October 21, 2013

Every week that you have a baptism is a good one! This week especially! We started doing exchanges again, so we had sisters staying with us for 2 nights. Its weird to do the exchanges in our area, but its nice because I don't have to spend so much time traveling the state of Indiana. I can just stay in Carmel and work and have them come to me! Its been fun. We had some lessons fall through but we had some other miracle lessons happen. Things are going really well with the work.

Sister Kelly's baptism was wonderful. It was kept on the down low because if word gets out to her daughter in Virgina that she joined the church then she will be cut off from the family and her grandchildren. She thought getting baptized first and asking for forgiveness was better than first asking for permission and not being able to get baptized. It was her idea, not ours, but it worked! The service was incredible. President Cleveland baptized her. He had to do it 3 times because her toe kept coming up. She finally said right before the 3rd time... "JUST PUT ME IN COACH!" It was pretty funny, this fiesty old 69 year old who hates water and has been nervous all day, she finally did it correctly, and the two of them hugged and the doors closed. I love seeing people make covenants with their father in heaven. How much cooler can life be? Sister Kelly is now cleansed from her sin and is living life with the Holy Ghost. Her blessing was really neat, she is going to be very happy for the rest of her life! She said that she will never forget us. I'm thankful for the time I have had in Carmel getting to know her and her family. At Sister Stielgers baptism last month our ward mission leader turned to Sister Kelly and just said, "You're next!" Now the whole family here has joined! It started earlier this year when Sister Helbling sent in a mormon.org request for missionaires, she got baptized, then her daughter got baptized, then we showed up in Carmel and taught her sister, Sister Stielger and her mom Sister Kelly! These three women have changed my life and it has been such a blast teaching them and being apart of them joining the church!

Now we are in the... "What next?" phase of missionary work. We have a lot going on this week actually... but without an investigator who has a baptism date I'm a mess. I just want everyone to have a date. We are going to try really hard to invite someone this week, so we will see how it goes!!! Also we have mission leadership council this next week and I'm excited about that. Anytime we get to get together with the mission is a fun time. We had a zone service project this last week cleaning up the streets of Indy. It was in the Crossroads ward... aka, super sketch part of town! But we had a great time cleaning the trash and pulling weeds and making the alleys look. The best part of the day was when the Assistants gave us there truck and put us in charge of picking up people's trash bags and giving out more. It was raining and we were so excited that we got to be in their truck in the coldest part of the whole morning. Everyone gave us a hard time because we were in the Assistants truck... but we quite enjoyed it!

Thats about all I have for ya this week. The temple here is coming up very nicely, and I heard the Gilbert temple will be having its open house the week I get home, so life just couldn't really get much better than this!!! I love being on a mission, I love Carmel!!! I love my companion, and I love the Lord!!! Hope everyone has a great week,

Sister Cordner

p.s. facebook.com/indymission

thats our missions facebook page and you will probably see some pics of me on it! Check it out!!!

October 14, 2013

I don't even know how this week of miracles occured... but it did. It started with us having a goal of 8 member present lessons, and on Thursday we only had 2... but guess what, we met our goal! We had 3 on Friday and 3 on Saturday!!! I love member present lessons, the members are the best at fellowshipping and bearing testimony! I love it so much!!! But besides having good numbers and teaching a lot, we saw even cooler things.

We have new roommates... these sisters were together last transfer and they were actually in my old area, Indy 1. They were struggling a lot, and President didn't know how to help them, so he transferred both of them, together, to Westfield, and now they are our roommates. He thought that being roommates with Sister Training Leaders might motivate them to get out of the slump they both were in. It has been... interesting... to say the least. But we will see as the transfer moves on who things go with the roommate situation. But its really not that huge of a deal because we rarely see them. yesterday we left our apartment at 6:40am and didn't get home until 9:30pm... Most days aren't like that, but Sundays usually are! But we will see!!!

Okay, so transfers happened, we got 1 new area in our stewardship, and it is Sister Guy's first trainee Sister Hain, I'm so excited to work with her because she is amazing! We have basically figured out exchanges for the next transfer, so after this nice 2 week break of no exchanges we will be jumping in again this week with our normal 2 exchanges per week. The difference this transfer is we are bringing all the sisters to Carmel. President wants the missionaries to go on an exchange in a leader area so they get the feel of what a good/busy/dilligent area is like. So we are preparing to have all these sisters come to our place. The best part about this is instead of only have 5 days a week in our area to work, we will have 9! Both Sister Pitcher and I will be working in our own area, building our teaching pool and helping our investigators progress, so we are pretty excited about this! President didn't like the idea of "taking his best players out of the game." You can tell he is a coach, right?! So we are all playing harder this tranfer than ever, he wants all of the leaders to have baptisms... which leads me to my next point....

