always, but it has been really great! Lots of challenges, but at the same time I know they are not that important and that they will all get worked out.  The little bits of positive really out-way anything else!

On Monday we played sports in Ukiah again.  Then we all went out to a shake place for half-off happy hour shakes! It was fun to all be together doing something slightly normal! We had dinner at the Southwick's home (future temple president). It was lovely as always. We heard about some of their mission experiences and there were just some great stories. We did a practice lesson with them since they are some of the only ones that speak Spanish in the Ward. We taught the plan of salvation and I realized that I was a little rusty with finding the words I needed and so it was nice to practice!

Tuesday was our lovely district meeting and we were informed that the following day we would be having a blitz in Willits.  We realized that we needed to plan in order to accomplish that.  So we planned for the blitz which is always an awesome experience. The Lord just directs to who needs to be with who and where and it was fun to put it all together. I went on exchanges with Sister Andreasen in my area! For the first time ever we actually had someone show up for our English Class. We also starting a spanish class for the members and 2 of them showed up. I got to teach everyone spanish, since I didn't have Hermana Hooton with me! It was really fun and they are all excited to learn. It is fun to see the members really start to be interested in finding spanish people for us! They are excited, so we are too. We did our presentation of the 2nd counselor in the bishopric. They were wonderful as always!

On Wednesday we picked up a new investigator! It has been so long since we have taught someone and it went so well. She opened the door and said she was going to clean but that we could come in for a few minutes. We did the house blessing with her and then she was asking a lot of questions about the Church, so I introduced the Book of Mormon to her, gave her a copy and set up another appointment for this week! I am excited to see where that goes. Then we had our blitz! That was great! Rarely is our zone ever all together so it was good to see everyone! It was just a really great day, and a great exchange and a great blitz and now we have a few more potentials to go and try! Als,o we had this amazing experience in the evening. We went to go see a potential and there was a woman sitting outside in the front yard, she was not our potential and she told us that the family wasn't home because she had knocked and no one answered so she was taking a rest on their bench. As we continued talking to her she told us that she had been having problems with her daughter, that she won't let her see her grandchildren and needed help with food and things and how she doesn't have money, and she had back problems so it hurts to work and she does it anyway.  The best part was that we got to console her with the atonement and the plan of salvation. She doesn't understand it all yet, but we hope to help her more in the future! It was a divine moment where Heavenly Father put us in the path of one of his children that needed help and we were able to his work! I love that happening as a missionary.  It is truly a beautiful thing to see! I love it!

Thursday we had a more crazy day because we did our planning a day early, because Sister Andreasen was going to Santa Rosa for MLC.  We got to be with Sister Murphy. She is just a spitball of energy. She just goes and goes! She was a fun person to have around us! The difference in our evening was that we were full of appointments, because we combined things.  We planned with things the [English] Sisters had! So we went to go do our presentation to the Burton family! They are so fun and funny! Then we went to go see a less-active in the hospital. She has been paralyzed on his whole left side and she really blames God for it all, but she lets the missionaries in, so that is good! We went to see Brother Munson. I think I have mentioned him before.  He is someone that gets visits from the missionaries on a regular basis, just to lift his spirits. That was a hoot too.  We were just laughing and having fun.  It ended up being a really good night!

Friday we did service at the senior center! We helped with their daily lunch. It was so much fun and there were so many wonderful people! They were all so grateful for us and we were happy to help! Then we had a few lessons in the [English] Sister's area, One with a teenage girl investigator, who just needs to get baptized.  She is ready, but there is something holding her back. The lesson was a little off, but we hope that she will continue on doing good! We went to visit JP, a struggling recent convert. She is getting welfare from the Church and she has been trying to find a job but couldn't.  We were able to cheer her up! Then we went to see Rob, another investigator of the [English] Sisters. It was another lesson where I just kept laughing and laughing! We talked about obedience and endurance to the end. He is on probation so he can't get baptized, but he is changing for the better! Then we saw Brother Munson again which was great, as always! SO it was a good and busy night! Well really the whole day!

