Week 63 - December 29, 2014

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!! This week was pretty great with Christmas!

Last P Day we got to watch two Christmas movies, Frozen and Spirit. They were both very good. I have always loved the Spirit movie. 

In my district meeting this week I talked about the birth of Christ and then everyone shared their testimonies about Him. It was super awesome and spiritual. After the district meeting I started divisions  with Elder Nelson. We went to a part of their area that is very far away that they want to start building. We went there and KILLED IT. We found a ton of people and talked to maybe a ton (2,000). Alright maybe not that many people but it was a lot of people. We had a super fun time on divisions and I hope Elder Nelson learned a lot from them! The next day we walked 3 miles back to the beginning of our area while we were stopping to talk to people. I talked to a guy from Spain that moved here just 4 months ago. His accent was super cool and it made me think of the people I know serving there.

When I got back to my area we went out with the bishop and one of his counselors and visited 12 less active families. This was on Christmas Eve. It was a super great time and we had lots of good results. We had TWO BIG dinners that night and we got a couple presents from members too! When we got home we watched the fireworks that went off at midnight and we had to go outside to take a couple pics and videos! On Christmas morning we did service which was just literally moving around trash. It was fun though. Then we visited a bunch of families and had another big meal. 

We are entering the last two weeks of training of Elder Cline. I have learned a crazy amount during these two changes. I have been very humbled as district leader too. I am excited for the 14th of January when we have changes! 

I hope everyone is doing great! I felt awesome this week especially after being able to talk to my family. I really loved being able to teach all about Christ and having so many people listen to us. I know that Christ is the Gift from our Heavenly Father. How blessed we are for that never ending gift and the opportunity to be with our families forever! 

I LOVE YOU ALL! HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Elder Cordy

Week 62- December 22, 2014

CHRISTMAS TIME!!!! 

This week was a big week because we had the big Christmas Choir Presentation. We had practices every single day and we had the presentation on Sunday night. It was super awesome. I had a hard time going to practices every day but it was worth it. I got to direct a couple songs in the presentation and that was super awesome. I also sang in a small group of five that was fun to be a part of just because everyone knew music. I got a lot of comments after the presentation from people in my ward because I got super into the directing. 

We had a couple sweet things happen this week. 

Daniela and Alejandro went to the temple just to look at it and be there. They ended up buying about half of the distribution center. They are super nice and love having us over. 

Valentina is a recent convert that totally doesnt want anything to do with the church. We just went to visit her this week in the first time in a while because I got my head almost ripped off the last time. I really enjoyed this visit though. We taught about Gods love for us and it was super awesome. She had a friend over and she wanted him to talk to us. 

I had another baptismal interview this week with a girl that I was able to teach twice doing divisions. She was awesome. She knew everything about what the missionaries had taught her. 

We taught English and Math two different people this week. Everyone is going through their last tests for the year and they had some gringos come and help them.... vamo arriba America. 

Romina Medero got home from her mission this week in Neuquen Argentina. She doesnt know Elder Opfar but she is an amazing missionary! We worked with her two different days this week. Its weird to think that there is life after the mission... 

We had a cool experience to give one of the hermanas in my ward a blessing. Hermana Diaz was having tooth pains bad and she was freaking out about it. We offered to give her a blessing and she asked me to do it. Blessings really do work with faith! 

Biggest thing I have learned this week: Love and Sacrifice go together. There is no love without sacrifice. There is no sacrifice without love. As we serve and sacrifice for people, we grow to love them. As we love people, we have a greater desire to sacrifice for them. Something cool to think about. What have you sacrificed for those that you love? 

Week 61 - December 17, 2014

Hello everyone! Its been a while since we have been able to write but Ive been having a great time! We have had a lot of practices for the choir fireside that we will have this Sunday. Its going to be awesome. I am directing the choir for half of the presentation and I really like directing. Its fun getting into it! Last Pday we spent on the beach with a bunch of missionaries from the zone. This week I had a really fun district meeting. I talked about opening your mouth as a missionary and I did a funny example and made some elders eat some gross stuff. We gave a lot of blessings this week too. Its crazy that I have to refill my oil container a lot! I did divisions this week with Elder Leiva from Guatemala. He is going to end the mission with me. He is a super fun kid. I loved my time with him. They have two investigators who are AWESOME. One of which will get baptized this week. I also have small holes in my shoes. Ive been using them since August 17th and they are already almost trash. I need to buy shoes soon. Elder Cline destroyed his shoes and two people offered and gave him shoes for free. We have a baptism scheduled for the 27th, which will be awesome! Alexander is going to get baptized and Elder CLine will baptize him! We are still working with a couple other people that need to get married. We have quite a few investigators now that just need to go to church and they will be good! I dont know why going to church is so hard! We had quite a few services this week. Including painting a bathroom, installing windows, and helping carry glass a couple kilometers. I feel like the members really enjoy and trust us! We had a ward Christmas party which was awesome. We just had a ton of food, which was wonderful. I also got some sick jerseys this week. a Black portugual jersey and a Barcelona one that has Luis Suarez on the back. 

The highlight of my week were the past two days. We went to the mission home and the temple. We had interviews with President, made personal covenants, sang Christmas carols, and did all the saving ordinances besides the sealings for our family members that we have found. I got to baptize Elder Cline and then he baptized me in the temple. It was such an amazing experience. I honestly think those were two of the coolest days of my mission. Being a missionary is seriously the best. I love the gospel and my Savior! I am so grateful for the gift that He is to us from our loving Heavenly Father! 

