Week 7 - Full Week in Uruguay

Sun Nov 17- Today was the last full day at the MTC. I have loved it. I would say this is one of the most sacred places on earth. Last night we made our last visits to the apartments. We also sang today in Sacrament. We sang Army of Helaman. We are all packed and ready! 

Mon-Wed Nov 18-20 Today we left for a two year adventure to another country. Crazy. Both my bags I checked weighed 52 pounds. It is the max they allow with no extra charge. I called my family at the SLC airport. That was so nice. I sat by Elder Thacker on the first flight to Atlanta. He had never flown before. He liked it a lot. When we got there, we went to the next gate to Santiago Chile. I rode that longggg flight next to Elder Baggett and Elder Woodcock. It was actually a nice flight believe it or not. Then we flew to Montevideo. We exchanged 30 USD for pesos. I think it was like 500ish pesos. Our mission president and four other missionaries were waiting for us there. We took a bunch of pics, grabbed a bus, and left to the mission home. My first impressions of Uruguay was how beautiful it was. Everything is so green and natural. There aren´t very many paved roads at all. We had an amazing dinner at the mission home of briscut mashed potatoes, etc. We had a push up contest when we got up the next morning. The record was 104 push ups. I thought for sure that Elder Baggett would destroy that record. I ended up winning it and getting a new record of 114. WE had interviews with President Smith too. I told him that I would work hard, be obedient, and that he wouldn´t have to worry about me. He said that he has high expectations because all the missionaries from Texas are great. I told him I want to be as effective as possible, so if that requires having a latino companion, so be it. I received that latino companion that hopefully will make me very effective. His name is Elder Chalí. He is from Guatemala. He only speaks Spanish and it is really hard to communicate. They introduced us to our companions by taking us to the temple, and then having us close our eyes. Then our new companions stood behind us and sang Called to Serve in Spanish. It was pretty sweet. We are serving in Colonia, which is in the South West part of the country. Our area is called Florencio Sánchez. We have a tiny little apartment. We are right across from two Elders who are from Chile and Peru. I am the only English speaker. Just my luck. Elder Baggett is in my zone (Colonia). When I had to say goodbye to him, Elder Sanderson, and Elder Brown, I was tearing up. Uruguay is beautiful but I feel really lost. I prayed a ton today. I am scared, excited, lost, happy, freaked out, and ready. 

Thurs Nov 21- Today we woke up, studied, and went to a zone meeting. The only two people I knew there were Elder Baggett and Hermana Sorenson. It was so nice to see them and share our experiences in English after I had only heard Spanish for the last day. When we got back, we visited the Villegas and Susana Rey. They were all really nice. They said my Spanish was pretty good for only one day here. That was hard to believe because I hardly understood anything. We had movie night with the branch. We watched the Bee Movie with the branch in Spanish. I didin´t understand that either. When we were going home, there was a giant party going on. Apparently it was a graduation ceremony. I had to duck going through a door today. I am one of the tallest people here, which is hard imagine. I felt much better today despite the fact that I only had pizza and popcorn all day. I was already asked which Uruguayan futbol team I like: Peñarol or Nacional. I chose Peñarol. It seems to be a good choice. 

Fri Nov 22- WE woke up today and went on a run. It was nice especially because Elder Chalí isn´t in good shape. We studied for 4 hours after, and then we made some food. Rice and hot dogs. WE visited a ton of people today and then we had game night at the church. Uruguayans talk so fast. I can´t understand much of anything. They are super nice though. I had a rough night though because I kept thinking about home. 

Sat Nov 23- Today we went to Matia´s house to print pictures for a party for Marisel. Marisel is a convert who is leaving on her mission to Chile on Dec 4. We spent most of the day prepping for the party. The party was pretty fun. We played games and ate some kind of sausage. 

Sun Nov 24- Today we woke up and went to church. I passed the sacrament and then I was asked to share my testimony. I was freaking out and I didn´t say much. There were 17 people that came to church. It is a small little building. It isn´t a chapel really. It is just on a corner of a street. Elder Robles, the Elder from Chile, told someone I can play the piano, so I will probably end up doing that next week. We don´t have one at the church now though. When we left church, there were fire works going off. I didn´t know why until later. There was a futbol game going on. We visited the Mesa family. They want me to share something with them tomorrow because I didn´t say much today. We went to the Villegas house after. They had the futbol game on. Peñarol and Nacional were playing. They are die hard Peñarol fans. Hermana Villegas fed us well, with a bunch of bread with dulche de leche. (AMAZING STUFF) We went to Susana Rey´s house for lunch. We had pasta with spaghetti sauce. It was pretty good but I eat pasta everyday. I am already tired of it. We went to Lorena´s house after that. We came in the middle of a lesson with the other Elders. It seemed to be a pretty good lesson. We snacked and played games for a while after that. 