Saturday we did service for Sister Pollock! She has health problems. We were just doing little projects for her around the house! It is fun to learn how to be handy to screw that and glue this and clean this.  I really learn a lot! Then we did our presentation for an 80+ year old woman in our ward who is a ward missionary! She said at the end that she would really try and help us find spanish people. She even gave us a bag of cookies when we left. Hermana Hooton called her the perfect Grandma! Then after dinner and our coodination meeting, Hermana Hooton and I had 0 contacts. We were a little concerned so we decided to go and get it done! It really was a miracle and we got 20 contacts in and 1 hour and 15 minutes. Hermana Hooton was a beast.  Most contacts she gets a little shy.  I usually have to start/do them but she just went out and did it. I saw a new fire in he which was good!

Sunday was a great day.  JP got a job and a place to live all in one swoop! I love our amazing Ward, they all make me laugh and they bring me so much joy. I feel part of the family here and that is a really nice feeling! Then Hermana Hooton got sick, so we stayed in during the afternoon.   We went out after dinner and worked! It was great! We are really trying to just do our best and that is what is important to the Lord.

I had a few realizations this week, my biggest one was about peace. As the time to think about the near future is drawing near, I have been struggling with wanting to make after mission decisions right now, when I can't. I kept telling myself to have patience and things, but it didn't feel long lasting. I fasted for peace, then in the middle of my fast Sister Andreasen told us that Sister Alba wants us to teach english invesitgators now as well as spanish which just threw a wrench into the cognates of my brain. I was thinking "I am a spanish missionary, I need something more official to tell me that I am now both, besides hearing it through the grapevine." Anyway, lots and lots of confusion and here I was worrying about something else entirely, fasting for peace and my life got pretty unpeaceful for a few hours there. I felt like no one understood what I was going through, I couldn't talk to anyone about it, just one of those moments where you cry it out because it is just too hard to do anything else.  The point of all this is, those few hours later, when I broke my fast and went out to work I did feel peace about everything, I didn't love everything about it, but I did have peace, and so that is the lesson - the Lord gives you what you need just often in different moments than we expect. The funny part is, I don't even know what is going to happen in the future, but I know it will all be alright!

SO I hope you all try and do the same and know that I love and I am praying for you! Don't forget how much the Lord loves you too!

Les Quiero,

Hermana Cornwall

25 August 2014

Hola,

So it is funny how sometimes it takes direct communication to really make things clear.  Luckily I am still learning that! So... I will get to the story about almost getting emergency transferred, but just know that this week I had a new resolve to work hard and to be happy! I realized that at times that is harder than others, but it really makes a difference for yourself and all the people around you!

This week we decided to share our new idea with the ward. To get them all the basics of finding people that speak spanish for us to teach! It went over really well.  I am excited to tell you how they all went!

Monday we had a great day.  The amazing thing was that everything we had to do that day, that we had to accomplish happened. Though it didn't happen exactly how we wanted it to, it still happened. The lesson we taught last Monday was to Brother Munson - I don't know if I have told you about him, he is an older member in the ward and he was in the hospital for a few weeks and now he is recovering at home and he struggles with depression and anxiety and so the English Sister missionaries go to visit him every night. They were going to be in Santa Rosa and so we stood in for them! It was great. He has such a happy spirit even when he is struggling, it is just a joy to be with him! Then we went to get the information for a new couple in the ward. The cool part was that they told us they are both fluent in Spanish! We have been praying for them to come into the Ward since the Southwicks are leaving.  We are really grateful for them and they don't even know it!

Then on Tuesday we went looking for service at the hospital and the senor center. The hospital people needed more long term things and so we couldn't help.  But now we are going to be volunteering at the senior center thrift store! It was nice to fill a need. Then we presented our spanish idea to the Bragden Family. They were all for it and were happy to receive the materials to do so! Also they are so much fun! We just laugh and laugh when we are there, so it was some good bonding time too! We came home to the new sister, Sister Murphy, we were so excited to be complete again!

