Happy Birthday Mom

also i forgot to send this one 

IT WAS MY MOMS BIRTHDAY!!!
happy birthday mom!!

heres a picture of blown glass cacti lawn lights

Pictures 1/30/17

I did a dumb...

So i did a dumb... remember how i was sick last week? well after i emailed yall i went to a zone activity... outside... in the rain.... for like 2 hours... but i am better now!! which is good right? all i have is a bad nose now :)

The Zone

My District Leader Elder Endrizzi

Zone...yes, as you look at these pictures you will see a very unwell me... soaked to the bone... I can hear the lectures from here... as I said... I did a dumb.

also, we had some crazy changes happen in the mission field!! like really our 9 key indicators (goals) went down to 4 to focus  on teaching repentance and baptizing converts. it was so cool, a lot of people think oh... missionaries just want baptisms, but! all we want and all the church wants is to bring people to Christ, yes baptism is one of the 5 things known as the **gospel or doctrine of Jesus Christ, and yes, the savior is always on our lips(we legit always talk about him) and we invite people to be baptized. but we do it because we know it will help others improve their lives through following Christ!! its so cool to hear from the apostles lips what we should do as missionaries! let me explain.... no there is too much let me sum up (kudos to you if you get the reference) and i will do you one better by not even summing it up myself (aka mission president told us to share this :) ...) (look to the mission letter 29-jan-17.pdf :) its cool stuff!...)

Mission Letter 1/29/17

also we have an awesome new investigator!! who we will have to hand off to the YSA sisters or elders... elders because he is a dude. ANYWAY (sorry for the tangent) his name is chandrell he is a really cool guy with an amazing faith, the elders only met with him a few times but he wants to read the book of mormon, and as we talked about faith, sister sperry invited him to be baptized when he knows that this is true! it was so cool i was such a proud trainer!!! we get tot teach him the first lesson then we will have a handoff lesson with the YSA elders :)

and then i did another dumb, i went on a hike with my zone early this morning ( we were at the top for the sunrise and studied there) but i forgot water.. first dumb.. second dumb i relied on the light of others (aka no flashlight)

so long story short i almost died if it wasn't for elder stimle giving me his water (blessed elder) i tripped a lot, and a lot of other things. yeah dont hike in the dark without a light and dont go in arizona without water :) #whydidithinkthatwouldwork? #becauseitwasat3am #iamnotamissionarywholikesearlymornings

along with our huge changes, president also has said that they are just waiting for the first presidency to give the go ahead to  let us have i pads!! there are so many cool apps on there too!

also, so the florence ward has this ward mission leader named clancy, clancy is crazy! (he pretended to be jesus on his mission and the people who believed them started their own church) but any way his sister in law and mother in law live in my ward :) yay! all the clancy stories (he is trying out to be the book of mormon prophet in the movies/videos (i dont know which it is) the church is making) but it made me excited, hes basically arizona gilbert mission famous. and i have met him twice... he bought me gatorade because our appointment on exchanges fell through and he wanted to go shopping. in down town florence the only place to shop is really just the gas stations, so he bought my companion and i sports drinks :)

so yeah its been a fun crazy week!  do me a favor and dont do as i am doing and dont injure yourselves this week, which means no accidentally cutting your fingers on a razor in your bag, no fighting gigantic evil robots with your ice powers, supersuits, and super powered buddies (even if it is for the greater good), no tripping on thin air, no tripping and falling on sharp arizona gravel, dont eat the yellow snow, dont go bat crazy and decide to avenge your parents by using your oodles of money to become a superhero and fight the crazy amount of crime and corruption in your home city,  just dont do dumb things. unlike me, who did many a dumb thing (guess which one is mine?... yup you are right its the ice powers one.... i did a dumb)

well, i just want to let you know i love you all quite a bit :) yall are great :)

Love

Sister (hermana, sestra, whatever you want to call it ) Cordon :)

*** doctrine and gospel of Jesus Christ 1. Faith in Jesus Christ 2. repenting of our sins 3. baptism by the proper authority to be washed clean of all sins 4. having the holy ghost with us at all times (receiving the gift of the holy ghost) 5. Enduring to the end (ya gotta finish the distance!)

thats all folks!!

Words words words...