Week 6 IN URUGUAY, November 20, 2013

Dear Cordy Family,

We would like to inform you of the arrival of your son to the Uruguay Montevideo West Mission. He arrived here safe and sound yesterday morning and met President and Sister Smith. He will receive some training in the mission home to help him get to know the mission and feel comfortable in Uruguay. The missionaries will have lunch with the Smith Family and, afterwards, he will meet his trainer and leave for his new area. It is such an exciting time for him, and we wanted to share it with you. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to get in contact with us. Our email is x. We thank you for all you have done as parents to help your son reach this point in his life.  We have attached a photo of your son with President and Hermana Smith and his Trainer. Elder Cordy will be serving with Elder Chali in the Zone of Colonia.  Thank you so much for your support.

 Elder Staffieri

Executive Secretary

Uruguay Montevideo West Mission

Final Week In the MTC - November 13, 2013

Five More Days Until Departure

Travel Plans! I leave the MTC Monday Nov 18 at 8:30. Flight is at 1:55pm to Santiago Chile via Delta Airlines. We arrive at 9:25 the next day (19th.) We fly from Chile to Montevideo on Lan Chile airlines from 2:05-5:20 on the 19th. I can't wait! We have 16 people in our traveling group and I know 14 of them. All of which are going to Uruguay Montevideo West Mission!

Wed Nov 6- Today it hit me we get our travel plans on Friday! That is an insane thought! Every P-day is so nice and relaxing. We wrote letters, did laundry, and went to the temple. Today Elder Brown and Baggett stole a golf cart from on of the maintenance workers. It was hilarious. I took a bunch of pics. We went to Burger supreme after the temple and we all felt sick but it was worth it. We also met the two new districts. We gave them a tour and got to know them. I taught the new district with Hermana Williams, who is from SLC. Elder Baggett taught the other new district with Hermana Smith from Gilbert Arizona. They are the sister training leaders. They are awesome.

Thur Nov 7- Today was super long but really good. We started cleaning toilets and lights for service. Gym was and is always the best hour of the day. Elder Sanderson decided to shave his legs because he was 'bored'. The funniest thing is he didn't have time to do both so he ended up just shaving one leg. It is hilarious. We had a class with Hermano Mead. He told us a couple stories. First, he told us about his mission and the earthquake in Chile. He literally was a miracle in Chile. Crazy story and really touching. The other was funny. He approached a door while tracting. The man that answered said, "Hi I have prostate cancer. How can I help you" (In Spanish of course.) That was probably a crazy lesson to endure when he had that attitude. Another story he told us, it was his companions first door. The man that opened the door, was about 400 lbs. He said he was super nice but his companion didn't understand anything the man was saying. Elder Mead told his companion that the man wanted to kill them, when in reality, he said he would love to have them in. Our class with Hermana Steward was awesome too. We talked about the hymn, Brightly Beams our Fathers Mercy. It is about missionaries and it has an amazing message. Our lesson with Marysol went very well. We taught lesson three and committed her to attending another baptism from another investigator. We had a crazy experience at dinner too. Elder Findlay, from another district, started chocking. Elder Richardson, also from another district, jumped up, took off his jacket and watch and them proceeded to help him out. It was a scary experience but it was amazing how everyone reacted and tried to help.

Fri Nov 8- Today we got our travel plans..... Ten more days in the CCM! I can't wait to go to the field! We also had TRC today. We taught a couple from Monterrey Mexico. They have a son who is serving right now in my mission. They gave me a letter to give to him by hand when I arrive in Uruguay. IT was an awesome lesson. Funny story: Elder Sanderson and I were whistling and trying to whistle louder than each other. A teacher leaned out a window and told us to stop because he was teaching a class. Without realizing it was a teacher, Elder Sanderson yelled, "How about you just close your window!" The man gave us a dirty look and we were all cracking up. It may seem like Elder Sanderson is a trouble maker from what I say about him but I love him to death. He is hilarious and I told him I feel like we would be great friends if we lived by each other.

Sat Nov 9- Today is one month in the mission! The day started out awesome with biscuits and gravy. After that, Elder Baggett and I were able to give Elder Jess, from one of the new districts, a blessing. He hurt his ankle running and it was really swollen. It was a cool experience for me because I got to give the blessing. I studied a lot just off of revelation from the Holy Ghost. It seemed like the trend was the Second coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I learned a lot and it was really interesting. One question I asked all the Elders after our personal study time was, "If Jesus Christ was on the earth, what would you ask Him?" We had a great discussion for a long time and I think it is a great question to think about. We taught a lesson to Marysol with Elder Brown pretending to be a member. It was a great lesson and we asked Marysol bear her testimony. Cool experience.