Wednesday we showed up for our first day of Volunteering at the thrift store. We started by organizing things inside the store, then going back and preparing the donations to go out. It was a little weird, but it is really good publicity!  In the evening we went up to Laytonville to meet with the Hill family. They are ward missionaries and that was good. Members have such interesting questions about how to do missionary work. They are all specific to their needs and situations, but they never really say no to it! They were very warm and welcoming and we are excited to get them involved with the work too!

Thursday we went to the Walczykowski's home in the afternoon. (I promised I spelled the name right) They were the really amazing find because he said that 50% of the people he works with are hispanic and so he was all for having the materials to talk to them and interest them! We are excited to see what fruits come from his labors. They were so supportive of us reaching out to everyone for help!

Then on Friday we had our first district meeting of the transfer. I have just such a good vibe for our zone. We all get along really well already and it was so fun! I am really grateful for the support of other missionaries and how, even though it sounds cheesy, we are all in there together! Then in the evening, we walked around putting up  English [class] fliers. We are really trying to advertise heavily for the class, so we are excited to see who shows up tomorrow.

Saturday we were finishing our planning and we got to the step of filling out the progress report, and we realized that though we had taught all of the active members that week, we didn't have anything to put on our progress record. So we thought of what we could do, because this was the 3rd week in a row that we had nothing to really report on. So we were going to stake conference in the evening and President Alba was going to be there, and so we asked if we could meet with him, really just to ask what we could do to help our area have a little more success. He said yes and we just kept thinking of what we could say. SO we decided that the best way to be prepared for it was to go out and work hard! So we did. We found a trailer park outside of town we hadn't been to before and we knocked every door and talked to 21 people! And did 1 house blessing and set an appointment for a house blessing for someone else the next week. So when we went to the meeting with Pres. Alba, after a few minutes of talking, he said that they thought about where to send us and they weren't having any success thinking of place for us to get sent to, when for us we just wanted a little counsel. It was kind of funny to think that I could have been moving to a new area right now, hence almost getting emergency transferred but I am glad I didn't and I know I am supposed to be here in Willits, even if we have no real investigators.

SO then we had a lovely Stake Conference weekend. I guess we are far enough apart that we can have it the same weekend as you! I kept thinking about how we were doing the same thing at the same time! It was fun to think about! Then we had a lovely Sunday afternoon, we worked hard, taught another member lesson to the Relief Society President and her husband and he made us a sign for English class and it was just a good day.

One of my new goals after meeting with the Albas  is to work hard and to not hold anything back. Sometimes that is really difficult, but I know I wont regret it. Also the lesson I had confirmed for me this week was about trials and disagreements. Sometimes we have challenges and it throws a wrench in our machine called life, sometimes we want to be so mad at the wrench, but it doesn't do any good, the wrench can't do anything about it now. The beauty is that when we take the wrench out there is a lot of damage, but we are able to fix it and make it even better than before! We clean our old parts, maybe get some new ones and have a better working machine after than what we could have imagined. We have to put work and time to it, but it is always worth it! So the moral of the story is, challenges help us learn and grow!

Also I wanted to explain a little of the presentation we are doing for the members. So we are giving them Spanish pass-along cards with our information on them and then we show them this video, to get them excited about doing the little bits of missionary work:
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-09-53-elder-bednar-in-england?lang=eng

I love this video, It inspires me every time! The Way to build the kingdom is one by one, so just go get one, That is all you have to do and you will have fulfilled the Lord's purpose! Have a wonderful week! Les Quiero!

Hermana Cornwall

P.S. by the way I didn't feel one thing from the earthquake beside having a safety check from President Alba, so thanks you all so much for your love and concern!

 

18 August 2014

Hola,

Today I am saying bye to an old transfer and hello to a new one even tho' my companion and I will still be here in Willits. I am excited for what this next transfer brings. There is much to do and though it is hard, it is time to do it! I am also not an STL anymore.  I am so excited for the new Sister because I actually requested that she was an STL so I don't mind at all!

Last Monday we had the fun activity of going to the beach. We went to Fort Bragg. It was fun, definitely not a Southern California beach, but it was good. Sadly, I left my camera at home.  Pictures will have to come in the future. The Elders are kind of cut off out there so we were there to cheer them up a little bit! 

