hello friends and family!!

so this week has been pretty awesome!!

is cool we have seen alot of miracles!! like people being interested in the gospel! its amazing!!

the fourth was fun we just hung out at a church building and then we hear about people who got drunk then were driving around causing accidents and it told us why we were told to be inside :) they are inspired!!

the work in this area is finally moving!! people are telling us we can come back and we have had some awesome gospel discussions!!

heres some pics :)

this is one of our bishops... hes pretty cool 

happy forth! love nephi the dog​

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​cactus juice! itll quench ya! nothings quenchier! its the quenchiest!​

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​i decorated my bike for the 4th... we were in a childrens bike parade around the chapel​

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​the lady in the back is one of our relief society presidents, she is awesome!! they did a childrens 1 mile fun run

us trying to be cool and take a cool selfie... also its really bright in the great AZ 

my sister sent me a thing that makes it look like a stone person with face cancer... :) i like it alot!

also we get really really sweaty.. heres proof

so yeah lifes pretty good!!

also, so my dog died back home which is really sad. but its really cool, the comfort we can get from the holy ghost. and from the blessings of having the restored gospel. its amazing!! knowing that christs atonement and resurrection even covers my dog lucy. 

one of my favorite songs and scriptures is consider the lilies where it talks about how god is aware of the lilies and all of his creatures, so he is aware of us as well. 

thats one thing i have learned this week is that god is aware of us. our mission president has asked us to cut down on eating with the same members every month asnd eat with more less actives, but its cool to see how many miricles have come from us being obedient, we have gotten in with so many people!!! its so cool!!

matthew 6

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

i like this picture of jesus :)

here is a link to the hymn sung by motab!! click here

well. that is all

i love you all alot!!

have a wonderful week full of miricles!!]

 love 

hermana, sestra, sister (you get to pick) cordon

sister norgrant one of my stls caught a lizard, then she picked up a lost cat and we went door to door to find its home then she got fur all over her, 

it is bright 

PDAY!!!!

IM STILL ALIVE! and your still fat- the croods? or Sister Henderson? (its both)

yup it hit 120 this week. and yet here i am, sitting at this computer and emailing you all. see, god does work miracles. and its  true! he does!

it seems that things always get worse before they get better. but god is pretty awesome!that i have seen over my mission. Satan always throws his hardest challenges at us before things get better.

its like light. we want light to just turn on, like a switch. but alot of the time, when we are learning it comes more like the sunrise. its always the darkest at like 3:30 before then the sun starts to come up and its slow and gradual but then the world is filled with light.

i have seen how this has blessed my life. because although i want quick answers and instant results. sometimes, i dont get it. most of the time i dont get it. it just comes slowly, line upon line precept on precept, here a little there a little, until finally i can understand and see enough ahead to take the next step. and that step is scary, but it is so worth it. i have seen people take those steps of faith by letting missionaries in, accepting and reading a book of Mormon. praying to know if it is true. and it is amazing! and i have seen it in my life as i have done those exact same things.

i know the book of mormon is true. 400% i would definitely not be out here biking in 105 with direct sunlight if i didnt. this message has changed my life for the better. this is true

its cray cray!! i have felt like i should be dying but the days are going by so fast! its fun!

my comp and i have a thorn in our sides, aka our bikes keep breaking, but its worth it because we have seen miracles! just small ones like people giving us water or letting us cool down or even just giving us a snack.

this week is going to be short. but know that this is true, i am surviving, and actually starting to enjoy the heat if that was even possible!

stay hydrated!

always yours

sister cordon

DINOSAUR!!! (is this Jurassic park? yikes)

me forgetting pics again

bishop woodmansee giving us snacks at the door, he was alone with his kids, and sisters cant go into a house with a lone man, so he gave us snacks through the door and stepped out side so we could use his bathroom

commitment board, the nyan cat is our district leader elder vapel

honey is leaking out of our church building cause its so hot and they didnt clean up a hive they found a few months ago, but they killed the bees, so honey is just free flowing #landofmilkandhoney? #ithawt

