22 July 2013

Hola,

How is everything going out there in the normal world?  Time is flying here so I am sure that you are accomplishing just as much there too. Life here is always pretty crazy. We do so much in a day most of the times I can't believe it.  

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On Monday we had a good p-day. Soccer is always a good break for me in the week and I am slowly getting better since we do it so often. We had dinner at a member's house. Well... a kind-of member's house. He is in the English Ward but used to be the Branch President. The odd thing was that we ate at their house with out them in it. He was busy, so we used the door code to get in, ate, did the dishes and walked out. We taught a lesson in the evening with our part member family, the Rodas. The husband that is an actual investigator didn't attend so we did a little FHE with the family. Man, I definitely did not think that I would need to use my Recreation Management games, but I already have a few times. We made a contact of this single mom out on a walk. We went into her apartment and had a nice little chat. Sometimes I think that it is weird that people actually let you in the door, but I guess when you are a Servant of Jesus Christ it shows in your countenance. 

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Tuesday we had District Meeting. Can I just say, it so nice to have our little support system to progress in the work. We talked a lot about contacting and talking to everyone we see. So, my advice for future missionaries today is to start now. Talk to people. You don't have to talk with everyone, but if you have the basis already it would be that much easier to do when you are talking to someone about the Gospel when you would have just been comfortable in real life. Afterward, we had a mini-exchange with the Elders. Our Zone is so small that we only have two sets of Elders, so two are Zone Leaders and two are District Leaders. The other 8 missionaries are all Sisters so the Elders have no one to exchange with. Their solution is to have a group study session after our meeting.  It was so helpful. I am glad that I got to learn so much from them. Then in the afternoon we taught a lesson to Gabriel and Maria. They are good investigators but they are caught up on a few key doctrines, so we are just trying to clear that up. We didn't have any more lessons, but it was still a good evening. Oh, one thing that I have forgotten to mention is the 10, 3, 1. It is our daily goal of having 10 contacts, 3 lessons, and 1 baptismal invitation. We don't accomplish it every day but we really do try. Usually, out of 1 of the contacts comes someone good so it is nice to always have that in mind. 

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On Wednesday we had a no show appointment, but we had some interesting contacts. ( Family: Then the weird part was setting up Facebook. I had to go onto my old Facebook and deactivate which was weird and then had to create a new one. I am so interested to see what the future of Facebook in the missionary work. We didn't have any lessons but we did have out 10 contacts.) 

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On Thursday we had an FHE with another part-member, less-active family. The weird part was that the member was not there, but it went well and it was fun to teach the kids. We helped some of the Sisters in Woodland switch apartments. We had to clean up a lot because the Church had owned the apartment for 10 years.  It was fun. We went to dinner at the Lomeli's. The food was really good and the company was even better. We finally saw Ada again. She was the investigator that we committed to baptism my second day. We had not seen her since then but finally she was home and we taught her. She told us that she wasn't ready for baptism yet so she didn't get baptized like planned on Saturday.  She said that she is close. 

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Friday we did our awesome weekly planning. It is exhausting but good. We had another lesson with Gabriel and Maria. The problem we found was that both of them don't understand the need for baptism. The are Catholic and think that their old baptism should count. We have hopes for them and hope that we can help them to understand. We had this slightly interesting and kind of awesome contact. She is Pentecostal and has a lot of the same beliefs. She talked about repentance, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and preaching the gospel. Most people just don't know about those things so it was interesting for someone to know them when they don't have the fulness..

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Saturday morning we did service for Celia, a member in the Ward.  She asked us to come by to clean her back yard. It was fun, but it was dirty. Then we had an introduction to service. It is an interesting story. So we were referred to this woman by a contact but the funny thing is her brother is a member of the church. She wants us to help with her aged mother so we will see what comes of it. She wanted us all to meet just to see if it would all work out. Who knows what will happen but I am sure there will be more to come. We had the baptism of one of the other Sisters investigators. It was special to see one close up and personal. She was so nervous and excited and afterwards happy and tired. She is a wonderful girl and I might get some pictures next week to show you all.

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Well I love all of you so much. The Church is true and that is the only reason why I am out here serving. Thank you so much for all of your love and support and also the prayers. Keep them coming I couldn't do it without you. Have a wonderful and missionary filled week.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall

The path where Sister Cornwall runs every morning.

The lovely sunflower fields

Metal elephants at a complex that Sister Cornwall frequents.

Sister Cornwall and her companion's favorite trailer park.

15 July 2013

Hola,

Como Estan? How is life out in the real world? At times I forget how cut-off we are. For me it feels like time should  have just frozen, but I know that it has not. Life here as a missionary in Davis is Awesome. It is crazy, but it is truly awesome. This week brought a whole new set of experiences. 
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On Monday I went on my first exchange! I was a little nervous on what to expect because I was going to Dixon. [Click Here to see where Dixon is.] I had to pack my bags and say goodbye to my companion and work in an English area. The weirdest thing was to eat at a members home. Number one-  it was Thai food.  I am sure Rachel might now disagree that it was truly Thai food.  Number two - the family sat down with us to eat. Number three - we had plain water for dinner.  And number four - we dished up our own food. Obviously it wasn't that weird but it was an interesting experience. The neighborhoods were also very different. I am so used to being in a college town with apartment complexes everywhere but it was still a fun experience to learn from other missionaries. The next day I stayed until just before our dinner appointment. so I got to do some teaching and some door knocking. The person we taught was a less active with the nickname Nefi which, as some of you might know, is Nefi in Spanish, and Portuguese. She was very interesting.  It sounded like she had a rough life but she is dedicated to being a member of this Church now despite the challenges. It was nice to just give her understanding and love. Then, we traded back and went to dinner at the Contrerars. They feed us weekly. We had a rougher night and I ended it hot and tired but luckily we get to come home and have a good nights sleep so it all works out.