Sun Nov 10- Today started off really weird. We ate breakfast, and then as soon as we got back, President Claybaugh informed us that a couple Elders were missing from the new district. he sent us off to find them. They were walking out of their room, two hours late, still getting dressed. They had an odd story but I won't tell about that. However, they sure did get the hammer from Brother Cannon. Brother Williams took Elder Baggett and I to the side after we returned. He asked us if we would be able to provide a sacrament meeting for the cafeteria workers and both prepare talks. They weren't too long but I was able to just talk about Joseph Smith and his life for about 10 minutes. After that sacrament, which we prepared, blessed, and passed the sacrament, we interviewed each district leader. It was cool to hear all their views from so many different points in the MTC experience. We also have the opportunity to help a bunch of the Elders and Sisters. Elder Baggett and I were able to sit on the stand for sacrament meeting, because we are the Zone Leaders. It was funny because we could watch all the missionaries. We counted five that were out cold and a bunch others that were on the verge of falling asleep. Elder Sanderson was assigned the talk and he did very well. We had a fireside at the main campus too. I made my MTC television debut and a lot of people let me know.

Mon Nov 11- One of the best days here. We started off by giving Hermana Anderson a blessing. Elder Baggett was able to be the mouthpiece and wow I don't think I have felt like I did at that moment in time. One of the most powerful blessings ever. Elder Baggett is an absolute stud. He is ripped, super nice, and has a ridiculously strong testimony. One of my favorite parts of today was when Elder Naea and I were able to go play piano and sing for about an hour and a half during additional study time. Elder Naea can sing SSSOOOO WELL. We had a killer lesson with Mario about the word of wisdom. He kept stopping us and saying, "no you don't understand, I LOVE tea." Apparently that is the same for all the South Americans. I thought it was an awesome lesson. His feedback for us was that we are doing amazing and we need to keep studying. I also observed our trios lesson, from our district and I learned a lot from it. Four square was super fun at gym but everyone hates our district because we are all really good. We also played a game called destiny with the new district. I bet that if I made the shot, they would all (6 elders) have to give me a tie. I made the shot but luckily they were able to redeem themselves and we all left the same as we entered.

Tues Nov 12- Today was nice. We had the opportunity to listen to an apostle of the Lord. Elder L Tom Perry spoke to us. He spoke mainly about companionships. It was good to think about how much we learn and build off one another. I told my district how grateful I was for each one of them and how I hope I will be able to get to the celestial kingdom with the rest of them. They are all just amazing. It really hit me today that we are leaving next week. I am scared out of my mind but I hope I can focus on serving the Lord. We only have one more grammar principle to learn before it is all recap and preparation. We have one more gym time, one more P-day, one more endowment session in English, one more American burger, one more time to attend church and only one more mission to serve the Lord full time. (At least for a while). Insanity. I am so proud to wear "Jesucristo" on my name tag every single day. I am striving to become like him. How blessed I am. He loves us so much that he died for us, bled from every pore, performed miracle, and restored his Gospel to the earth today. I am doing exactly what he would be doing if he were on the earth. I have only two short years to serve Him full time. That's what He is asking of me, so that is what I will give to Him. It is really a heck of a deal. During these two years where I serve Him, he blessed me immensely. He blesses me for serving Him when He gave his life for me. Wow.

Travel Plans! I leave the MTC Monday Nov 18 at 8:30. Flight is at 1:55pm to Santiago Chile via Delta Airlines. We arrive at 9:25 the next day (19th.) We fly from Chile to Montevideo on Lan Chile airlines from 2:05-5:20 on the 19th. I can't wait! We have 16 people in our traveling group and I know 14 of them. All of which are going to Uruguay Montevideo West Mission!

Wed Nov 6- Today it hit me we get our travel plans on Friday! That is an insane thought! Every P-day is so nice and relaxing. We wrote letters, did laundry, and went to the temple. Today Elder Brown and Baggett stole a golf cart from on of the maintenance workers. It was hilarious. I took a bunch of pics. We went to Burger supreme after the temple and we all felt sick but it was worth it. We also met the two new districts. We gave them a tour and got to know them. I taught the new district with Hermana Williams, who is from SLC. Elder Baggett taught the other new district with Hermana Smith from Gilbert Arizona. They are the sister training leaders. They are awesome.