Sister Kelly will be getting baptized this Sunday!!! Once she received her answer that it was true, all the other things she had a problem with melted away. She stopped drinking coffee and tea, met with us and told us she was ready, and we prepared the service for her! President Cleveland is going to be baptizing her, so thats pretty sweet!!! I have been working with her since about my 2nd week in Carmel, and I love her so much!!! Pictures to come next week!!!

We have a part-member family too that we will be teaching soon, Victoria is 10 and she just LOVES us sisters. We asked her to ask her mom (the non member) if we could teach her and she came to us at church SO happy and excited to tell us she can. I just love pm families because its so much easier to bring into the church when they already have the support system of the family! So we are really excited to get her going!!!

I love it here so much! Its been the best 13 months of my life! I am so hapy for the chance I get to serve here, and I hope it never ends!!! I hope everyone is having a great week doing whatever you are all doing, remember to keep up the missionary attitude! its not a one time thing, you need to continue to talk with everyone and to share the gospel to as many as will hear you! I love you all,

Sister Cordner

October 7, 2013

Where do I begin?!?!?!?! Do I tell you about my week first or call you all to repentance first?

Haha, jk... kinda! This conference weekend made me realize how important member missioary work is. Since conference I have had a few ward members ask for the names of our investigators and offer to have us teach in their homes. The ward here is great and we really do have lots of member missionary work going on. We are teaching one sisters good friend in her home (we actually had a lesson this morning because the rest of the week didn't work for her.) And then she also told us about another friend of hers and we are teaching her too. There is a young couple who have taught there friend a ton about the church and we will be giving that friend a tour of the church building soon and invite her to church. Another member brought her friend to church this last week. One of the youth has invited her friend to seminary and she comes every single day. The work is going SO WELL in Carmel, and a lot of it is because of the members!!! So I am here to call all of you members back home to repentance (just like Elder Bednar called all non-tithe payers to repentace, that was SO SWEET!!!!)

Its SO easy to be a missionary. 1st... talk with everyone. Dad, you are so good with that, you were always stricking up conversations with our waiters, people standing in line by us, random people on Disneyland rides... talking with people is not hard. And if you talk with more people, you can befriend more people. And obviously I'm talking about people who aren't members or maybe are LAs. I know most of my families friends are members... so its time we branch out and meet people outside of the church. There is a sister in our ward (and we are teaching 2 of her friends) who has a Bonko group and for the last 20 years has had 1/2 members and 1/2 nonmembers in her group. What a great way to do missionary work. The nonmember has become such good friends with all of these LDS women and she sees how the gospel makes there life so great, that right there... is missionary work... and now, 20 years later, she is taking the lessons becuase of the great example of her friends. If the member had made her game group only members of the church, there would be no growth. We can't be clicky, we need to branch out! Other ideas: You all have a friend (or a daughter or sister) on a mission right now. How easy is that to bring up into conversation with strangers, and then start talking about why our church sends missinoaries out and give them a Mormon.org card with your profile name on the back of it so they can read your testimony. It seems like a hard one but its not. 1st, make a Mormon.org account. 2nd, talk to the missinoaries in your ward and get mormon.org cards. 3rd. Right your profile name on them. 4th... GIVE THEM TO PEOPLE! If you are afraid of losing a friend over sharing the gospel, then you aren't even that good of a friend with them to begin with. If you love these people, you will desire for them to have the gospel... because that is where true peace and happiness comes! We do this because we love people. They are all children of God.

Okay, more ideas to come next week. The funny thing is I was thinking about sending this home Saturday morning before I heard that talks... and after I heard the talks I was sure I would send this ya'lls way. You can do it! Missionary work is fun, and the second coming is soon! The Lords work is hastening because the Lord's coming is hastening... and we need to be ready!!!!!!!!

you are probably all tired of reading my email by now. So I will just end with the exciting news. I am staying in Carmel with Sister Pitcher. When you have a companionship going this well it would be silly to split us up! We are on fire. We have a baptism scheduled in a few weeks and we are so excited, and we are thinking after conference we will have a few more. President Uchtdorf just laid it down, why would anyone want to join this church... because  its Christ's church... thats why!!! Everything in Indiana is just perfect, just like it was a year ago when I got here. I got a birthday/anniversary package for my 1 year in Indiana from my mission mom Sister Stanford. And so did both my MTC companions from there trainers! I don't think there were better missionaries in the world than the sisters that were out here when I got here. And some of them are reading this email thinking, Sister Cordner get off your soap box about member work and just go to work... maybe she's not thinking that! But I don't know...