 

Sunday we had been reminded that the Bishop's neighbor spoke spanish so we saw them on Sunday, with a return appointment for Monday. SO, we came back and offered a house blessing for them. It was a great blessing! The funny thing was that while we were inside the Bishop's kids came up to the door to give them a loaf a bread. We thought about how cool it was so we went up to Bishop's after and they said they had seen us pass by and wanted to give the loaf to us, but the couldn't find us so they gave it to the neighbor, while we were inside. So great and spiritual!

We had our last district meeting, which is always sombre and then we had a fun lunch together with some of the Elders! When we got back to town we had a very simple day. We tracted into a less-active member's home. She was very nice and welcoming, so we offered a house blessing. She told us that she does visiting teaching and she is even a visiting teaching supervisor.  She just doesn't come to church. We thought that was a little weird, but that at least she hasn't put it away entirely. Later in the evening we went by one of the less-active members with the last name Cornwall, to see if having a missionary with her same name would spark some interest, but it didn't. She was not open to coming back, but at least we made the connection. She said people just keep coming to visit her and I said that we probably would continue doing that because we still have her records!  It was interesting. We had these spare 20 minutes before English class, where we didn't know what to do.  I just thought lets go out and work!  We went to our favorite trailer park and there was a couple we had met before, they were sitting on their front lawn. So I asked them if we could share a short message and they said yes! We shared Because of Him and it was great!

On Wednesday, I MILKED A GOAT!  It was awesome. There is a less-active member who has a goat farm and she makes goat cheese. We went out to help with the milking. It is quite an interesting process. We get them in pens and then have some food for their enjoyment and you have to get the milk going with one squirt and then you put on the milking machine.  When the milking machine is basically done, you have to finish milking them. It took a while to get the hang of it, but it was fun! I was so proud that I could actually do it! After dinner we went to one of our potentials homes and again just offered to share a short message and he said yes! It was great!

Thursday we did service for a single sister in the ward! She is trying to set up a tutoring room so we were helping her organize and decorate! In the evening we talked to this man and he invited us to his backyard with his personal bar.  It was a little weird.  I think we answered some pretty good questions.  We said a prayer with them, so it was good!

 

Friday we had planning and after dinner we had a practice lesson with the same sister we did service for the day before! Then we just went out again finding people to teach. Of course it was the Day we got transfer information, which is always exciting and crazy!

On Saturday we helped on a boy's eagle project at the cemetery. We were cleaning the headstones of veterans to put a veteran sticker on it! It was fun, a little warm, but manageable. Then we were finishing planning and just thinking of ways we could improve our area and our inspiration was to involve the members. We are giving the members spanish pass-along cards and simple spanish phrases and it is just going to be great!  We had our regular coordination meeting with the Ward Mission leader. When we got home we had some excitement, but it was much better in the words of Hermana Hooton, so here it is "Oh, Saturday night, there was a fire! We got home from coordination, smelled smoke (more than we usually smell. The Laytonville fire blazes on), looked over, and saw that the balcony of the apartment where the apartment manager lives was on fire! Very small flames, but still fire. The manager was gone, so one of our neighbors that's recently finished marine boot camp broke down the door and put it out with a fire extinguisher. It looked like minimal damage was done. In the meantime, Sister Andreasen was on the phone with 911. One of our other neighbors apparently does not do well in a crisis. Sister Andreasen was trying to answer the question "What type of fire is it?", and this lady snatched the phone out of Sister A's hand and started shouting at the 911 lady, swearing, and telling her "the red kind! the kind that burns apartments down! Get a fire truck here now!" And then she hung up on them. It was ridiculous. Mid-way through the excitement, Mike the manager shows up saying "I've gotten like 15 pages that my apartment is on fire! What is going on???" But it all worked out, we don't know why the fire started, and no one got hurt. We had some bonding time with our neighbors in the meantime. They actually seem friendlier to us since that night." It was great!

Sunday was great also. After church we presented our idea of involving the members to the bishop and he counseled us of how to improve it and so now we are very excited! I love the ward here and I am so excited to continue on serving! Thank you so much for all that you do! I feel your prayers and support!

Love,

Hermana Cornwall