Thur Nov 7- Today was super long but really good. We started cleaning toilets and lights for service. Gym was and is always the best hour of the day. Elder Sanderson decided to shave his legs because he was 'bored'. The funniest thing is he didn't have time to do both so he ended up just shaving one leg. It is hilarious. We had a class with Hermano Mead. He told us a couple stories. First, he told us about his mission and the earthquake in Chile. He literally was a miracle in Chile. Crazy story and really touching. The other was funny. He approached a door while tracting. The man that answered said, "Hi I have prostate cancer. How can I help you" (In Spanish of course.) That was probably a crazy lesson to endure when he had that attitude. Another story he told us, it was his companions first door. The man that opened the door, was about 400 lbs. He said he was super nice but his companion didn't understand anything the man was saying. Elder Mead told his companion that the man wanted to kill them, when in reality, he said he would love to have them in. Our class with Hermana Steward was awesome too. We talked about the hymn, Brightly Beams our Fathers Mercy. It is about missionaries and it has an amazing message. Our lesson with Marysol went very well. We taught lesson three and committed her to attending another baptism from another investigator. We had a crazy experience at dinner too. Elder Findlay, from another district, started chocking. Elder Richardson, also from another district, jumped up, took off his jacket and watch and them proceeded to help him out. It was a scary experience but it was amazing how everyone reacted and tried to help.

Fri Nov 8- Today we got our travel plans..... Ten more days in the CCM! I can't wait to go to the field! We also had TRC today. We taught a couple from Monterrey Mexico. They have a son who is serving right now in my mission. They gave me a letter to give to him by hand when I arrive in Uruguay. IT was an awesome lesson. Funny story: Elder Sanderson and I were whistling and trying to whistle louder than each other. A teacher leaned out a window and told us to stop because he was teaching a class. Without realizing it was a teacher, Elder Sanderson yelled, "How about you just close your window!" The man gave us a dirty look and we were all cracking up. It may seem like Elder Sanderson is a trouble maker from what I say about him but I love him to death. He is hilarious and I told him I feel like we would be great friends if we lived by each other.

Sat Nov 9- Today is one month in the mission! The day started out awesome with biscuits and gravy. After that, Elder Baggett and I were able to give Elder Jess, from one of the new districts, a blessing. He hurt his ankle running and it was really swollen. It was a cool experience for me because I got to give the blessing. I studied a lot just off of revelation from the Holy Ghost. It seemed like the trend was the Second coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I learned a lot and it was really interesting. One question I asked all the Elders after our personal study time was, "If Jesus Christ was on the earth, what would you ask Him?" We had a great discussion for a long time and I think it is a great question to think about. We taught a lesson to Marysol with Elder Brown pretending to be a member. It was a great lesson and we asked Marysol bear her testimony. Cool experience.

Sun Nov 10- Today started off really weird. We ate breakfast, and then as soon as we got back, President Claybaugh informed us that a couple Elders were missing from the new district. he sent us off to find them. They were walking out of their room, two hours late, still getting dressed. They had an odd story but I won't tell about that. However, they sure did get the hammer from Brother Cannon. Brother Williams took Elder Baggett and I to the side after we returned. He asked us if we would be able to provide a sacrament meeting for the cafeteria workers and both prepare talks. They weren't too long but I was able to just talk about Joseph Smith and his life for about 10 minutes. After that sacrament, which we prepared, blessed, and passed the sacrament, we interviewed each district leader. It was cool to hear all their views from so many different points in the MTC experience. We also have the opportunity to help a bunch of the Elders and Sisters. Elder Baggett and I were able to sit on the stand for sacrament meeting, because we are the Zone Leaders. It was funny because we could watch all the missionaries. We counted five that were out cold and a bunch others that were on the verge of falling asleep. Elder Sanderson was assigned the talk and he did very well. We had a fireside at the main campus too. I made my MTC television debut and a lot of people let me know.

Mon Nov 11- One of the best days here. We started off by giving Hermana Anderson a blessing. Elder Baggett was able to be the mouthpiece and wow I don't think I have felt like I did at that moment in time. One of the most powerful blessings ever. Elder Baggett is an absolute stud. He is ripped, super nice, and has a ridiculously strong testimony. One of my favorite parts of today was when Elder Naea and I were able to go play piano and sing for about an hour and a half during additional study time. Elder Naea can sing SSSOOOO WELL. We had a killer lesson with Mario about the word of wisdom. He kept stopping us and saying, "no you don't understand, I LOVE tea." Apparently that is the same for all the South Americans. I thought it was an awesome lesson. His feedback for us was that we are doing amazing and we need to keep studying. I also observed our trios lesson, from our district and I learned a lot from it. Four square was super fun at gym but everyone hates our district because we are all really good. We also played a game called destiny with the new district. I bet that if I made the shot, they would all (6 elders) have to give me a tie. I made the shot but luckily they were able to redeem themselves and we all left the same as we entered.