Its been a great week, we had a ton of lessons and we have a great week ahead! I love being a missinoary and I love it when people get baptized. We have a goal for 3 people to be baptized in our area before the end of the year, and we only have one committed... so if you all want to pray for that, that would be great! Also ask the missinoaries in your wards for the names of the investigators there.... and pray for them! I love you all, I love being a missinoary! And I love the prophet. Conference was the best! I dont like the idea that next conference I will be home. I talked with President about extending but he said its not possible with the amount of new missinoaries coming out. DANG IT! I'm holding on tight, these next 3 transfers will be the fastest of my life! AHHHH!!!

Love you all, have a great week!

Sister Cordner

September 30, 2013

How does week 6's keep creeping up on me. Its so weird... SO WEIRD!!! I don't even know what happened this week... um... okay, lets go.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in Plainfield, Indiana. There are two sets of sisters in the ward there so we crashed with them and did two exchanges in a row with them. Then we came back on Thursday to an area that hadn't been worked in for 2 days... so we had to work hard to meet our goals. We had a mission leadership council on Friday that was a full day thing, and then on Saturday we spent most of the afternoon at the church at a Womens Conference thing before the RS Broadcast was one. And then on Sunday we went to our church and then the next wards sacrament meeting because 2 of our investigators couldn't come until the 1:00 ward. So all week we didn't have 1 whole day to work in our area, but we still managed to get a good amount of lessons, met most of our goals, and we had 5 investigators at church! So that was pretty sweet.

Its been a crazy kinda week, sometimes I wish I could be a normal missionary and just work in my own area everyday without special meetings or exchanges. But I just keep reminding myself that my mission right now isn't just the Carmel ward, but all the sisters in Indianapolis... We only have one more exchange this transfer and then I have a little bit of a breather between transfers.

We are pretty sure that we will be staying together next transfer. We gave a training to all the Zone Leaders and President liked it so much he said he wanted us to give the same training to all the District Leaders next transfer. I keep doing this, I have a small idea and then I am put in charge of carrying out this big training that just keeps getting bigger... I should learn to just keep my mouth shut. But anyone who know me knows that I can't do that.

The main thing that is keeping me going right now is the people here. I LOVE THE PEOPLE IN INDIANA!!!! Oh my goodness, I love the people I'm working with so much! They make my life. I don't know what I would be like if I didn't know some of these members and investigators. They have changed me, and I will forever be grateful.

The RS broadcast was... AMAZING! I had studied Covenants on Saturday morning, and then what did every member of the Presidency speak on... covenants!!! I think being a covenant keeper is the best blessing we could ever have. Think of all the people who have ever lived, and how many of them had covenants with their Father in Heaven. How small a percent we are, and how blessed we are! I am bound to my Father in Heaven because of the covenants I made when I was 8, and the other ones I made when I was 20 in the temple! Its just mind-blowing to know that I was trusted enough to make covenants, and those covenants are valid as long as I am obediant. Statiscally speaking... we are a VERY small group of humans to make have temple covenants, and I am forever grateful for them!!! I love my Father in Heaven more than anything, He has helped me so much this past year. I love that I can tell him EVERYTHING, He never judges me or makes me feel down, I do that on my own. When I have big goals I can ask for His help to accomplish them, and He helps me EVERYTIME! More people need to know about Him... everyone reading this email... help get the word out! God is alive, Christ is His son, and He lives too! The Gospel has been restored and we are led by a prophet of God. (HE IS SPEAKING TO US THIS WEEK!!!!!!) The temple is where we can find true peace and happiness. (I miss it so much!)

I love life right now. Its hard, but life is hard! I'm not the only person struggling right now, and I have God on my side... so really I can't complain about my struggles. I need to focus on finding other people who are struggling and help them! So thats what I'm going to go do this week! Wish me luck, and by wish me luck I guess I really mean pray that I will have success as I open my mouth to proclaim the good word to the Hoosiers here in Indiana!!!