Week 60 - December 8, 2014

This week was quite a roller coaster! I wrote last Tuesday and then Wednesday I got sick and I was throwing up until Friday morning. Thursday I stuck it out to teach district meeting and it went pretty well. It was the first one of the new change! On the way to district meeting we were on the bus and we had to get off so I could throw up. I am not sure what it was but I am good to go now!

Friday we had a pretty sweet day. We had water balloons thrown at us, two girls chased us home, and we gave Alexander a baptismal date for the 20th of this month. Alexander is Virginias son, who just got baptized a month ago. We are excited for him. 

We helped a lady home this week carrying her groceries and she was super talkative and interested in the church. We are going to her house this afternoon to do some service. We will see how it all goes with her. 

Sunday was really good. Food is always good after fast Sunday and its fun to be in fast and testimony meeting. I love the leaders in our ward. They really trust me now and they ask me to do a lot. I really enjoy this ward. Its a fun place to be. 

I am loving the mission still. I am studying opening your mouth more as a missionary and its helping me a lot! Its a constant struggle to do it more often but I feel like it will really change the way I am as a missionary! 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week! 

Love Elder Cordy

Week 59 - December 1, 2014

Change week! I am staying another change with Elder Cline as his trainer and district leader! This change will complete a full year in Montevideo. Needless to say, I will be happy to hear next change when I hopefully get to leave and hopefully go North! 

This week was pretty solid. We just got back from the temple and it was pretty great! We got names from our own family history to do work in the temple for and I will go in two weeks to do that work! We had no lunches this week with members and we had quite a solid amount of rice with whatever else we had in the house. I did divisions with Elder Cepeda from Barrio 17. He has 21 months in the mission and he is from Ecuador. He is a really good missionary, funny, but quiet. It was on thanksgiving day and we had chorizos with the other 2 Elders that were there with us. 

We had one day where we just got stuck without any lessons so we just started to knock tons of doors. We met a new guy who went to church until he was 9 and then he moved away from his grandma who was a member. He never was baptized and hasnt been to church here but he is super cool and hopefully we can get him to go! 

This week was hard to measure the progress of our investigators because we didnt have church. I am feeling good about a lot of them though. We will see next week! 

This week was the final elections for the next President of Uruguay. We were allowed to work this time and it was pretty calm until they announced who the president was. Then everyone CROWDED the streets with flags, horns, fireworks, yelling, etc. It was pretty funny. Its been raining all week and its been pretty nice honestly. Rain is a lot nicer than heat on a mission. However, with the combination of rain and obligatory elections on Sunday, we had a terrible drop of attendance at church. Last week we had 109 and this week we had 42 people at church. It was pretty crazy. 

Big news of the week is the initiative of He is the Gift or "Èl es la Dàdiva" that the church is starting. We are talking to tons of people about Gods love for us and I have been studying a ton about love. I feel like we have honestly seen a change in many people in just a week of time. Hopefully we can get the Christmas spirit into the hearts of these Uruguayos. 

I am weighing a whoppin 170lbs. Which is a lot considering I wrestled 138 Senior year...  

I hope you all have a good week! I love you all! 

These pics are my District this change and then the Medero family! 

Week 58 - November 24, 2014

Hey everyone! This week was pretty good and we have quite a couple cool stories! 

We found a lot of people first of all this week. That family that we got a message from saying they want to be baptized and married is AWESOME. They are going to figure out what they need to do to get married this week. We have had 3 lessons with them. Familia Santos. 

We tried to find the whole 2 other people that have been baptized in the last 2 years here. The 13 year old girl that had been baptized came out of her house with almost no clothes again so we decided it wouldnt be a great time for us to go through that. 

We talked to a man who is inactive too and he didnt even let us come in his house. He is a high priest and he said he stopped going to church because his wife died and no one came to visit him. 

I did divisions with Elder Finnegan, our Zone Leader this week. He is a STUD. for realz. He has a great attitude and teaches so well. I would literally love to be his companion or someone like him. 

We found a family of 8 this week. 7 girls. Only the mom believes in God. We had an interesting lesson with all of them and some of them were really receptive but the younger teenagers were just laughing the whole time. I hope they can be a cool miracle too! 

We have been working with Flor for a while now and only going by her house like once a week because she isnt progressing. However, I called her before church on Sunday and she came! It was super awesome. I feel totally comfortable in this ward now. I literally know everyone and most of them know my name. Its cool just to walk down every single isle of chairs and being able to say hi to everyone by their name. 

I gave an interview to a lady named Sandra in Playa Pascual for the Hermanas in my district this week. The lady knew everything but she talked my ears off. It was a 45 minute interview and I think I talked for 10 minutes. 

Elder Cline is doing pretty good! He is working to progress every week and I am trying to push him hard, even if he doesnt like everything I do. Dont get me wrong, Im not mean, but I make him go out of his comfort zone to learn new things! Its good though. 

I am doing super good though. I feel totally comfortable in the mission and I love it. I am seriously trying to learn portuguese now. I have a Book of Mormon, Preach my Gospel, a Dictionary from Portuguese to Spanish and a book with basic portuguese. I for real want to learn it. 

We have no lunches set with members this week, so it might be a rice week. 

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!