Hermana Cornwall's Zone and the Albas

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference. It was great! We had the four Zones around us meet, Woodland, Vacaville, Fairfield, and Woodland Spanish(that is me), all met together in Vacaville.  [Click here to see where Vacaville is.]  Zone Conference is the opportunity for the Mission President, his wife and the Assistants to the President to teach us. President Alba spoke on The Joy Of Complete Conversion. Sister Alba spoke about our purpose as missionaries. Elder Johansen(AP) spoke of the difference between a routine and a skill. Elder Mahoney (AP) told us to bring it back to Christ. And the third AP Elder Vance talked a little about how technology is going to play a role in the Santa Rosa Mission. ( - To Family only - The big Announcement was that I will now have a Facebook as a missionary. We start with it this week but the sad part is that I ahve to deactivate my old facebook, but that isn't the worst thing that could happen. I do not want to make it a big deal that I have one or really to have people know at all.  I just figure it would be easier that way so only the family knows. It doesn't really affect any of you because I can only be friends with those in the area I serve, but now you know and I am sure there will be more announcements to come.)

It was a wonderful conference.  They only come every few months, so I was honored to have it so soon in my time as a missionary here in Santa Rosa. As a little treat and to save on miles we had a little sleepover with the Sisters in Woodland. It was fun to just have some bonding time. We had brownies and ice cream and pancakes the next morning. It was fun.

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Thursday we had our District Meeting. It is so fun to have a group of missionaries on which you can depend  to support you. We had pan Dulce again which was so good. I have always seen the bread before but I always thought that it wouldn't taste good or would be hard.  It is good. It is like moms rolls with sugar on top. Then later we had a lesson with Crystal our 14 year old investigator. She is so awesome. She totally gets the gospel and we hope that she will enter the waters of baptism soon. Even though she is 14 she is very mature and very open and I hope that she really commits to being a memember of the true gospel on the earth. Then we taught this women named Yesica. We had contacted her husband earlier and have just been wanting to teach the family all together.  They have been busy or not all home.  Today we just decided to teach her anyway. It was an interesting expereince to talk to someone who didn't really know much about God or Jesus Christ. It is also very hard to simplify the gospel when to use all the complicated things seems so clear. We see a lot of potential with their family and hope that things work out, but we will see.
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On Friday we had our normal weekly planning which takes hours, but it is essential. It is when we look over all we have done and set goals and make plans for what we will do. The most crucial part is planning for investigators. They always need something or some lesson and we have to plan for it. After planning we went and taught some former investigators named Gabriel and Maria. It was a tough lesson because they got kind of stuck on the need for prayer and Church as family. The most difficult part for me was to really understand what was going on in Spanish. I didn't say much.  I hope we were able to emphasize how important everything is as a family. Then in the evening we went to see if we could teach another former investigator for the first time and we were able to meet the father of the family and he asked us to come back for a lesson later the next week. We were so excited to meet him and excited to teach them. Then we also met up with the Rodas family. They are a part member, less-active family and the miracle about it was that they were going to come to Church this week and we were so excited! 
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Saturday we had a stake picnic with hot dogs, softball, and soccer. The cool part was that the Stake President was playing alongside everyone. We didn't participate in any of the games but it was fun to meet so many people from the Stake. Then we went to an appointment. She was a no-show so we took a chance and went to another part of town and taught an interesting, but awesome, lesson to another former investigator. She was a pretty devout Catholic, but still willing and open to hear what we were talking about. The most interesting part was when she started to pray to Santa Maria in the middle of our lesson.  It was still good. We had dinner with a recent convert.  That was fun to just see the glow in her eyes and because of our fun filled morning. We ended the night with finishing our studies
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On Sunday we had our regular schedule and our part-member family came to Church. It was so exciting to see them in their Sunday best. It was a great Sunday, always a little confusing and tiring because of all the Spanish, but it was good. We had dinner at the Branch President's house. He is really just an awesome man willing and dedicated to do the work.  It is also nice to see him in his home. We had fun finishing up studies and went to bed. 
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This morning we started something new. We did our laundry at an English member's home. She gave us a key and everything.  It was just weird to be in a stranger's home using their washer and dryer.  I am sure it will become more normal. They are so kind to offer their services and I hope that they get blessed for it.