Love,

Sister Cordner

September 23, 2013

I love baptisms!!! At zone conference last week we were reminded that our purpose as a missionary is to baptize!!! And this last weekend, Sister Stiegler got baptized!!! It was a fast week, we had 2.5 exchanges, and we were SO busy every day. We left Thursday night for an exchange and didn't get back until Saturday around 2, and then we had to teach a few lessons and go to the baptism. Luckily our ward mission leader is amazing and he did most of it so we didn't have to worry to much. President Cleveland was there and thought it was really good. Its always so scary putting on a baptism because you want EVERYTHING to be just perfect, but even if its not perfect, the Spirit will be there. How can it not when someone is getting baptized! Its so great. I love this work so much!!!

Sounds like everyone at home had really great weeks. I knew that Keri would love school. Its weird that she has a class with Amy's husband though... weird!!!

I'm trying to think of things to say about this week... it was really just fast and the baptism was the best part. We met some really great people that we will be teaching soon (hopefully). Now that we baptized someone it feels like we have nothing to do. Not really, but we work so hard with her and then its like... what next?! Her mom is still going to be meeting with us. She is having a hard time accepting the message because her other daughter has told her that if she gets baptized she won't be able to see her grandchildren. Thats pretty rough... but we are hoping to work through it.

We had an exchange with Indy YSA this week, and I'm not going to lie.... I LOVE YSA!!! We had some time to go on campus and we just said hi to this 18 year old walking across the street and we starting talking with her and before you know it we were sitting down at a table teaching her the entire Restoration! It was one of the best expereinces of my life. She is Christian but has never been baptized, she prayed about it just this last summer and got the answer that it just wasn't the right time. When we taught her about Joseph Smith and invited her to be baptized, she said yes, and that this was the answer she was looking for. Seriously, how come someone that awesome has to be in an area thats not mine! haha, I think we have decided to just do exchanges with the YSA sisters every other day. Poor Carmel... it keeps getting ignored by us going on exchanges, maybe we should just stay in Carmel... I'm sure there are more people here that will listent to us, we are just having a harder time finding them here. But YSA is seriously so great. President did tell me at my last interview with him that he would put me on campus before I die. I'm thinking one more in Carmel and then I could end my mission with two transfers in Bloomington! Thats the hope anyway! Lets see what really happens.

Last night our lesson fell through, so we went to a park and contacted some people. One lady was power walking her kids and we started walking with her, she asked if we were missionaries before we introduced ourselves and she tells us how she has recently been having a lot of doubts. She asked if we would walk with her, so we did. And let me tell you, I can teach the Resto to someone while I'm sitting on their couch nice and comfy, but power-walking around a park in my Sunday shoes (not my nice tracting ones) was quite challenging. Luckily Sister Pitcher has LONG legs and she could keep up and continue to teach. In the end the lady decided it was something she needed to learn about on her own without us. I don't think people understand that our roles as missionaries is to be their guides to help them do it on their own! Aw well...

On the brightest bright side, my trainer has a boyfriend!!! GO SISTER STANFORD!!! The whole mission will know about it in less than 3 hours probably!!!! Even though there aren't many missionaries left that still know her... I think last transfer President said we have over 100 missinoaires who had been out less than 13 weeks.... Our mission is SO young... and we just keep getting more babies. But those who do know the legendary and famous Sister Stanford will know that she is dating a cute new reporter! WOOHOO!!!!

Well, I think thats about all I have to say. The work is going well, we are keeping ourselves overly busy, but thats the best way to be a missionary! We have been asked to give a training at Mission Leadership Council in front of President, the AP's and all the Zone Leaders and other Sister Training Leaders, I sure hope it goes well! I love you all so much!

Sister Cordner

September 16, 2013

Sometimes when you have really big and pakced weeks the time just seems to fly. Wasn't the case with this week. I feel like last Monday was a year ago and SO much has happened in that time. I don't even know where to begin. I'm like a whole new person this week than I was last... okay not really, but kinda. Anyway, lets begin....

Last Monday we had a sweet FHE with a PM family. Their son loves us because we did an awesome experiment to teach him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Afterwards we played a game called Pop the Pig with them. It was just a silly game where you role a dice and put that many pieces of food in the pigs mouth and randomly the pig will pop. It poped on the dad twice, so the boy yelled, It popped on pop!!! It popped on pops!!! Also, did I mention that the dad is a clown, like by profession! So their son is also pretty hillarious. The mom is doing so well. She was atheist but now she believes there is a God, she believes in Christ, and this week we will be focusing on Joseph Smith. She is preggers right now so she is living the Word of Wisdom, but she thinks the idea of it is silly, so once she gets a testimony of Joseph Smith, it will be easy!!!

