Well Hello

Hello my dear friends and family!!!

how is life? 

life here in the AZ sun is pretty well okay... EXCEPT FOR ITS BLAZING HOT!!!

yes yes dear friends that time has come, that dreaded 3 digit weather. we almost hit it yesterday, we were only 1 degree off from 100 (so for my mathematically challenged friends aka me) that means it was 99. BIKING IN 99!!!  IN APRIL!!! there are supposed to be these things called april showers but NOPE JUST APRIL PREHEATING. all my arizona friends are probably like "c'mon sister cordon this isnt even bad" and i know this, but i also just know that its going to GET WORSE!! this ice cube is gonna melt!!!

anyway, we got an awesome referral we are trying to get in with so thats fun,

also GUESS WHAT?? so i did some lds.org sleuthing because i am a sleuther  

and i found that the ogden temple is around 27,000 square feet larger than the gilbert temple. which is also nuts!

​ogden

gilbert

it does not look like it but it is!! 

i love my temples so much!!

i love the peace i can find there, even just in the parking lot or  on the grounds. we bike there for our work outs in the morning and i just feel so loved!! i feel like i am im a place where i am not judged and where i am safe.

i know this gospel is true!! it makes me happy when i am sad, and it gives me the strength to push on. i will admit, there are days when i want to go home, where i miss my mountains and i miss my family. there are days when i dont want to get on my bike and talk to people. but, i am a daughter of the Most High God and gosh diddly darn it i have a work to do. because there are other children of the Most High God who dont know this, who are sad, alone, or dont know where they can find peace, and joy and i know we can be happy through christ BECAUSE of christ. thats why im out here, why i have been out here  for 7 months and why i am staying out for the last 11 because that message, that HOPE is so important!!

anyway that is my rant for the week, i dont have any funny stories just that THIS RANDOM LADY FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND HER FRIEND WERE MOVING THIS GIGANTIC PLANT so of course we stop and offer to help, ya know doing the missionary thing living the missonary life and she said yes! so we helped her move like 200 plants, of various sizes she does this thing where her entire garden was in pots and containers, it was cool, but a pain in the bottom to move, we ended up calling the elders and havingthem do it while we talked to the women. they were super grateful and it was fun :)

anywho!! thats it for this week folks!! hope you have had a wonderous day full of joy and smiles :)

and Jesus, cause Jesus is pretty much the most amazing person ever :)

Love yall and cant wait to hear from you!
love

sister, sestra, hermana (what have you) cordon

this is me next to a school that shows the temperature,

yup its heating up!! and i do not know what to do about it!

also, i had a friend send me this picture because my companion says its my spirit animal and all i can think of is 

hello!! want to learn about jesus and the book of mormon? it makes me happy!!!

 :)

EASTER BUNNY!!

ward parties rock

yes yes it is that time again my friends, have i taken pictures, yes yes i did

am i going to be sassy? probably i do not know i cant remember what pictures i have taken

1.it was a rough day so we biked to the temple, (we are close enough to do that) and yes, i straightened my hair it is getting so long and the eternal battle of a woman is beginning  should i chop it or let it grow? open for suggestions

2. we have bunny ears to make the small kids smile (all of my photogenic ness is gone im so sorry)

3.this is my companion, she is wearing a awesome hat

4. yes yes this is a thing

5. i need this bike. do you see that massive basket they fit full sized children think of how many book of mormons i could fit!!!

okay now to the mass of the email of the mass email :)

so this is a tree i bike past all the time. its actually in front of one of my ward buildings. if you can see the tree grew around the things used to try and get it to grow straight. and one things i learned is that alot of times we are either like this tree or the supports, too stubborn to  give an inch. and eventually it just ends up doing everyone harm. 

how often are we like this?

i know for me and my crazy bull headedness and just over all stuck in the mud its alot of the time. and sometimes we just have to submit  ourselves to the will of god.

i love being a missionary, because as i learn to be a willing tool in the lords hand we see miracles. sometimes things are hard, sometimes someone might seem open to god but then will reject the gospel. 

then there are times when its worth it. when all the tears the sweat (i am never not sweaty now its nasty) and heartache is worth it.

we tracted into this man, who does not even believe in god, and sat there on his doorstep for 30 minutes teaching him. we do not know if we made an impact, but i am so glad i followed the promptings!

the first one was to go a street down further than what we thought

the second was to turn right and not left 

the third was that we were not where we needed to be on that street

and the fourth was to knock on his specific door

i know that jesus christ lives. i know that this is his church on the  earth. how? because if this wasnt if this was false, i should not have gotten those promptings. i would not.