Haha, that is what happens when you cannot think of things to write :)

the zone.... it is an endless battle to get everyone looking at a camera and yes this is how our zone celebrates getting a new president.... by going to get Chinese buffet after planning :)

back row: elders chadwick, endrizzi, magee, romero (hidden), chase, stimle, welch, adams, gordon, johnson, wlicox, aholelei

front row:sisters sperry, sprouse, cordon (thats me!), condie, and allison :) thats my zone folks! we are the biggest dorks this side of the arizona Gilbert Mission!

when you let a zone leader (elder wilcox) have your camera because you think the zone is going to do a selfie..... 

yup elders! this was also elder wilcox's fault. that is a district leader (not my district leader) named elder johnson.... he is not like this... normally he is as grumpy cat... also he is the one my companion is making a squirtle for...

yikes i have no idea what to say this week, i thought that sending the pics first would work... but nope!

i got really sick yesterday again, no idea why but i did, so my companions forced me to have bed rest all day, it sucked! but i feel a large amount better now and i don't look like i have the plague so thats good i guess!

i really love people alot! there was this kid, he was an investigator a while ago but he fell off, then we stopped by! turns out he was reporting to basic training in like a week, so we found a member who bought him the standard works in military size and then we had his best friend our bishop and our bishops dad give him a **priesthood blessing of comfort it was awesome! it was his best friends first time giving a blessing (he is waiting on his mission call) and his first blessing and the SPIRIT WAS SO STRONG! IT WAS LIKE A SPIRITUAL BAZOOKA! and satan had been putting so many doubts in our minds like, "its based off of faith" or "does he really want one" or"man its raining and his house is not a good place to do it" and so many more doubts! but then it worked! the kid stood up and was super excited! it was such a cool experience! i wish everyone could have been there to feel the spirit that it brought!

also, we are working with these two girls now super super sweet, one is nine and one is 12  and their grandparents are returning members who they live with and they want to be baptized! and the crazy thing is is one of them is named Kayla Gordon! haha they are super sweet girls and i am so so so excited to work with them!

also, we have started a sugar fast to help an investigator stop smoking and to show our support, so for a transfer, we will not eat anything with sugar in the first 3-4 ingredients, and no dessert :) its really hard (and its only been a day!) but i know that as we rely on the lord we will be able to do it :) (so please pray for me and my chocolate addiction..... and dont send any sugar!)

really though, we have met so many nice people! not all are interested in the gospel... actually most arn't but they are still super nice! who knew there was such a thing as a nice anti? but some how old people manage it!

i do not know what else to write...

oh wait!!

:)

so my mom asked me a question of what i was looking forward too and this week, we have 3 big things!!

1:a WORLD WIDE MISSION BROADCAST where from what my Sister training leaders have said is going to bring some HUGE CHANGES!!

2:Family Home Afternoon this is an afternoon when our zone just hangs out at the senior couples (elder and sister ord)  house and have a lunch, spiritual message and play games :) super fun!

3:interviews with president! where i can just sit and talk to president wheeler!! which makes me super super happy because its president wheeler!

4: my mom sent me my flash drive with music!! (shout out to the boysons in east-gate ward back home with a big thank you!)

i just... i just love being a missionary alot, and while i dont have any super funny stories this week, just know that i am happy, that i love you all alot and that i hope this week goes well for you :) this church is true! the book is blue and although my sins are like scarlet, as i continuously move towards Christ, and apply his doctrine and gospel in my life, by having faith in him, repenting of my sins, renewing my baptism each week by taking the sacrament, keeping my promises and covenants i have made with God to have the Holy Ghost with me at all times, and continuing to turn to Christ and enduring to the end i can be made as white as wool (or in Arizona... cotton!) 

:) i love you all!

Sister (hermana, sestra, whatever floats your boat) cordon

**priesthood blessings are because we believe we have the Authority to act in Gods name (aka the priesthood) restored to the earth, worthy preisthood holders can act as a mouthpiece for heavenly father to give blessings of comfort, council, or healing :)

January 16, 2017

well howdy howdy howdy!

it has rained it has poured and now the sun is shining... will i go on Mitchell yet HECK NO!

you crazy? Arizona has no clue what to do with water, the ground will not absorb water'... so you drive down the road AND NEXT TO YOU WHERE THERE USED TO BE DESERT IS A HUGE POND!

Arizona? what is up?

nah but its fun! 

hmmm i am trying to think of some stories (really i need suggestions here)

so i think for today, i will tell you the story of how i died!

nah i didn't die, i just thought that would be entertaining!

AH so we have this potential investigator who is going to basic training and we were talking to him, and he said some thing that stuck out to me. he said even though he is going to see some pretty bad stuff, knowing that there are people out there, (im making it general but he meant missionaries) trying to make the world better peaceably, that it would make things bit better over seas. and i was like hey! although the people in the 55 and older community do not like us, they may say hateful words and slam their doors as we offer service. but there are people who do appreciate us!

also can i just say how much i love people, like really people are amazing!

sister sperry is awesome! really she is only 3 weeks out  and she already is a better missionary than i am!

i love being a missionary, people see us and they see the savior! a less active woman who is returning to church said we glow with a light, and many times by people not in the church we have been called angels. and its for a reason!

when i look at people i see what Christ sees in them, which is crazy because this lady can be telling us how we are going to the bad place and i am just like, this is sad, she is really angry, man this is really sad, have a good day! 

heavenly father loves all of his children, and its crazy! some of these people are so unlovable, yet he loves them! then i see these people, these unlovable people have a desire to change, to grow closer to him, and then they find peace and healing through christ! because they felt that love!