Tuesday is one of those days you just will never forget in your whole life. We had 6 lessons, and a district meeting, and we traveled to Avon for an exchange... Lets just say every minute of the whole day was packed. We didn't get a lunch or dinner break, just a quick stop to grab something to eat. But thats not what made that day memorable. When we arrived for our 2:00 appointment there was a policeman outside of Robert's apartment. We walked up to him and he asked how he could help us. We explained that we were missinoaries and had an appointment with someone in apartment B. He was on the phone and just said, "I need to talk with you." This big black police officer finishes his phone call and as I am trying not to easedrop I hear words like "homicide" and "suspects" and other scary things. He finishes his call and walks up to us. First thing he does is look Sister Pitcher up and down and asks her how tall she was, she is taller than him... I think he was intimidated!!!! hahaha! But we tell him how we teach people about Jesus Christ and had an appointment with Robert in apt B, and he told us that Robert had just passed. The police had only been there about 10 minutes before we arrived. I never in a million years thought that I would have an investigator die. It was a hard thing to manage. We talked with the officer for a bit and helped him out as best we could. It was just a heartattack, I guess he was saying on the phone that he didn't think it was a homicide. Everything seemed to be of natural causes. Robert couldn't have been older than 50. We met him at a LA's house, and he was the coolest guy ever! We were so excited to teach him. He was so ready to learn too. So that made for a hard day.

Wednesday we were on exchanges and I was back with a sister I used to exchange with when I covered the South part of the mission! We had a blast being back together and we had a good day. That night there was a pinterest relief society activity and some of our investigators showed up! That was very successful and fun! And it fixed my desire to be on pinterest for another 5 months!!! haha.

Thursday we had Zone Conference. President wanted us to role play teaching someone in front of the whole group. He didn't tell us were would be the last thing though, so for the entire zone conference I was just thinking about our role play and didn't focus a ton on the conference. There was some things I got out of it. But then President had the Sister Training Leaders come up and he talked about how great we were, making our heads a little too big in front of the 2 zones... and then we had to contact the AP and start teaching him. He acted like a kid who loved sports, so I asked him how it would feel to be on the winning team in real life (God's team) and told him how prophets are like the worlds best coaches, and how when you quit listening to the caoch your team starts to lose and you eventually are without a coach because the team is no good (Apostasy). I was making it up as I go and I really didn't have the best sports analogies but I tried. Everyone was laughing at us but it was a good role play. Hopefully I taught some missionaries some good contacting skills, if not I made for a comedy show at the end of Zone Conference. Later that day we saw some less actives and taught some good lessons. Friday the 13th was just weird... We had a huge to-do list, and we were supposed to be doing weekly planning but things kept coming up for our assignment and also for the baptism next week, and we never did get around to our planning. That makes this the 2nd week in a row that we haven't done planning. I feel like a chicken with my head cut off running around Carmel, but we just don't have the time to sit down and plan, we are too busy! AHHH!!!! That night we had a ward ice cream party and the clown did a magic show. I love this ward so much! I feel so at home here.

And then Saturday was a day long service project in Indy helping out with the Special Olympics. We were score keepers/ announcers at the softball tournaments. Imagine me on a mic, "Up next to bat we got the KILLLER.... KIM.... JONESSSSSSSSSSSS" This little tiny girl with down syndrome starts to clap and cheer as she walks up to bat! It was the funnest day of my mission. We gave all of them nick names and just had lots of fun watching their games, cheering them on, and announcing for them! What a special opprotunity that was to be with them!!!

Yesterday we had meetings starting at 7:00 a.m. and just kept going all day until 9:00. It was busy, but great.... and today... I did something I have never done in the history of my life!!!

I went to early morning seminary!!! Class started at 5:55, and it was the earliest thing in the world. I am so in awe at the students that do this every day. I thought having a 0 hour was hard in highschool... early morning seminary is EARLY!!! We are teaching on Thursday and decided we should come and observe class to get a feel for it before we teach, also there is a nonmember who has been coming with her friend, so we met her today and it was great. I am so tired though... like, my eyes are closing while I type this email...

luckily its P-day and maybe I can squeeze in a nap later! Like I said... big week! Sorry if the email was just way too long! I love you all and love hearing from each of you! Have a great week!