A little more about my companion Hermana Kaiser (at the request of Mom). She is from Broomfield Colorado which is near Boulder.  (Mom you know that one?) She is the 3rd child of 4 and her three other sibiling are all boys. Her Spanish is awesome. It is so awesome that not only is she training after her first transfer, but she only had to go to the MTC for two weeks (which is how long native speakers go).She went to the Mexico MTC as a tester of  it. She is awesome.  I learn so much from her everyday. If you would like to know anything else please send me specific questions to answer.
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All in all this week was a good week. We were able to teach a lot of the people we found and our regular investigators. I am excited to see what missionary life will be like once I settle into it, if it ever really settles down. This work is so important and there isn't anything I would rather be doing than teaching people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks for all of your love and support. I feel it carry me through every day.
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By the way how did your commitments go. Did you give out a referral. I hope you did because the missionaries usually need and want names.  I have a second commitment - Will you read in Preach My Gospel the section on the Importance on Members. It might just change the perception of what role you take in missionary work It is on page 160 of Preach My Gospel.  [Click Here and scroll about 1/3rd the way down].  I know this work is scary but it is worth it.
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Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall

08 July 2013

Sister Kaiser and Sister Cornwall

Hola!

So I would definitely consider myself a Northern California pro. Not actually but it is weird to be in the same state but not know a thing about it. A lot of people know about little Monrovia which is weird at times but cool too.  So... What a week it has been. Time flies and yet is very slow as well. 

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Last Tuesday was an interesting day. Our car wasn't working and it really made us have some trouble. But, it was alright and we got to our Zone Meeting. This was a pretty historic event in the mission because it was the first ever all Spanish zone in the Santa Rosa Mission.  Our whole meeting was in Spanish.  It was great! Our biggest thing right now is that we are trying to meet and find people and especially investigators. 

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Wednesday we had to go get our car fixed.  We had a messed up battery.  It is sure confusing to try and deal with all the technicalities to get it fixed. We got to see some former investigators and then we headed out to Woodland for dinner. We ate at a Mexican restaurant and had carne asada fried. They are like animal fries but even better! It was awesome. Then we had our weekly coordination meeting. It was great. It is kind of crazy because we have 8 missionaries, but we make it work. 

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Thursday, we had a Stake breakfast which was fun for the Fourth of July.  We went home with a lot of muffins. The funny thing about missionary work is that it doesn't stop even on the Fourth of July.  We kind of flipped around our schedule to proselyte in the morning and study at night. We didn't have much success, but the day passed as all do. The exciting thing is that we got a new phone. (ours had broken) It is nice. We don't know what we did to deserve it, but we don't mind. Then after our studies we tried to see the fireworks from our apartment with no luck, so we had a little party instead. 

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Our Friday we had our regular weekly planning which is awesome but strenuous. We had dinner at Marichuy Rubios' home with a missionary lead FHE after. The missionary lead FHEs are part of the rescue effort of our branch. We have only done it once but it was nice to be aware of the family. Then we decided to go see one of our investigators and it turned out they she and her friend, that was there, committed to be baptized. It was awesome. They committed for the 27th, so we hope it all works out.  I got my awesome greenie package from mom. It was full of every type of green food item that I think you can find in stores. Everyone in my apartment loved it and so did I. Those snacks will last us for weeks. 

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Saturday we went out early to go for an appointment and check up on some other contacts but with no success. It was tough because it is hot and it is tiring, but then the Lord usually blesses you with a nice experience.  We had two. We got to teach two new contacts about the Book of Mormon. They seemed so receptive and excited and it was nice to teach them. Their names are Cynthia and Ada. I hope that they can become progressing investigators, but we will see. We also met some nice contacts and that was good as well.  

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Sunday we had our usual crazy day with Ward Council, which is awesome, even when it is hard to understand. We had no investigators at church, but church was still good.  Because it was fast Sunday we had a Mission wide hour of prayer. We all take an hour to just pray and read scriptures and receive revelation. I was a little worried because the time seemed really long to just pray.  But it flew by. Then we had a meeting with our stake president. He  wanted us to be involved in the Stake vision of the Work Of Salvation. There are 25 missionaries in our Stake, so it was pretty large.  It was awesome. To explain a little more - we have two zones in our Stake, one is English and one is Spanish. Basically, for every English area there is a Spanish area to match.  It it is really cool.  

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Monday is p-day - we do our regular schedule of exercise, get ready and study and then at ten we start our errands. We do laundry, shopping, cleaning, and emailing before 5 then if we have time, we play soccer as a Zone. It is really fun, but really crazy. So there is my week.

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Here are a few questions, from Mom, that I will answer: Sis. Kaiser and I live with another tri-companionship that serve in the Davis YSA Ward. Since we are in a college town they are over the YSA Ward. For my Branch there are 4 Sisters and 4 Elders in the Branch. It covers such a wide area that it is just what has to be done. The work is hard out here. Our area isn't to lush right now, but we are working hard on getting it there. This work is odd at times but awesome.  It is scary, but it is necessary. This week has been a hard one because of the heat and the lack thereof of people.  It all works out because this is the work of salvation and we cannot fail in the end. 

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So, all being said, I have a challenge for each and everyone of you this week. GIVE A REFERRAL TO THE MISSIONARIES. They are dying to have people to teach and help and if they already have a friend in the Church so much the better. I truly believe in what they said in the broadcast that we shouldn't have to knock on doors, but that the referrals should just come from the members. This work is so important that you can't wait until tomorrow to tell the missionaries to come by your neighbors because they need the gospel today! I promise that as you do this the missionaries will be lead by the Spirit on how to help them. Then, there is a follow up to this - after you invite the missionaries to go visit your friend you need to go to the lessons with them. The missionaries would love it if you are ready and willing to help them. Well, good luck with your challenge and I hope you all are able to accomplish it. 