this easter was amazing, although i missed home quite a bit to be honest. i would not want to be anywhere else. this is so true. and i know that no matter what we may be going through, this gospel, this church, is the way to grow closer to jesus christ. i know it!! if you dont believe me, isnt it worth the ask? isnt it worth the prayer? isnt it worth reading the book? whats the worst that could happen?

i love this season, i love worshiping christ and thinking about him and his Resurrection and the hope that brings to each of us!! i just love it!!

also, biking for dayyyyys!!! its surprisingly easy to bike in a skirt, and even more surprisingly fun!

my companion is doing well

i am doing well

and i love you all alot!!

thank you!!

sister hermana sestra what have you cordon

WHAT IS LIFE?

yes it is a very existential question, and that is a very very big word for me that i do not understand. but really what is life? 

its a measure of time filled with really really awesome things, and also really really hard things. like dealing with things that you have never had to deal with!

but its also so amazing, this is why heavenly father gave us life, so that we can learn to that we can grow and become better!! and even though sometimes we mess up ALOT (points at self) we can have peace and we can turn to the savior and have all of those mistakes washed away in his love. its amazing and it makes me so very happy! thats the whole reason for easter!! thats the whole reason for life, is so we could learn, and that we could be happy!

thats one of the things that i have learned this week, that beyond the sleepless tear filled nights, beyond the sorrow and the pain, and all of the crap life throws at you. we can find joy!! we can be happy as we give all of that to christ and just try and live in his arms!

its really awesome, Christs atonement is so real!! its amazing and i love it! it makes me want to smile all the time as i talk about it! he Lives! he conquered death! and he conquered all of our sins all of our pain. he did everything for each of us individually! no matter what we are going through HE STILL LOVES US 

anywho yeah this week has been alot of fun we had another choir concert witch was nuts!!

and we saw this thing some kids had written on the sidewalk.

Why is ian bad at percussion?

1.) i dont know

2.) i dont know

3.) i dont know

thank you ian, i am terrible at percussion as well!.... actually i am terrible at  many many things

its just awesome seeing how much we are loved, how when you are having a really rough day he will just send you the perfect thing, like someone writing you a letter or giving you a call or even just saying a prayer for you. or pushing back a day you were going to go to the temple with a returning less active so you can go right when you need it the most and have her say just what you needed to hear!  (we had a spanish session so we had the little translators! it was fun :) )

i love you all quite a bit :)

keep the faith!

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

hello!!!

well howdy!!!!!!

so this week has been basically awesome

we had zone conference on wendnesday

went to the temple on friday

had GENERAL CONFERENCE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

so yeah i am on a spiritual high right now!!

also, scorpion season is officially starting... pray for me please!!

my companion got in a rough bike accident this week, so i got to clean up her nasty road rash... it was actually alot of fun!! also its great we are biking everywhere, my poor tailbone is even getting bruised, but its SOO MUCH FUN!! i love it!! (now just wait to hear what kind of song i will be singing when it gets up to 115 this summer... whahoo... so excited!) pray for me in that regard as well!

also, i sleep on the top bunk... yup, just imagine little 5 ft 2 in scared of heights me climbing up there (no ladder) and sleeping for 9 1/2 hours... its actually alot better than it was the first few nights!! i havent fallen off yet....i just need all the prayers!

i love this gospel so much, my favorite talk was by elder jeffery r holland of the quorum of the 12 apostles. he just talked about no matter how hard it is to find joy, hold on to Christ and he will guide us through lifes challenges. and that no matter what we have done, God still wants us in his choir. it hit me really hard. because man, life sucks! sometimes things dont go your way, you have a rough day, a rough, week or a rough transfer. but no matter how hard it may be to find joy, as we turn to christ we can find it, and if we cant quite yet. thats okay!! keep turning to christ! keep pressing on and find the solace that he brings. he is the balm in Gilead! so many people, from across the world and history have tried to conquer so many things, they have tried to conquer the world with guns and violence, they rule over nations, and yet, they could not do what he did./ he was the only one who could conquer death. he is the prince of peace, the messiah, the savior of the world. and through him we can find strength through lifes trials we can find hope through tragedies and hardships. he calmed troubled seas, he can calm our troubled hearts. its amazing!! because of him we will never be alone and we can find peace!! thats what the new easter video is all about and its awesome, its about how christ over came death and how he is the prince of peace. and thats it! because in the end, he is the most important thing, that he lived, died, and then lived again

 i love you all quite a bit. yall rock!!

sister, hermana, sestra, whatever you want to call it cordon

Link to Elder Holland's talk

https://www.mormon.org