Dog Days Already

well yall, i officially am missionary who is considered mission-old. yup its a party!! popped bike tires, people thinking you know what you are doing, nobody emails you, family members are getting married. yup these are only a few of the things that make you mission old. 

hm so here is a sum up of this week 

my bike tires popped lilke 20 times

we ate liver pickle soup

bike tires popped again

all our investigators are moving 

its fricking hot outside

satan is a jerk

 yeah, all pretty bad things right?

except for the fact that beyond all this it was really an amazing week!

we got bahamma bucks (Hawaiian shaved ice) on my hump day

so many miricles came from my bike

i also learned patience

pickle liver soup is actually pretty good once you have convinced yourself that the liver is in fact mushrooms and not a digestive organ that filters through the stuff the creature puts in

our investigators are getting to somewhere where they can be in a place where they are happy and can learn about the gospel 

it may be hot but ya know its really awesome, although the breese feels like a hair dryer on our faces we are surviving, and its actually alot of fun!! and its not as bad as you think, we just drink lots of water and are always hot! and its not too bad!

satan is a jerk, but that is just proof that what we are doing makes him mad, he knows that this church is true, he knows we are bringing people to Christ and to his restored church. of course satan is going to try and fight that.

this is one thing that i have learned this week, there will always be negitives, my bike will always have troubles there will always be another obstacle or speed bump. but it fully depends on what you choose to think on. i guess i have always known that and i have always know how effective it was. now i am just learning when i center my thoughts on Christ. on my hopes and dreams and on the atonement he preformed  i can find so much more peace and happiness through Christ

also, a nice jehovahs witness offered to help with our bikes, just to have us sit there as he duct tapes my tube and has his family try and convert us, then he comes in and tells us everything wrong with our religion and that he was offering to help out of obligation,

thanks man

your the best

thank you for being an outstanding human being

#jdubsarenuts

#stillchildrenofaGodwholovesthem

#butnuts

#hetried?

so yeah, it was a crazy week, that ended with us sitting at one of our relief society presidents counter eating ice cream as we text our zone leaders saying we are going to be late (because my bike tire popped again and as they picked us up my companions bike fell off their bike rack and got dragged through an intersection. but there was no major damage!! yay!!! #miricle! ) and watch her husband and our ward mission leader fix our bikes saturday night.

haha life is nuts but it is so amazing and worth it!!'

love you all 

sister cordon

also transfer calls came. sister johnson and i are staying together another 6 weeks! WEEW! 

love you all

 sister hermana sestra (what have you) cordon

dont die of heat yall! (oh wait that might just be me.... pray for me this week cause it gonna be hawt!!)

1 see!!! hot!!!

2 i thought my brother in law brock would appriciate this, it was in a members basement that had a whole lot of games they let my zone come play in (think he played for ohio state cause the room was themes in football and ohio state and he had a picture of his last name on a jersy diffrent area but i thought it was cool)

3 watch tan

4 i forgot to take pictures this week... so heres one of today!! right now

5 can you imagine this was 9 months ago? we were babies!!

WOOAH we're halfway there!!! WoahOH Living on a prayer!!- Bon Jovi

yup so that is my music nerd coming out. let me just shove that back down .*hears me struggle in the background..i come back slightly out of breath*..... okay hopefully it wont come back out for a while :)

but yeah, this week i hit my hump day, and its nuts! like really tho, who would have thunk? nine months and im still here, sweating like a dog, but here (i dont understand that expression tbh, dogs dont sweat... anywho)

but here are some things i have learned about missionarying, my dear friends if you know a greenie, please copy this and send it to them, but be sure to give me credit :)

1. the Arizona Gilbert mission is the best, hands down no questions asked. all arguments against it are invalid so go home

2. minutes are long, weeks feel like an hour

3. sunscreen is your friend

4. water is your friend

5. its alot easier talking to people than you think it is 

6. get over yourself, it will make things alot more enjoyable

7. focus on the people in your area that you serve this also will make  things alot more enjoyable

8.agency (free will) is the best worst gift ever (why can i just force them to do something? because that isnt how heavenly father wants it.. but it sucks)