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I love all of you so much, but there isn't a better place I could be then here. Remember the Work of Salvation because it is the most important thing on this earth.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall

The sunflower fields in the countryside

 

01 July 2013

Tha packages Sister Cornwall mentions in the first paragraph of her letter.

The last photo of MTC companions

The last photo of the great MTC district

Heading off to the airport to fly to Santa Rosa

The hotel for the post flight afternoon nap.

The fabulous MTC foursome have a last goodbye before heading to their areas.

I forgot my camera I am SOOOOOO sorry I will have a lot of pictures next week!

New Address:

4735 Cowell Blvd. #10

Davis, CA 95618
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Hola,

This letter is coming from the other side of California. A place that I have never been before! It is so wonderful to be here, but it has been one crazy ride since my last letter. So... thank you all for your love and support.  I have loved everything.   I have received packages and mail and everything THANK YOU! 

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My time at the MTC was amazing but it seems a lifetime away now that I am in the field. A little about my last few days ---  Sunday, the fireside was amazing. It was powerful to be in the presence, and sing for most of the Brethren. I started to cry at the beginning of the first song it was just so powerful. I have pictures of my last few days but forgot to bring my camera to the library, so you will just all have to wait until next week. So, lets skip to the good stuff.

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On Tuesday we left at 4:30 [a.m.] to go to the airport.  It was so crazy to think about actually going to the field and out into the real world. When we got to Oakland [CA] it was raining and I loved it. We met President Alba and the APs and it was crazy to actually meet them in person. We headed out to the Mission Home where we ate lunch and then had a little meeting all together. The Albas said some amazing things and it was just awesome. One thing that they introduced to us was the figurative soapbox where we give 30 second teachings on one of the 42 principles of Preach My Gospel. All of the APs went and then President Alba looked around for a willing target --- I was chosen. The funny thing was that I volunteered to do it in Spanish.  I had to explain "repentance" in 30 secs in Spanish. It was pretty hard but I was glad to show that I was ready and willing to do the work I needed and was asked to do. 

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In accordance to tradition, we were then taken to a hotel, owned by a member, and were told to take a nap. I couldn't believe it, but I loved it. That night we did some testimony bearing through some practicing and training and it was awesome we were just practicing doing the work and feeling the Spirit and it was just awesome. For some reason I have become completely willing to do the work I need to do.  I even volunteered for a lot of the things we did that night. I was an awesome feeling to be so willing. Needless to say we had a very comfy sleep in our hotel (picture to come). There is the rule that you can't sleep on the same bed so we had double beds all to ourselves it was awesome. 

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Wednesday we woke up and had our Continental breakfast and went to the mission office. We had an orientation of using cars and stuff and then we met all the missionaries transferring and all of us new-bees and heard a few words from the Albas and it was great. They told us that for the month of July we want to get 101 baptisms -- just like the freeway -- so please keep us in your prayers. [The 101 highway is the main north-south artery of the mission] Then we were assigned our new trainers. My ned companion is (drum roll...) Hermana Kaiser. She has been awesome. She has only been out one transfer and went to the Mexico MTC.  We whitewashed an area together and it has been an amazing few days. My new and first area is Davis CA, Spanish speaking. There is one branch that covers 4 or 5 different areas, but it is awesome. We don't have a Branch in Davis but we have one in Woodland and it is just great. The first thing that we did was to go to dinner at the Lopez family home. (Side note- The crazy thing about having multiple areas in one Branch is that it means the branch has to feed all of the missionaries. So, the average number of missionaries at a meal out here is 8. So keep feeding you missionaries and be grateful that it is not 8 missionaries.) Then we had our Ward Coordination Meeting with the Ward Mission Leader and it was just awesome to be thrown into the work.

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Thursday was kind-of a semi P-day we spent a lot of time unpacking, packing and learning about the people in Davis. Then we went to the Mario Robles home. The are a young part-member family. The husband is not a member and he is actually one of our investigators. After that we went to visit Ada one of our investigators. It was pretty crazy to just jump in with the Spanish but it was awesome. The best part was that we committed her to Baptism on July 20th. It was awesome. She still has a lot to learn, but we can do it.

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Friday we had a District Meeting.  They will normally be on Tuesdays but because of all the changes it was on Friday. Then we had our weekly planning which just takes hours and hours but is essential and it is crazy to decide what to do to help people change their lives. We had dinner with the Hoglans. The Hoglans are a white family but the husband speaks Spanish so they pulled him from the English ward and put him in the Branch Presidency. They fed us hot dogs and ice cream at Costco which was super fun. Then we tried to go and meet some more of our investigators without success. 

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On Saturday we had a branch party. It was to celebrate and thank the old Branch Presdiency who had recently changed. It was a great opportunity to meet many of the members of the Branch. They are awesome and I only hope to be able to help and understand them in the future. My Spanish is a little shaky now that I am here in the real world, but it is good. Then we went out contacting to those that seemed like they could be potential investigators. We talked to a lot of interesting people but my favorite was Sofia. She is a Muslim woman who has talked with the missionaries before but she just wants to talk about Jesus and not be lonely, so she isn't really progressive investigator material.  She was really nice and so awesome to talk to. 