Sister Cordner

September 9, 2013

Talk about the best transfers in the world!!! Sister Donaldson went home and that was sad and weird, she is at school today... even weirder! But that meant we needed a Sister Training Leader called to fill her place. Last transfer they put a great sister on Purdue campus with a trainee, and I thought that was weird to put a trainer/trainee on a campus when usually its been Zone Leaders and now Sister Training Leaders will be there. Anyway, I found out she was going to be one, and that the sisters up North were both getting double transfered out. So the new area open was Purdue and that was going to be the North Sisters Area. I was staying in Carmel, and the sisters at IU weren't at the meeting. So I know that my companion will be either of the two sisters coming from up north, Sister Whalin, or Sister Pitcher. When Sister Whalin got called to Purdue YSA, I KNEW I WOULD BE WITH SISTER PITCHER!!! Oh man, we just looked at each other and almost squealed! Nothing like becoming companions with your best friend. I got my stuff ready and as soon as he called Carmel I stood up and ran over to her (in the most reverent way possible!) We hugged and sat down and the rest of the meeting just zoomed by. I didn't even pay attention because I was so excited to be with my MTC companion again! And it has just been the best week EVER!!! It takes a new companionship some time getting used to each other and how we work together... but we already did that a year ago, and even though a lot has happened since then, we are still the same people, and we still love each other, so we have just jumped into what is the best companionship EVER! We have been making some amazing plans for this transfer, and I can already tell its going to be a great one!

Sister Steigler is doing fantastic. Her baptism in on the 21st, and she is so solid. She stood up in Sunday school to introduce herself (we had a new teacher and we all did) but she introduced herself by her first name and said, soon to be Sister! She is so excited to be baptized. She is already seeing the blessings that come from living the word of wisdom. She has had a hard time giving up tea, but then she got the highest score on her nursing exam, and she knows it is because the Word of Wisdom promises us knowledge. Oh man, teaching other people has built my testimony so much. Some of these commandments I have been living my whole life and therefore have been recieving the blessings from them my whole life, and I don't know if I have ever realized that. Until someone who hasn't lived it starts living it and notices the difference.... thats when you know God is truly there. He is blessing people for living the commandments!!!

We are also teaching this young women named Vanessa. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet. But she hasn't come to church yet, and I think its because she is doing it on her own. She has friends in the ward that we have brought to lessons, but her family won't sit in with us during the lessons. So please everyone pray for Vanessa's family to also enjoy the great blessings that this church brings. Brining a person into the gospel is great, but bringing a soon to be eternal family would be so much better!!!

Lets see, what else has been going on... Yesterday was Labor day so the libraries were closed, hence the email today. We spent what would have been our library time deep cleaning the apartment. We finally live in a clean place where the Spirit can truly dwell. When the Elders moved out last transfer they said they cleaned it... but Elders clean and Sisters clean is a different standard for sure! Once we were done cleaning we went to the Stake Center and had a huge zone dodge ball game. It was really fun because people actually showed up. Last transfer we kept talking about doing it but no one would come. So I'm glad that we have a cool zone this transfer!!!

We haven't met with Sister Miller this week, so hopefully we will touch bases with her soon and invite her to be baptized. She is so close! I know she can do it this transfer, if we could actually meet with her! 

Sister Pitcher is just amazing and I am so thankful to be with a companion that I love so dearly. She has blessed not only my MTC expereince but now my mission work. Its going to be the best transfer EVER! I love you all, have a great week and I will talk to you all shortly!

Sister Cordner

September 3, 2013

Talk about the best transfers in the world!!! Sister Donaldson went home and that was sad and weird, she is at school today... even weirder! But that meant we needed a Sister Training Leader called to fill her place. Last transfer they put a great sister on Purdue campus with a trainee, and I thought that was weird to put a trainer/trainee on a campus when usually its been Zone Leaders and now Sister Training Leaders will be there. Anyway, I found out she was going to be one, and that the sisters up North were both getting double transfered out. So the new area open was Purdue and that was going to be the North Sisters Area. I was staying in Carmel, and the sisters at IU weren't at the meeting. So I know that my companion will be either of the two sisters coming from up north, Sister Whalin, or Sister Pitcher. When Sister Whalin got called to Purdue YSA, I KNEW I WOULD BE WITH SISTER PITCHER!!! Oh man, we just looked at each other and almost squealed! Nothing like becoming companions with your best friend. I got my stuff ready and as soon as he called Carmel I stood up and ran over to her (in the most reverent way possible!) We hugged and sat down and the rest of the meeting just zoomed by. I didn't even pay attention because I was so excited to be with my MTC companion again! And it has just been the best week EVER!!! It takes a new companionship some time getting used to each other and how we work together... but we already did that a year ago, and even though a lot has happened since then, we are still the same people, and we still love each other, so we have just jumped into what is the best companionship EVER! We have been making some amazing plans for this transfer, and I can already tell its going to be a great one!