Tues Nov 12- Today was nice. We had the opportunity to listen to an apostle of the Lord. Elder L Tom Perry spoke to us. He spoke mainly about companionships. It was good to think about how much we learn and build off one another. I told my district how grateful I was for each one of them and how I hope I will be able to get to the celestial kingdom with the rest of them. They are all just amazing. It really hit me today that we are leaving next week. I am scared out of my mind but I hope I can focus on serving the Lord. We only have one more grammar principle to learn before it is all recap and preparation. We have one more gym time, one more P-day, one more endowment session in English, one more American burger, one more time to attend church and only one more mission to serve the Lord full time. (At least for a while). Insanity. I am so proud to wear "Jesucristo" on my name tag every single day. I am striving to become like him. How blessed I am. He loves us so much that he died for us, bled from every pore, performed miracle, and restored his Gospel to the earth today. I am doing exactly what he would be doing if he were on the earth. I have only two short years to serve Him full time. That's what He is asking of me, so that is what I will give to Him. It is really a heck of a deal. During these two years where I serve Him, he blessed me immensely. He blesses me for serving Him when He gave his life for me. Wow.

Week 4 - November 6, 2013

This week was awesome, once again.

Thursday- Today is Halloween. It doesn't even feel like it though. I received a couple care packages and that is the only reason I remembered that it was Halloween. We taught our investigator Marysol today. We really dug in deep into the lesson and tried to apply it to her life. It went really well. Elder Baggett finally felt better today. Elder Johnson, our Zone Leader, had to go to the doctor because he was having trouble getting rid of waste... We also had fun with some pescados (fish) today. Elder Brown knows a girl that works in the cafeteria and she brought us 7 live goldfish at our request. We let 3 go in the pond here and raced them down the water falls. It was hilarious. We also met the 6 new hermanas in our zone. They are all super nice and they are Intermediate Spanish speakers so they are already pretty far ahead.

Friday- Today is the month I have been waiting for my whole life. The month I leave for the mission field. November 2013. We taught a returned Missionary from Argentina and he spoke super fast and mumbled. I have never been able to not understand someone since we first got here. Elder Sanderson and Elder Brown had a towel whipping fight after Elder Sanderson got out of the shower. It was hilarious. I also got the nicest compliment ever today. We had a substitute teacher and he asked me, after our lesson together, if my companion and I were intermediate level speakers. Sadly, we aren't but it was a nice compliment!

Saturday- Nothing too exciting today. I decided to put tabs in all my scriptures according to scriptures in PMG. I have colorful scriptures now. They look sweet and they are really helpful. Tomorrow is fast Sunday. That is going to be rough. We also had one of our fish jump into our kitchen sink today but Elder Bagget saved it. We also dug into the story about David, Bathsheba, and Uriah. I never realized how good of a man Uriah was.

Sunday- Today was awesome. I finished another chapter of the tabs in the bible. Brother Williams from our branch presidency interrupted my study by asking who my companion was. I told him it was Elder Baggett and he asked to speak with us. I was somewhat nervous until he invited us to serve as the new Zone Leaders. That essentially means that I will be in charge of the 39 missionaries in our zone. I am super excited about the opportunity. We visit the Elders every night and it will be hard to fill in the shoes that were left by the last Zone Leaders. I also shared my testimony at church. Apparently it was pretty good because I got a bunch of both Sisters and Elders to cry. I had many people tell me how awesome it was after the meeting. Now I get teased by the other elders in my district on how I make girls cry. It snowed today too. Didn't stick or anything but snow is snow and I am a summer kind of guy.

Monday- Today was the first official day of being a ZL. We made our rounds to each room and talked with all the Elders. It is cool to think that I am the example for them. It snowed again today. I finished doing the tabs in the Bible and Book of Mormon and it looks awesome. The other Elders in my district, during our lesson, told us about a firsthand experience of mother nature with a couple birds and for some reason they decided to tell us and our teacher. We taught Marysol today and we had an awesome lesson. I feel like I have the spirit with me so much more now and it is so cool to recognize that and see how it affects our lessons and our lives.

Tuesday- Today was another cold day with a high of 38 degrees. We had an awesome testimony meeting with just the Elders in our district. After that, I studied and dug deep into my patriarchal blessing and the scriptures that it refers me to. It was cool to see how Heavenly Father has a plan specifically for me and my life and how he will bless me according to my obedience. We had a devotional tonight too. It was by the Zwincks. He serves in the first Quorum of the 70. Elder Baggett and I literally had the best seats in the house available for the missionaries. We had front row and middle. We were literally 12 feet away from the speakers. We had an awesome lesson with our investigator Mario today. I felt like I was speaking so fluidly and that it was just coming to me. Brother Mead, after the lesson told us that he literally didn't have anything to say to us. He said that was the best lesson that he has seen from Beginner Spanish speakers at the MTC. That was quite a compliment. He is an awesome teacher.