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On Sunday we had Ward Council. It was all in Spanish, but I got most of what was going on. We didn't have any investigators come to Church but we have high hopes for next week when we get to know them a little better. There weren't too many people at Church so it felt a little different, but it was awesome. We had dinner with the Branch President. He is Presidente Perez and he is awesome. He is a really powerful leader. He is fresh in the position but is ready to do the work. His family is so wonderful. After dinner in Woodland we came back to Davis and didn't really have any success seeing anyone but it was still good.

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The things I have learned so far are that Latinos love fruit flavored water. They take any fruit, blend it with water and drink it. I have had Peach, Strawberry, and Blueberry flavored water. It is pretty good and it has been fun to expereince a little of the culture through the food. I have also learned that the work can often be very unsuccessful, but that isn't the point because it is the work of salvation and everyone needs it. Another thing is that all people are pretty nice. There are very few who tell you to go away or will not hear you out for a minute or two. Also,it gets very hot in Davis over the summer. We have been near the hundreds for the past week. Also, there is a lot of planning that goes into the work.

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I know this letter isn't long [:)] but we are running short on time. I love you all so much. Support your Ward in the Work of Salvation because there is nothing better that we can be doing! Give the names of your friends to missionaries and everyone because there should no procrastination of the faith and knowledge of the gospel. Support the Missionaries, love the missionaries and continue on faithful in the church.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall

20 June 2013

 Hola,

They moved up my p-day to TODAY [Thursday],  so you get to hear from me a day early. Because of all the Mission Presidents coming in they moved our in-field orentation to tomorrow and to the Cougar Chapel by the stadium so they moved our p-day up a day.

This week has been amazing. My testimony has been strengthened even more and it has just been so great. Most days have been pretty normal. We didn't have too much excitement at the end of last week. A little more about my teacher leaving - he is studying at BYU to be a Special Education teacher and so now he student teaches every morning. He doesn't officially teach us. He is still around but not as our teacher. So, the short story is that we have had a few substitutes over the past few days.
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Sunday was a really wonderful day. Relief Society was amazing. Sis. Neill F. Marriott of the Young Women General Presidency spoke to us. She was amazing. At first I was a little suspicious of a Young Women leader talking to us Relief Society Sisters, but it was truly amazing. One of her great pieces of advice is to truly turn your heart = might mind and strength - over to the Lord and that if you are getting distracted you need to get right back in line and keep doing the work 100%. The other sweet thing was that she told her conversion story. It was really great and so inspiring to hear the power we have as missionaries to bless and change the lives of others. Then her husband got up and said a few quick words. The ones that touched me the most were " No matter how low you get you can always turn to the Lord". I really needed those words not because I was low, but to know that the Lord always, no matter what, wants us to turn to Him.
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I almost forgot about Music And The Spoken Word. It was Fathers Day themed and it was soooooo good. They had these cute clips of kids talking about their fathers. My favorite song was " Who will Buy" from Oliver. [See the arrangement HERE.] It was this gorgeous arrangement and it was just such a wonderful experience. Then we had devotional which for the the first time, was broadcast from the other campus. It was Stephen Allen again and he showed old Church commercials. They were funny and sweet.  It was nice to have a lighter evening. Then, for our last opportunity to watch a "movie". We decided to watch Testaments. It was amazing. I had forgotten how powerful the story of Christ is intermingled with the saints in the Americas. By the end of the movie, when it says that Jesus came and will come again, all of us Sisters were sobbing really hard and everyone else turned around and looked at us. We just start laughing.  Really the story was so powerful and perfectly timed for me to remember what Christ did on this earth, the power he has and sacrifices he made.
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This video made such an impact on me. In the part where Christ is in the Garden I just started balling because I really realized all the pain he suffered just for me and for all of you. I realized that all the pains I feel, especially on a mission, that I have created for myself have been things that he felt. In a moment it made me feel guilty for not realizing and using the Atonement more when He knows how to succor us personally. It is SO amazing. I know that Christ suffered and died for us to enable us to return to live with God after this life and because of the sacrifice, we as a family can all be together forever as long as we follow the doctrine of Christ and do what God has asked of us. I also know that He lives today and administers to us, but usally only when we ask.
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Monday, if you can believe, was even better. In the morning we had another substitute. He was amazing. He was full of life and really fun to learn from. He was understanding and just great. After some language study he started to have us practice teaching the first lesson in the 5-minutes-or-less. We all really struggled with it and then he asked, " Do you really get what this lesson is about?". He turned to Moroni 10:3-5 and read to us. What he made clear is that God loves us and because God loves us he has helped us throughout time to be better, to be happy.  After the people rejected His only begotten Son, he still came to the earth to restore the gospel once more. This simple fact made the whole gospel shift for me. We all realized that this was now the point of this first lesson. Not apostasy or dispensations, but the love of God. It really envelopes the whole gospel. Now I understand what the basis is and then I can build on the need for every individual investigator and member from there. It was amazing. We all just finally understood what our teachers have been trying to teach us. Afterwards we found out that he is the boss of the teachers who teach Spanish and it all became clear why he was so good. It was such a wonderful experience.  It was just great. That evening we had more class that was also really good.
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On Tuesday we had a substitute again.  He taught us even more about focusing on the investigator. He said that teaching is the last thing we do and not the first. We need to be able to love them and realize that we are teaching a gospel that they need  We are teaching them as an individual not as just a lesson. Then we had our devotional on Tuesday which I call the "cherry on top"! The first thing he said that I liked is that to Preach is the invite. It is not to throw a lesson in their face, but to invite them to find for themselves. Another thing that I liked that he said was teaching with the spirit means to understand the investigator, which means asking inspired questions. The Spirit is so essential in missionary work. It is the only way for us to be truly effective teachers. We are young adults and we don't know what we are doing, but the Spirit does, so all is well.
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Wednesday we had two interesting things. We had our first class with our new teacher and our last class with our old teacher. In the morning we had our new teacher Hermana Arbon. That is right an Hermana teacher. She is so friendly and nice. We only have her for a few days, but she seems great. It is a little odd to get someone new, especially our woman teacher when we are use to men.  I am sure she will be wonderful. The sad thing was that we said goodbye to Hermano Ferguson. It was kind of a little sad for me, since it has felt like a lifetime since we have been here and he has been with us the whole time.  The nice thing was that he was full of wisdom. The other sad thing was that it was our last time teaching his investigator Pablo. It was such a spiritual lesson and he committed to baptism in a few weeks because he feels so peacful when he reads the Book of Mormon. It was so great. I almost cried a few times though. The piece of adivce that I loved the most was that we need to desire to work hard for the Lord.  We need the Lord to help us fulfill our desire. He talked about how much his mission changed him.  It made me finally understand that the changes I have made here at the MTC are just the beginning. There is so much more work to do and so much more fine tuning for me to do in it all. The sweet thing was that he came to our session at the temple this morning and it was such a sweet expeierince to say goodbye to him in the Celestial Room.
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Today is the start of packing. I can not believe it is the time for me to really go out into the world - well Santa Rosa - and teach the gospel in Spanish. I am so excited to go out there and continue this wonderful process of sharing the gospel. It has been a rougher road, but I am now ready to be an instrument in the hand of the Lord.