okay so i do have a funny story my companion just reminded me of, so there is this elder in my zone who is very grumpy all the time, he is the grumpy cat. (he does it so people do not think he likes them so he doesnt have to have too many fake friends in his own words) but we were talking and it came up that my companion crochets so, this elder got really excited and was like CAN YOU MAKE ME A STUFFED BULBASAUR? and then he went off on a twenty minute tangent about pokemon, as his companion was complaining that Princess cadence from My little pony is a boy name that starts with a K and should not be a princess. THEN the next day the pokemon elder texts us and says "hey so instead of a bulbasaur can i get a squirtle instead?" obviously he had been thinking about which pokemon he wanted for over 24 hours.

so yeah basically my zone is cray cray!

then we were trying to talk to this former investigator, and sister condie said sisters look! there is nothing in this house! so dear dear sister sperry goes REALLY? and starts to look through the widow like a total creeper! RIGHT WHEN THE GUY OPENS HIS DOOR! so she goes off into a panic "hi we arent creepy well i m not creepy we are the mormons and yeah i wasnt trying to be creepy but we thought we knew a guy who lives here are you sam?" tangent as i bust up next to her, the guy just smiles and said, i am just fixing the place up because its a forclosure

so yeah we are dorks! but thats okay because it makes things fun!!

i love you all so very much!

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

and another week bites the dust!

HELLO!!!

can i just say how amazing missionary work is, yes it is hard, but man it is fun!

my greenie keeps reminding me of that, i prefer the planning side to going door to door, but with her its the opposite, and she is teaching me her ways!

really it is crazy white washing an area, i have more time this week so i will explain more fully. so we got moved randomly into an area, then we have to start from scratch, no appointments, we only had one really solid potential investigator (some one who is looking at the church), but its crazy how much work we have been able to get done!!

.... i dont know what to say

so i will talk about granite mountain some more!
its really cool just seeing how just a new set of missionaries can excite a ward, we have gotten SO MANY referrals!! just all... all the referrals :) which is like giving a kid a piece of his/her favorite candy i have decided.

 really the work is great and my greenie is great!! also my other companion is too i guess :)

i just... i just love being a missionary, like alot! it is just crazy to me how i can show up on someones door and just immediately love the heck out of them, then they slam the door in my face and i knock on the next one and i love that person!

i just want to testify of the realness of God today. I KNOW that he is there, i was almost in tears this morning, (just from reasons) but he comforted me, and every day as i have been fighting my depression, he gives me the courage and strength to keep moving forward, to keep hoping, and to keep trying, despite how hard my trials may be. My sister got in a car crash, and yet some how, she and her family were miraculously protected. We almost got in a wreck once when sister hederson was my companion, somebody randomly stopped, and we bumped their bumper (so that is why it is called that) but we all got out of the car, and there wasnt a dent or scratch on either vehicle. we had hit just slow enough and just as he started to roll forward,so the momentum easily transferred over.

we were talking in gospel principles on sunday about how we know Heavenly Father is there, and how we know he loves us. and for each person it is different, but for me it is all the small things, its the sun always rising and always setting, its the perfect distance we are from the sun, its a breeze right when i need it or seeing snow on the distant superstition mountains right when i am missing home or just a random person being like hey i am going to hug you when i am having a rough day. there are just to many and too big of coincidences to be coincidences! i am so grateful for my heavenly father and the example he is to me!

alma 30:37-45

 37 And then Alma said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God? 38 And he answered, Nay. 39 Now Alma said unto him: Will ye deny again that  there is a God, and also deny the Christ? For behold, I say unto you, I know  there is a God, and also that Christ shall come. 40 And now what evidence  have ye that there is no God, or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that  ye have  none, save it be your word only.41 But, behold, I have all things as a  testimony that these things are true; and ye also have all things as a  testimony unto you that they are true; and will ye deny them? Believest thou that these things  are true? 42 Behold, I know that thou believest, but thou art possessed with a  lying spirit, and ye have put off the Spirit of God that it may have no place in  you; but the devil has power over you, and he doth carry you about, working devices that he may destroy the children of God.43 And now Korihor said  unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words. 44 But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs  enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets?  The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God;  yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its  motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do  witness that there is a Supreme Creator.45 And yet do ye go about, leading away the hearts of this people, testifying unto them there is no God? And yet  will ye deny against all these witnesses? And he said: Yea, I will deny, except ye shall show me a sign.

i give you my personal witness that There is a Heavenly Father, and also a Christ!

man, i have no idea what is fun for me to write, (any requests?) we were seriously considering biking 12 miles to church because we have a limited amount of miles, like if it did not cut into our proselyting time we would have done it!

apparently if the top of a cactus gets frozen it stops growing..... so yeah this happens :) 

also, if anyone wants to get up to date on the zany adventures of Sister Cordon Feel free to check out sistermcordon.blogspot.com (man that totally sounded like i was selling something #shamelesplacementisshameless? nah i just thought i would add it :)..)