I am looking forward to receiving my travel plans down to Uruguay this week. Hopefully by Friday they will be here. I finally got my camera to work so I can send more pictures!

Week Three - Halfway Done with the Mission Training Center

This week FLEW by and I feel like I am oddly comfortable teaching in Spanish now! Wednesday- Today we woke up to do laundry at 5:45. After we did our cleaning and laundry, the other Elders and I in my apartment all crashed the couch. We have two couches that seat three people. All four of us fell asleep on them for about two hours. We woke up and went to the temple. On the way out, we met this lady that was from Bolivia. She started talking to us in Spanish. Come to find out, she only spoke Spanish and she had a question. Through broken Spanish, I told her that I could help her to the best of my ability. She told us that she had an international call card and she couldn't figure out how to use it because it was all in English. So we translated the important information on the call card into Spanish and then told her how to use it and what buttons to press on her phone. I had to explain it twice because she didn't understand my three week experience of Spanish. I am actually really happy that took Spanish in high school because just knowing how to conjugate verbs really helps. That was an amazing experience. Thursday- Last night, we pulled all of our mattresses into the family room and had an apartment sleepover. We ended up talking for about an hour before we went to bed. Another weird thing that missionaries do to have some fun. We taught our investigator Marisol and the lesson went pretty well, although we should have applied it more to her and her life. Friday- Today was the first time that we went to the TRC. The TRC is an opportunity that we have to teach members just a short 25 minute lesson. The people that come are all volunteers and they all speak our language that we are learning. Our first lesson was with a couple that were about 80 years old. They were very kind. He served his mission in Guatemala and she didn't speak Spanish so we would have to teach the brother and he would explain to his wife what we were teaching. We had an awesome experience with them and they were very helpful with grammar. Besides that we had a pretty calm day. I was a ball of energy at gym. All the Elders in my district think I am crazy because I have so much energy. I think they are right. Elder Baggett, my companion, got his ten points today. We are the first two to receive all ten points and we are a companionship... Not to say that we are the best or anything. Elder Baggett and I do work really well together. We split the lessons very well and we are both well experienced with Spanish. I feel very blessed. I also counted how many times I prayed today. Final result: 25 times in one day. That is pretty insane but that just ensures that I always have the Spirit with me and that I keep in touch with my Father in Heaven so he can help me. Saturday- Today we taught a new investigator, Marco. We had a really really good lesson but his feedback was really good for us after the lesson. We were the last companionship to teach and he said we were the only ones that really included him and taught according to his needs. I also got chewed out by our building supervisor because I was laying on the table before class started, reciting the first vision in Spanish. The funny part of the story is that he was chewing me out in Spanish. He was talking so fast and I couldn't even understand him. It was actually pretty funny. He came and apologized later and told me he was having a rough day and I guess I was the lucky one that got to hear about it and get his anger out on. Sunday- Today was pretty normal We went to Priesthood meeting, where I got to play the piano. It was pretty cool but I was super nervous. In sacrament meeting, Elder Baggett, Elder Orme, Elder Naea, and I had the opportunity of doing the musical number. Elder Baggett played the piano while the other three of us sang 'I stand all amazed.' The first verse was with the piano and then the third verse was acapella. I felt like the weak link in the group because Elder Naea and Orme are both really involved with choir but a lot of people told me that I did really well. I sang the melody, Elder Naea sang harmony to me and Elder Orme sang bass. It was awesome. Sister Cannon said over the pulpit during her talk, "we have had some good and bad musical numbers from Elders but that was absolutely stellar." After church, we went back to the apartment and took a nap, which was AMAZING. Monday- Elder Baggett didn't feel very good today. We spent the first couple hours in the apartment after going to the nurse so Elder Baggett could sleep longer. Meanwhile, I decided to clean and rearrange some furniture in the apartment. He felt a little bit better after his nap so the rest of the day was our normal routine. We also played a prank on the Elders from our district in the other apartment. We stuck and alarm clock in their vent and set it for 3:30. Tuesday- I usually have a day every now and then that REALLY helps me build my testimony of this gospel. Today was one of those days. One of the Elders was having trouble and he heard news that he will have to join us in Uruguay in about four months from now. We had an amazing bonding time. We started by going around and all saying something nice about this specific Elder. He returned the favor for each of us. He also asked us to give him a blessing. It was amazing to see all these men that are 18-21 years old that have only known each other for three weeks all participate in this blessing. The spirit was so strong during the blessing and every single person in the room shed tears. Some of the Elders even mentioned how they didn't cry when their parents dropped them off at the MTC but how crazy it was that they were crying so hard when we had only known each other for less than three weeks. We sang 'God be with you til we meet again' just before bed. I don't know why we sing that song because it is so sad and it always ends up making people cry. We also had very fine success with the alarm prank. They woke up at 3:30 and had to find and unscrew the vent that had the alarm clock in it. That was pretty funny. We also had an amazing lesson with our investigator Mario! That is about all for this week! I am missing Texas and especially warm weather right now. I really miss football too... It's hard to study for 10-12 hours a day on Saturday when you know so many good games are on and see BYU fans walking up to the stadium for the game. I know what I am doing is the right thing though and I know that it will end up being what matters most. "Successful people are not happy, happy people are successful." I heard that quote and I loved it. I thought I would share it. All is well! Halfway done with my experience at the MTC!