So - a little about my travel plans -  we leave this coming Tuesday the 25th. The rough part is that we have to check in at 4:30 in the morning at the travel office here at the MTC. Our flight is not until 8:36 and we arrive in Oakland California at 9:38. Man, am I glad that I don't have to fly all around the world. I am so excited to finally be in Santa Rosa.

It is going to be such an exciting journey.  I am so excited to just go and do it even though I have no idea what it is going to be like. Next time I write you it will be from Santa Rosa California. Ahhhh - It is so weird, but I am so excited. I love you all so much and can not wait to be able to tell you my tales as a missionary out in the field.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall

p.s  By the way, for the broadcast on Sunday,  I will be wearing my royal blue collared shirt [see below] and Hermana Vance will be wearing light turquoise shirt. Also Hermana Whitely will be wearing bright pink and she will be next to us too. I am so excited to see if you see me!

Sister Cornwall and Sister Lemmon

The Sisters in my Zone

Our District in Class

Our District at the Temple this morning

14 June 2013

Hola,

I can not believe that I have been in the MTC for a month. So much had been accomplished that it feels like much longer and then at other times it feels like I was just with you all a few days ago.
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Life here at the MTC is as grand as ever. It feels so momentous to be a missionary at this time. My last week has been wonderful. I got my huge package last Friday. Everyone gave me really funny looks and asked what it was and it was really fun. Also, thanks for everything it was like all the things you sent were brand new and it is so nice to have fun shampoo and conditioner and body wash.
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Classes have just been wonderful this past week I couldn't ask for anything better. Then, on Saturday I got the packages of trail mix. Man that stuff is good and my class was very appreciative. Saturday was just an average day and it was great. It is so fun to learn how to teach better. We mess up a lot but it is nice to grow and develop while we are here. Sunday was amazing. After church I went to the meeting with all the district leaders, zone leaders, and the branch presidency. It was sure odd to be the only sister in a room of all men but it worked out. Then we had Relief Society and our speaker was Anne Clegg. She was amazing. She talked about being a mission presidents wife in Spain and had some really wonderful advice for us. During my study later in that day I was was reading a conference talk and looked up one of the scriptures in the talk to gain more understanding  in the footnotes. The scripture was Luke 5:23. I encourage all to look at the footnotes for the scripture because it really cleared things up for me. Then we had choir practice. It was such a fun experience. There were so many people because it was the first practice for the upcoming broadcast. So, to let you all know I will be in the choir for the broadcast [on June 23rd] so keep your eyes peeled. The director is hilarious and we spend half the time laughing, so it was great. That night we had a devotional with Richard I. Heaton who is the administrative director here at BYU. He testified strongly about the investigators and their needs and how divinely created Preach My Gospel is. It is truly the words of modern day prophets and it is the doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we watched an old devotional by Pres. Utchdorf, which was about how his wife joined the church and what a blessing missionaries are. It is really amazing how we can touch the lives of so many people. The sad part of the night was saying goodbye to the only district older than us. I had become good acquaintances with one of the Elders and as we shook hands he gave me some advice and I just started to ball. It is such a wonderful experience to be around worthy holders of the preisthood. I was sad to see them go, but I know all of them are needed in their missions in Mexico.
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Nothing amazing really happened on Monday.  But Tuesday at the TRC was awesome. We taught two couples and they were so sweet and helpful. It is fun to think of inspiring message for other members of the Church. I truly feel endowed with power to teach and speak when we do TRC. It is always a wonderful experience. In class we learned the importance of making goals. Goals help us to gage how we have been, how we are and what we can become. They are often hard to accomplish, but they are great. Tuesday was a very momentous day because we had our devotional at the Marriott Center it was a little weird to go to place I been so many times before but at the same time it felt normal. I was also in the choir for the devotional and it was a choir of like 2,000 missionaries.  It was awesome. Elder Arnold of the 70 spoke and my favorite thing was that we need to know our purpose. No matter our stage in life we need to know. As missionaries we are to Invitar a las Personas a venir a Cristo (Invite others to come unto Christ). We say it everyday in class and yet sometimes I forget it. Whenever I am focused on that goal the work gets easier, I teach more effectively and I miss you all less. It is amazing so find your purpose and keep to it.
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Then on Wednesday we got to host the new missionaries coming in. Our job is to welcome them, tell them they have a few minutes to say good bye and lead them through a few tasks and then get to their classroom. It was amazingly crazy. 800 missionaries came in this Wednesday and so it is a big job. I hosted three sisters and it was so fun to welcome them and a little sad too. We stand right there and watch them say goodbye to their families and at one point I was at the same station I had got dropped off at, but it was still wonderful. I did see Hermana Moore, which was fun and I have also seen many other people I know as well.
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The work is really moving forward and I love to be a part of it. The funny thing with class that day was that one of our teachers got a little harder on us. He talked to us about our investigator and he was really direct on the things that we needed to improve on. I am glad to learn because they are necessary changes but it just feels like things are getting down to the wire. Then in the evening I welcome the new Sisters in our zone. We got two new districts and I got 6 new sisters to watch over.  It was wonderful
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Thursday evening we were with the new districts again and it was so fun to learn more about them. We were able to teach them a few things and I got to bear my testimony in Spanish to them. It was so wonderful. Then I got released afterward and now my companion is the new Sister Training Leader, so I will show her all of the ropes. It was so wonderful being the leader, but I don't think I am going to mind having my time back.
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I have loved my experience at the MTC and I can't even imagine what it is going to be like in the field. I know I still have over 2 weeks, but it is coming very quickly. Well, here is my second to last sign-off from the MTC campus. I know this next week will be amazing. Happy Fathers day to all the fathers out there that have been key in my life, most especially my own. I know this gospel is true and it is so important to share it with others because they need it even if they don't realize. The Lord loves us all and wants us to return to be with Him again. This work is so important and I am glad that I get to help it along.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall

Getting the "Big" Package Mom and Dad brought up when they came to Hannah's blessing last week.

Service

Service, service... service

District That Left

My Zone

Roses At The Temple

My Zone

The Sisters of my Zone

New Roomates

Switching And Wearing Each Others Clothes

Package Goodies

07 June 2013

Hola,

Wow I can not believe that I have been the MTC for 3 weeks. Time has really been flying now and I can't believe that I am over half way. Hermana Lemmon said, "like, we are in the teens of how many days we have left". The MTC is amazing. Everyone from the President to the custodians are just wonderful. I am so grateful for all that I am doing and learning. Mom has been asking me to write a little bit more about what it is like to be in"the wave" and I don't have a very good answer because I am in "the wave" and don't know what it is like to not be in it. All I know is that there are a lot of missionaries here at the MTC and it is just wonderful. The thing that is unlike the past is that the split of number of Sister and Elders is almost 50/50 which is a really big deal here at the MTC.

The big news this week is that I was made the SISTER TRAINING LEADER in my zone. They use to be known as Coordinating Sisters but now the name has changed. I told you last week that a district was leaving and there are no Sisters in the other district in the zone so all of us Sisters knew that it was going to come from the four of us. I was surprised that I was honored with such a calling. It has been the most amazing expereince. I have been given even more power from the Lord to help me in this new calling. It has been one of the most amazing weeks but I will get into the details a little as I talk about the week.

Mom has also asked that I am an little more specfic with my average days so here is a little more detail: 

Last FRIDAY I did initiatories with the other Hermanas in my district. It was so empowering to hear that ordinance. Every Friday morning we go to the temple first thing. It is our p-day but it is so nice to have the opportunity to go. Then we eat breakfast at the temple. The food is soooo good and it has become a fun little tradition. Then we come back do some missionary assessments and then write our families. Ta-da! Then we have a time slot to do laundry which is always needed every week. Then we have personal time and then dinner. After dinner we have our 3-hour class (all classes are 3 hours) and then have additional study time and then plan for the next day. After that we return to the residence and get ready for bed. Each night is exactly the same so I will not talk about it much more.

Then we have our SATURDAY schedule where we do personal study and then a service assignment which usually invovles cleaning showers and then we have gym. Gym is fun because it is full of so many activities. You can play a few indoor sports, run on the indoor track, use the machines or just do a personal work out. I like the variety and it is fun to interact with other missionaries as you do it. Then we have lunch and then we have back-to-back classes with dinner in between. Classes are amazing. Every time out teachers come I am so uplifted and strengthened. They are amazing and so dedicated to helping us be good missionaries.