Sister Steigler is doing fantastic. Her baptism in on the 21st, and she is so solid. She stood up in Sunday school to introduce herself (we had a new teacher and we all did) but she introduced herself by her first name and said, soon to be Sister! She is so excited to be baptized. She is already seeing the blessings that come from living the word of wisdom. She has had a hard time giving up tea, but then she got the highest score on her nursing exam, and she knows it is because the Word of Wisdom promises us knowledge. Oh man, teaching other people has built my testimony so much. Some of these commandments I have been living my whole life and therefore have been recieving the blessings from them my whole life, and I don't know if I have ever realized that. Until someone who hasn't lived it starts living it and notices the difference.... thats when you know God is truly there. He is blessing people for living the commandments!!!

We are also teaching this young women named Vanessa. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet. But she hasn't come to church yet, and I think its because she is doing it on her own. She has friends in the ward that we have brought to lessons, but her family won't sit in with us during the lessons. So please everyone pray for Vanessa's family to also enjoy the great blessings that this church brings. Brining a person into the gospel is great, but bringing a soon to be eternal family would be so much better!!!

Lets see, what else has been going on... Yesterday was Labor day so the libraries were closed, hence the email today. We spent what would have been our library time deep cleaning the apartment. We finally live in a clean place where the Spirit can truly dwell. When the Elders moved out last transfer they said they cleaned it... but Elders clean and Sisters clean is a different standard for sure! Once we were done cleaning we went to the Stake Center and had a huge zone dodge ball game. It was really fun because people actually showed up. Last transfer we kept talking about doing it but no one would come. So I'm glad that we have a cool zone this transfer!!!

We haven't met with Sister Miller this week, so hopefully we will touch bases with her soon and invite her to be baptized. She is so close! I know she can do it this transfer, if we could actually meet with her! 

Sister Pitcher is just amazing and I am so thankful to be with a companion that I love so dearly. She has blessed not only my MTC expereince but now my mission work. Its going to be the best transfer EVER! I love you all, have a great week and I will talk to you all shortly!

Sister Cordner

August 26, 2013

Transfer number 8 has come and gone... can you say fastest transfer ever!!! Oh my heck, its been so great! We have had some amazing miracles here in Carmel. Sister Steigler is doing so great, we taught her the Word of Wisdom and the only thing that will be hard for her is tea, but she knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet and she is ready to start living the commandments. We have been teaching a PM family and I KNOW that Sister Miller is SO CLOSE to being baptized, its been so great teaching her and having her explain the feelings she has been having as she has been repenting and feeling relief! Just wait until you're baptized, she's going to feel SO GOOD!!!

This has been a fantastic week. We worked SO HARD! We had 11 lessons with members present, that hasn't happened to me my whole mission. It helped that we didn't have exchanges to go on and we could spend the whole time focused in our area. Sister Donaldson wanted to work hard up until the end, and by golly we did! Its been an emotional week full of lasts for her, but she's been doing great! I don't have a ton of time to write today because we still need to get a ton of things done so she can head off to the mission home. I've been thinking a lot about Sister Stanford all week since the last companion I killed was her... and now she's been home for months and did a whole semseter of school and is basically running the MTC and just rockin it in Provo! Where did the time go, it feels like it was just Decemeber 17th and we were spending our last day together, rocking out to Christmas music. Sister Donaldson and I have been rocking out to The Work! Its been great!

This weekend we had a special treat. Somebody that Sister Donaldson tracted into at the beginning of her mission was baptized in Lafayette. So we got permission to go, and earlier that day Lafayette 3rd ward had a baptism and some of the missionaries told one of my favorite members that I was coming that night, so she was there when I got there!!! It was so fun to see a familiar face and think of all the great times in my old area. I loved Lafayette so much, it made me so Lafayette homesick when we were driving in! Oh man it was such a great area (minus the smell... that city smelled so bad!)