Week Two

Wednesday-We woke up at 5:30 so we could get our laundry done super quick. We went to the Provo temple and did an endowment session. It is cool to see all these temples! The Provo temple is huge and it has a lot of floors. We got lost a couple times. After the temple, we went to Brigham's Landing and ate a burger! It was so good! Fry sauce is the best. Texas is definitely missing out. After our burger, we had a class. What hit me most was how much Jesus Christ truly loves us. Our parents love us more than anyone in the world but Jesus loves us MORE than that. Mind blown. Jesus loves hearing from us and he is so proud of the 80,000 something missionaries out in the world that are serving him 24/7 and progressing the work he started about 2,000 years ago. Thursday- Today was awesome. We had service at 5:45 but with my morning person attitude, it was actually really fun. We just went around to the building and replaced toilet paper, cleaned toilets, and cleaned all the door knobs. Gym time is the best 45 minutes ever. It was really cold but four square never fails to get my blood pumping. We taught our last lesson to our investigator to Francisco because we "baptized" him. We asked for a picture with him since we wouldn't see him again. He told us that we didn't need a pictures because we would see him tomorrow. Long story short, he is now our teacher. Francisco's real name is Hermano Brad Mead. I also got a couple letters and a package today. They never fail to brighten my day. When we went back to the apartment at 10, the whole district was in my apartment. We had someone knock on the door. Thinking it was our zone leaders coming for their usual goodnight hugs, I yelled, "NO ONE IS HOME" just to mess with them. Then Elder Brown looked through the peep hole and saw one of the members of the Branch Presidency standing outside. Luckily, he was really cool about it and he didn't know it was me. Friday- Today flew by. We basically studied all day. We had classes with Hermana Steward and Hermano Mead. They are both so amazing. They will be our new investigators starting Monday. Saturday- Today we had a lot of moments that helped us bond with the Elders in our district. I also got my tenth punto (point) in Hermana Stewards class today. I set a new record for the fastest time to get all ten points. Being who I am, I had to break at least one record at the MTC. We get puntos for being able to answer certain questions, or calling her out on mistakes in her grammar or something along those lines. As a reward, we get to pick out a dessert or something. I chose ice cream sundaes with CAFFEINATED Dr. Pepper. These people in Utah don't believe in caffeine and it drives me crazy. They don't know what's good for them (to an extent). Sunday- Today started off bad because I didn't feel very good. I didn't have to talk today in sacrament meeting so that was a plus. After sacrament meeting, Elder Baggett, Orme, Naea and I went to go find a piano in the church. We started singing some hymns and after two hours of singing, we decided we are going to try out to sing in the devotionals in front of the whole MTC. We also joined the choir that sings in all the devotionals. Monday- Today was really good. We taught our new investigator, Marisol. The lesson went really well. We didn't go in with any notes and we sure benefited from that. We taught her the first lesson (which is really impressive for a week and a half in) and she really liked the message. I felt like we needed to relate it more to her though. The person that observed our lesson was really impressed with my Spanish as well as Elder Baggett's Spanish. Tuesday- Today was the best day here yet. We had early morning study and then early gym time. We taught a new investigator named Mario. Again, we went in with absolutely nothing but our Santa Biblia and our Libro de Mormon. We had another amazing experience and we were able to teach Mario about how God loves us and about families for 30 minutes. It was amazing. We really connected with him. I also memorized Joseph Smith's account of the first vision en Espanol. It is ridiculously powerful. We also had an evening devotional. Elder Robbins from the Seventy spoke. He had a lot of cool stories about how Heavenly Father will help missionaries find people and help them come closer to Jesus Christ. My favorite quote was "Success is going from failure to failure without losing any enthusiasm." This is so true especially in missionary work. We also had a district leave to their mission today so they had a testimony meeting. It was super powerful. They are headed to serve in Argentina. They also changed the dress code here to "winter dress" which essentially means we have to wear a suit coat everywhere we go. Lucky for all the missionaries serving in South America, we only have one suit and two matching pair of slacks. So that night, I packed up the rest of my slacks because I can't wear anything but my suit! I sure hope it holds up for a while! THATS MY WEEK! It seemed like time flew by this week! I am having a great time and I feel like I can talk very well in Spanish. It is so cool how much Heavenly Father blesses his missionaries.