SUNDAYS are also wonderful. We don't have scheduled class but we do have a lot of study time and somehow the day just flies by. We have church at 7:30 and then a break until we watch Music And The Spoken Word and have Relief Society. This past fast Sunday, and every fast sunday at the MTC, they do a Mission Conference with the MTC Presidency where they speak to us for 2 hours. It was fun to have that extra time to be taught. The coolest thing that the President told us was about the MTC missionaries who serve right here at the MTC. Most of them have disablilities and their call is to respond electronically to investigators of the Church. I have seen them here and been very curious about them. They are so sweet and kind and some bore there testimonies and it was so sweet. Man, Fast Sundays are very long here at the MTC, not that I will have anymore but it all turned out to be wonderful. Sunday is when I was called to be the Sister Training Leader. My objective is to love the Sisters and lead with a Christ-like attitude. It has been quite an experience to re-adjust to MTC life with a slightly new schedule, but it is just wonderful. The coolest thing was the Devotional on Sunday. Ted Gibbons portrayed the life of Joseph Smith through the life and eyes of Willard Richards. It was so powerful and interesting to hear him speak. I loved it because I love Joseph Smith so much.  It was a wonderful experince. Then after the Sunday Devotional we watch a spiritual "movie" of our choice. It is things like The Testaments, Legacy or old devotionals from the MTC. We watched one by Elder Holland and it was just wonderful. Then, I had my first leadership training meeting with all the other leaders in my zone. Of course I am the only Sister and it was so odd to be away from my companion even for a short time. In the meeting our Branch Presidency helped us to become better leaders.

MONDAYS are more of a regular day. After breakfast, right away we have class. It is nice to just start the day on a good note learning and progessing. These are the times were we teach investigators, who are our teachers. It is just a portion of class and if we don't teach them we have language study. This week I have really felt the Spanish coming and I love it. It is amazing to speak another lnaguage for the Lord. He helps you so much and this week I have just felt really good about it and it has seemed pretty easy. I understand amazingly well and I can basically talk back most of the time too. Again, our teachers are amazing, even the ZRTs, who are not our teachers, are amazing. They really have the best and the brightest here. The odd thing is that I went to school at BYU with all these people like 2 months ago! Then we have personal study time, lunch, gym and then companionship study. Our study times are so amazing. It is so great to just have so much dedicated time to study for yourself but mostly for your investigator lessons. I am learning so much about the gospel and every day just gives me more. Then, we have language training on TALL which is a computer program that helps us learn and practice grammar principles. Then we have dinner and then class at night which of course are always amazing.

TUESDAYS are a little bit different.They start with personal, physical exercise where you can workout in the residence or outside and it is nice to change it up occasionally. Then we have personal study, Tall lunch and companionship study. Then we have a block of classes. Tuesday are different because we go to the Training Resource Center. This is always the highlight of my week. The people we teach are members of the Church who speak Spanish and we just come and talk and teach with them for 20 mintues. Though I get really nervous before I always feel amazing after because we do it without a plan. We are able to just speak the language. It is amazing. My Spanish and teachings skills always grow in confidence on those days.Then we have dinner and have study time until the Tuesday devotional. This week we had Tad Callister and he was great. He talked about the Blueprint of the Church of Christ. Something I sure dad would have loved. It was very informational and nice. They did make one bigger announcement. If you have heard anything about the conference on the 23rd you probably know more than me. What they told us was that they needed missionaries for the choir for that meeting and so if you will be here til the 23rd which i will be you can sing in the choir. My companion and I are totally going to do it and we are very excited. The one downfall to my calling this week, which it really wasn't that bad, was my situation on Tuesday night. There was one Sister left from a District that was leaving.  I had to sleep in her room so that she wouldn't be alone. I had to wake up with her at 2 am to make her 3 am call time at the front desk of the MTC.  It was an odd expereince, but it is still nice to be able to serve.

Then on WEDNESDAYS we have the exact same schedule as Monday (so see that one for information). This last Wednesday was amazing because we got a batch of new missionaries in our Zone. The best part is that I got to welcome them their first night with the zone leaders as part of my new calling. There are 6 new Sisters and 4 new Elders. It is so fun to have new people coming into our Zone. The next big news is that we are getting two Districts next week and I will still have my calling, so I will be able to welcome them as well. The new Hermanas are so sweet and kind and ready to be missionaries.

THURSDAY is the same the as Saturday, but no service assignement (so see Saturday for that). It was a pretty average day this past Saturday, but then it the evening we had a big meeting with the Branch Presidency for the new District. The scary part about it all is that I had to bear my testimony in Spanish to the whole group. It wasn't to bad but I was a little worried about it. The sad thing was that I had to miss class. It all worked out for the best. It is so fun to be the little helper to these brand new Sisters. Even though I have only been in the MTC for 3 weeks it really makes a big difference in the long run.

So there is my average schedule. Everyday we learn and practice so much to help us be better teachers out in the field. The preparation for the work is awesome. Feel free to send off questions and anything really. I hope that this gave you a good idea of what life is like here at the MTC. These place is amazing and the Lord truly qualifies you for the work you are doing. The Lord loves all of you! Each and everyone of you, no matter what you have done in the past, or the mistakes you might be making now, no matter the size, Hhe Loves you so much - as do I as his servant. Thank you all so much for the love and support. You all are the reason why I am here. Thank you for your loving examples.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall 

P.S.

My mission advice this week is the read the Book of Mormon and preach my gospel everyday. They are amazing especially if you are preapring to serve a mission there is nothing better! The book of mrmon is the medicine we need everyday so don't forget to take it.