9. odds are your parents are right

10.biking in a skirt is alot harder/easier than you think, it depends fully on the length of the skirt/ how flowey the stirt is 

11.the Church of Jesus christ of latter day saints IS true, it IS christ's church restored again today. and we can grow closer to our savior through it

12 bug spray is your friend

13 scorpions are demon spawn

14 really though, if you see one run and scream then find the scorpion spray

15. the book of mormon is true :)

16 you have these companions for a reason

17 the docerine of christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end) allow us to change and become the people heavenly father wants us to be, aka a disciple 

18 this is the greatest work and i love it so very much

19 i love being a missionary, i love being a disciple of jesus christ, i love doing his work and bringing his children  closer to him. its kind of the best thing ever!! 

20 i know that this church is true, i feel it in my heart. and i know it is true with every fiber of my being, i know it, and God knows that i know it. and i cannot deny it. 

and i know, whatever our question may be, if we study the book of mormon prayerfully and with real intent, willing to act upon the answer we receive heavenly father will answer it. miracles have not ceased and heavens gates have not closed. he will answer our prayers. 

i know this because he has answered mine, he has kept my purse safe when i have left it in a shopping cart at winco, he has comforted my anxiety and strengthened me through my depression. he has brought miracles to me and given me encouragement when i have needed. all when i have asked.

its cool, we have this investigator., tina, and she had fallen off the face of the earth. for like 2 months. but she has gone through the ringer lately and although she has anxiety and depression and a whole lot of crap in her life. she still wants to grow closer to god, she still wants to come to church, even when her anxiety flares before, she calls us at 7:00 and prays with us so she can receive the strength to go to church, and stay through most of it

well, thats all i got right now

remember God loves you, jesus loves you, i love you and satan hates your beautiful face!!

signing off!

love,

Sister, hermana, sestra, (what ever you choose to call it) cordon :)

So this is weird isn't it?

so this is weird isnt it?

so the zone conference was amazing!! its really cool, they asked me to sing in a smaill group, i dont know why they did that but they did and i guess it sounded okay, elder pearson liked it so thats all that matters!

 hes a seventy! like elder cornish! (kill the cow guy)

he threw down on us, making us feel like the most disobedient missionaries in the world, but it was good because he also showed us our potential. and we have seen the miracles from it!! 

i would basically base my entire email off of it, but it suffice to say  that i realized i need to change, because that is what the docterine of chirst does, it allows us to change and become a disciple of jesus christ. we all have out comfort sins, but when we let those go, then we will be able to grow and become closer to jesus christ :)

also, the general authorities are amazing!!

also being close to nine months is really strange!! its crazy!! but im still feeling like i am growing, i dont know alot, but i know the basics, and now i can try and become even better!!

it seems like alot of times we get comfortable, and we dont let ourselves grow, because we are comfortable. so im out of that now :)

i love being a missionary, i love being able to serve and to help and to lift!

i know that this is true, i know jesus is real,  and that he lives and loves us. 

and i know that strengthening our faith in christ that casteth out all of our fears, our doubts (even the ones that are about ourselves) i know it because this gospel has done that for me. it has cast away my fears, my doubts, and my lack of self worth this gospel has shown me that i AM a daughter of God who DOES love me and IS AWARE of me. and that i am worth so much in his eyes.

i love you all so much!!!

signing off

sister hermana sestra cordon

pool duck, cause they dont have ponds here

pretty train track photo, dont worry ben, i wasnt on the train tracks just next to the train tracks as we were crossing

mah soap

Hello

so this week has flown by, like the energizer bunny on steroids and large amounts of caffeine flying on a bicycle powered helicopter.... through the jungle

great imagery!! 

but yeah thats how this week has been, its alot of fun!!! sister johnson and our house and i had a whole lot of party this week, AKA before doing paperwork this week we went and got....... JAMBA JUICE!!!! because sister olsen has never had jamba juice!! can you imagine? 