Week One/ October 16, 2013 - Mission Training Center

The MTC (CCM en Espanol) is amazing. I absolutely love it. Such a strong spirit and no temptations. There is no other place I would rather be right now. I am so grateful I can serve the Lord literally 24/7. Elder Baggett is my companion. He is so much like me it is scary. He is very organized, can play the piano, wrestles, and is the oldest of 6 children. He lives in Reno Nevada. We have 8 Elders in my district and 0 Hermanas. I love my district. They are all stellar men. Elder Sanderson and Brown are companions and they are the two I knew before I left because of that website. They are super cool and they are our apartment-mates haha. They are both from Utah. Elder Naea (Naya) and elder Orme (Orm) are companions too. Elder Naea is originally from Samoa and he lives in SLC. Elder Orme is a military child and has grown up on a base in North Dakota. Elder Woodcock(who I met on the plane) and Elder Thacker are companions too. Elder Woodcock is our district leader. He is 21 as well as Elder Naea. The rest of us Elders are 18. Elder Sanderson is 19 but he had his birthday on saturday. We have so much fun together as a district. We do everything together even when we don't have to. We are already so unified. Elder Baggett- Reno Nevada Elder Sanderson- Saratoga Springs Utah Elder Brown- Somewhere else in Utah Elder Naea- SLC Utah Elder Orme- North Dakota Air Force Base Elder Thacker- Somewhere in Idaho. Elder Woodcock- Bentonville Arkansas. Proud home of Wal Mart. These are just a couple highlights of each day from my journal entries. Wed. -The strongest spiritual experience I had today was singing Called to Serve and Army of Helaman with all the incoming Elders y Hermanas. I had a blister today and I can't wait to see how many more I get. Thurs.- I heard the weeks are slow but the weeks are fast. I can definitely attest that the days are slow. We studied for 12 hours today. It was killer. Elder Woodcock is a new convert and he has such great insight to the gospel. I slept like a rock last night because I was exhausted. Friday- We taught an investigator (Francisco) for the first time today. It was a train wreck. Spanish is really difficult. We all fastest today and of course the next breakfast is my personal favorite, biscuits and gravy. We had a speaker that served in Uruguay, Hermano Harris. He said the people are super nice and it is so awesome. The weather is getting really cold and there is usually a slight drizzle that makes me and Elder Woodcock (from Arkansas) tremble. Elder Woodcock and I mess with all the other Elders and say y'all way too much and talk like we are truly from the South. It is pretty funny. i think everything is funny to us because we are always really tired. The funniest thing today was when our investigator asked us, Como Estan Mormones? and Elder Brown responded with, Si Si Si! We also have a fun time trying to sneak spoons in eachothers pockets. It is sad how much fun we have with such stupid stuff but it makes the days go by faster. Saturday- Our next lesson with Francisco went much better. We both were able to testify after without any notes and that was pretty impressive. Someone broke the news about the OU and Texas game because I wore a OU shirt to gym. No one here really understands the religion that is football down in the south. Today went by much faster and I really hope this pattern continues. Sunday- Today was so great. Nice and relaxing. We only studied for 6 hours today and that was quite a break. Elder Baggett and I went into a room and found a piano after sacrament meeting and we just played for literally an hour and a half while we had personal time. I started reading Jesus the Christ and it has such great insight about his life and it is so in depth. We met all the hermanas serving in Uruguay today. They are all super nice. Monday- Today seemed to go much faster than the others. I am so grateful for that. The days are SO long. The food today wasn't very good but after dinner, I got a package from grandma Hickey so that made my day 100X better. Our lesson with Francisco didn't go as well so we are determined to do better tomorrow. Today was just awesome. We had a ton of fun. We play four square (we call it man square) during gym today. We call it man square because it gets super intense. We have also played soccer and volleyball. That is the best hour of the day. I want to just run until I throw up because I am so sick of sitting in a chair for 10-12 hours a day. Tuesday- Today was great too. It started off rough when one of the Elders told us he needed to talk to someone. After that we taught Francisco. We had a great lesson and the spirit was so strong. It is hard to think of all the words in Spanish so we have to go around it a lot of the times. We had the opportunity to listen to Elder Dallin H. Oaks at a devotional. He is such a powerful speaker. This is my favorite thing he said. "I solemly affirm my testimony of our savior Jesus Christ that you have been called to proclaim these truths to all the world. This is the most important message in all of our mortal lives." I thought that was so awesome. We have such a great district. I really love it here. There is no other place I would rather be. I love teaching the gospel and learning spanish. I love and miss you guys! Les amo! Elder Cordy