Carmel is so beautiful though. I could spend the rest of my mission here. I won't though, I had an interview with President Cleveland this week and he said he would put me on a campus before the end of my mission! So I have that to look forward to! Can't wait!!! But I have to stay in Carmel to see some of these great people get baptized!!! I love it! 

Maybe I will have more time to write next week, I love you all, have a great week!

Sister Cordner

August 12, 2013

Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday love! Its been a really great day! This morning I was awoken by my roommates coming into my room singing "You've Had a Birthday!" They are so great, and all over the apartment are little sticky notes that say cute things about being 22! Also I have had 2 people now tell me... "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22" apparently its a song and I will understand it more later... I feel so out of the loop! haha! We went to the mission home this morning and my companion and I picked up Sister Cleveland ( the mission presidents wife) and the three of us went to get pedicures! It was probably the best birthday present I could have ever gotten myself! Then Sister Cleveland took us out to lunch, and we had a fun time talking with her about how crazy the life of a mission presidents wife is! Lets just say it didn't make me want to marry a mission president ANY time soon!!! haha!

This week was amazing! It started out long, we were going to have 3 exchanges, but we ended up moving one becasue of a baptism, so we only had 2. And on one of the exchanges I had a little surprise visator. During companionship study there is a knock at the door, and because we are missinoaries and the only people that come see us are other missionares, I just expected it to be the APs or one of the office missionaries... but I open it and there is only 1 person there instead of two, and he starts laughing, and I realize its Ty. My first thought was.... YOU CANT BE HERE!!! And then I thought.... hey.... why are you here?! He had a trip and was staying in Carmel only a mile or so away, so he thought he could just knock on my door! When he left I called President Cleveland to see if we could get lunch together and he told me we could. So he took us to Bubs (an amazing and famous burger place behind our apartment) and we had a fun time together! It was such a surprise to see him!

Then we had some of the best lessons of my mission this week! One was super intesne actually... and all the concerns still haven't been resolved yet, but Sister Moore is still working on praying and receiving an answer. She just had a bit of a blow up last week with a member telling her she shouldn't take the sacrament and now she thinks, "Why would I want to join a church that condemns me." We have reassured her that she is not condemned for taking the sacrament and that it is okay that she does, but now she doesn't want to come to church because she might see that guy who told her that there. Oh the drama. Today a member of the 70 is coming, and he will be staying all week, and we are going to have a lesson with President Cleveland in his home, and Elder Switzer of the 70 will join us, hopefully everything will get resolved there...

But we had another lesson with Sister Kelly and SIster Steigler this Friday night that was so amazing. It was in the mission home and oh man, President Cleveland is the man! I love both of my mission presidents so much! We haven't been able to finish the entire Restoration with them, so we had this lesson and we taught the whole 1st lesson, and President Cleveland jumped in when Sister Kelly was having concerns and he just laid it out for her. He told her how pray. And when I mean told her, I really mean coached her! Coach Cleveland! He's so great! And we invited both of them to be baptized in September and they said yes! The next day they came with us to a baptism in our ward and Sister Kelly said she prayed last night... and she just smiled from ear to ear! OH THE CHURCH IS TRUE! Its was so great! Her daughter Sister Steigler told us in the lesson how she felt it. She joined the Catholic church a few years back, and she said that she went to school and hours of learning to becomne Catholic, and how after she was done she felt like she knew it. She read the first part of the Book of Mormon like we asked her to, and she read it again, and again, she said she just kept going back and reading it, and she said she FELT it was true! Unlike anything she has ever felt in the Catholic church!!! Oh man what a sweet lesson! They are the greatest family, and I have loved teaching them so much!!!

We have a lesson with them tonight in the Bishops home! We will be teaching the Plan of Salvation, and I AM SO EXCITED!!! Its going to be the best! I love being a missionary so much! It hit me yesterday that I only have 6 more months... worst realization ever! I am going to work so hard the next 6 months its insane! I can't wait!!! I love being out here more than anything in the whole world! I love doing missionary work, and I love being a missionary!

Thanks again for all the birthday love! Being 22 feels so cool, but kinda old next to the 18 year old elders and 19 year old sisters. (This one sister told me she graduated high school in 2012 and I told her that was when I graduated college... to that she responded, "HOW OLD ARE YOU!?!?!" Hahahahaha!)

Have a great week,

Sister Cordner