its like why missionaries are out in the world, we have this favorite thing, the gospel, that we will liken to jamba, when we hear that there are people who dont have this awesome thing LIKE JAMBA we are like... HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE! you gotta go to jamba!!! and then we drop everything and go because it makes us happy, and that is like how we are with the Gospel, this gospel gives us so much peace, joy and comfort, and we are sad when we find people who dont have it, thats why missionaries knock on doors, not to force someone into a font, but to be like HULLO! we have this thing, and it makes us happy, can we please share?

but yeah this week was fun, we work as volunteers for a halfway home every Wednesday and this last one WE UNLOADED a TRUCK LOAD of cases of water yet one or two of the sisters "

*cough cough* sister johnson and bischoff** cough GOT dehydrated!!! yup guys! pray for me please!! its starting!! this ice cube is going to melt!!

also we went to a farm AND I GOT TO FEED A BABY ZEEBO its like a wildebeest combined with a cow and it was cute!! her name is zobie and we are friends, also at this farm we fertilized a horse field, which means flinging horse poo across the field with a pitchfork :) it was fun

hmmm what else? 

oh yeah! so crazy cool thing, there was this lady who called saying she wanted to feed us dinner, but it turns out she wasnt in our area, heck she was like 20 minutes away! but she still wanted to feed us so she picked us up and took us to her house, it turns out she was my trainers primary teacher when sister henderson was like 10 and she had just found out that sister henderson served in her area and was bummed she didnt get to see her when she was here (sister henderson recently finished her mission) . so it was cool!

but yeah life pretty great out here!! and just fyi they are moving my pday to Wednesday next week, so when you dont get your weekly dose of crazy from me on monday do not be alarmed, there is just a area seventy coming in to town so they had to play with the schedual a bit so it will be back to monday after that :)

love you all!!

sister, hermana,sestra (what-have-you) cordon 

1 this goat is stretching for the heavens

2 me feeding a zeeboo

3 petting a zeeboo

4 fancy zeeboo

5 see? im a dork (and kinda scared that this pic is going on the interwebs)

6 sister miller and i are cute

7 usa burger press.... i need this because i need this

8 it looks like ice cream BUT NOPE I MADE SOAP WITH A LADY IN ONE OF MY WARDS 

yay soap!! and it has cool shiny things we go and cut the soap tomorrow so more pics of soap next week... and just so my friends and family know i am 100% picking this hobby up when i get home :)

9 my companion died after getting stuffed with food by a member, its fun :)

YO

so migranes are a thing that happen, and they are very interesting. suddenly your brain is on fire and you forget how to spell words, or very important cross streets, and then light hurts. anywho that was fun

yeah so this week has been pretty normal.... EXCEPT I TURNED 20!!!

so what have i learned in 20 years?

absolutely nothing

:)

do you know that that means?

absolutely nothing 

because its a lie

i have learned lots

like dont eat the yellow snow, unless you go to a sno cone place then yellow sno is yummy. 

haha no, but my birthday was great, quite, but great and it was fun. its crazy to see how much we can be strengthened. i got some amazing stuff from my family and my housemates and companion helped me celebrate!!! it was really fun!!

also, we got a new investigator!! her name is jenny and she is amazing!! its so cool to see just how much god has prepared her, its just another testimony that this is so true!

i love this gospel, i love that it makes bad days good and good days better. its amazing how we can grow closer to god every single day if we try. 

so anywho, another year has gone by, and i am still a dork. some things just never change

I.E. we were biking to a less actives home and they pulled up just before us, but we had a really awkward moment, and now the daughter was awkwardly hugging her boyfriend (assumptions) and it was awkward. so what do i do? i go to my ward mission leaders house! and pretend to knock on his door! and everything was going swimmingly! Until! HE OPENS HIS GARAGE AND WE SCARE HIM HALF TO DEATH yup so we then relate the story about how awkward we are to him and he just calls us dorks..

... yup thank you brother maez 

hitting the nail on the head

i am a dork, but God still loves me!! and thats all that matters, i guess that is what i have learned over my 20 years is that no matter what, no matter how crazy life is he is still there and he still loves you!!

talk to you in a week

love sister cordon!

sorry aobut pics, forgot my camera