Week 25 - Gosnells, Southern River Zone, Western Australia - February 1, 2016 - STRALIA MATES

I forgot to show you how we do our 

planning at night haha. We mix it up to keep things interesting.

This week was a pretty good one:) Very busy! There are like 9 departing missionaries in our zone so we have been having to do some organizing to get them all out and the new fresh ones in! We definitely keep busy!

The weather has been rather wet this week! It was a nice mix up. I love tracting in the pouring rain. It just baffles people!

So Elder Brinkerhoff and I were super excited. We worked our tails off and we were expecting 8 people at sacrament meeting (by expecting, I mean pleading for a miracle) only 2 came....But if I could've chosen 2 it would have been these 2:) It was the Brazilian Family N and G and their little son L. They loved church and the ward was super friendly. Oh and I also gave a talk in church. They were so astounded that someone as young as me could confront such an audience and speak my mind. haha. We are pleading for the Lord to further open them up. They are a busy couple but I believe they are planning on church this next week so we will try to see them before then!

It is so crazy the difference between the 2 areas I have served in thus far. They are two total opposites like 2 different missions but I have loved it. I love being a missionary of this true church. I find it so cool how whenever I think of all I have been blessed with I am filled with God's love. Every single time I find myself pondering my life situation and blessings, it is followed, without fail, with the words which are quiet and still but very real "I expect so much from you." I know that I have a labor to perform! Although I am such a sinner and I am so imperfect, I will strive my entire life to give EVERYTHING to my Father. He expects sooooo much from each one of us. It is made obvious by the positions we are in to serve our brothers and sisters! Through Christ's grace we are perfected......eventually. I love you all! Thanks for the letters and have a nice week:)

MUCH  LOVE TO BRAZIL<3

Elder Cordner

A TYPICAL AUSTRALIAN SUNSET

Week 24 - Gosnells, Southern River Zone, Western Australia - January 27, 2016 - IDK

A lot has happened since I last wrote home....but I can't seem to remember it all. We got mini missionaries the other day so Elder Brinkerhoff and I had two 15 year old boys living with us for four days haha. It was pretty hilarious! We had a good time with them. The kid I was companions with was named T from NZed. he was a pretty funny kid.  We would try to wake him up in the morning but it was hopeless. He was a disobedient mini missionary. The funniest part was at the end of the 4 days with them we went to the church and had a little testimony meeting where all the mini missionaries bore their testimonies. Most of them were sooo spiritual and they were crying but when our mini missionaries got up there all they could talk about is how much they laughed with us and they were making references to baked beans and refried beans and how they were teaching Elder B and I AUZZIE SLANG all week... haha ridiculous.  Everyone was laughing and it made us look like such moles...haha Elder B and I were cracking up tho.  They were some funny blokes.

This week was really successful.  We put 2 people on date.  One of them is super solid. His name is E.  He's from Liberia. He is SICK. He loved the restoration and the spirit was in great abundance. Also, like you heard from Kenzie, we had the missionary training form the Quorum of the Twelve. That was sooooo good! Elder Bednar's training gave me a whole new perspective. I'm sorry I don't have much more to say. I love all of you:) I love serving the Savior and representing him I will try and be worthy of that calling!

Elder Cordner 

Did you go to the temple today?  Yes the temple was very nice. I needed it!
How was Australia Day? Auzzie day was alright- mostly just drunk people going wild.

Week 23 - Gosnells, Southern River Zone, Western Australia - January 18, 2016 - The work don't stop.

WHAT IS UP??? Sounds like things back home are going beautiful:) Rio just told me he benched 390 pounds....wow.... Uncle Jared just emailed me and said he is running a few marathons in a couple months????...impressive. Ryan told me that he is being looked at by a few D1 universities for bball....and Nelson just wrote me and said his eye has been healed and his shoulder feels great! sooo good to hear some great news from home:) Oh and King louie has taken over as rightful successor to the Egyptian throne...nice king. (Is he trying to imagine what the news would be if you guys wrote?)  

This week was soooo good I don't have a lot of time but I'll sum up a few things that happened and then send some pics. Well, we met with that Brazilian family which was a miracle we even found and we dropped a SPIRIT BOMB! N which is the mommy was crying, the spirit was very powerful. We will hopefully put her and her husband G on date this week. Please pray for them to be blasted to the floor by the spirit:)

We are teaching a homeless man named C who lives under a bridge near our home. I would explain his story but it would take forever. He is from NEW ZEALAND and he was baptized when he was 8...biggest shocker ever -such a miracle. We have been meeting with him and he has been coming to church for 3 weeks. He absolutely loves us because we climbed along the side of the bridge to get to his little area where he lives.  It was like 30 feet above a river.  haha.  It was fun. I'll send some pics of where he lives under the bridge. He is so solid and is determined to change his life.

There are many more things that happened this week. Elder Brinkerhoff  and I are seeing the Lord's hand quite clearly! I love you all:) Please feel free in joining the entire Southern River Stake and pray for Miracles! Have an impeccable week!

Elder CORDNER

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C's living area.  Go up the ladder and then you find....

his bedroom.

His bedroom is inside the train rails.  He said he gets raddled awake every morning

I had an unreal exchange in the depths of perth city with AP Elder Tutton, my favourite britishman. 

He is such a good missionary... He also came up to Kalgoorlie for exchanges a 

couple months ago so we know each other quite well. Good friend.

Fremantle

P-Day in Fremantle last week.

The boat pic made me a little sad....I think you know why:)

Week 22 - Gosnells, Southern River Zone, Western Australia - January 11, 2016

Talofa Aige ua mai oe!??  It has been a good but very different week. I haven't been with Elder Brinkerhoff much. We have been doing some exchanges with some other missionaries in the Zone. My temporary comp is from Samoa and has been teaching me some. Haha. 

Friday was Zone Conference and it was sooo good. President Fife is a spiritual Beast! Elder Brinkerhoff and I gave our training and it went really well. Our zone loved it especially a cool little game we made up to open with! Our training was on sacrifice and going above and beyond the minimum. Which we felt was appropriate because we have been seeing really cool miracles that come from our efforts and going the extra mile!

Another Elder and I were tracting and we walked up to this lady in her yard and started having a nice conversation with her. As we were talking to her, I reached up and started playing with this little leaf thing hanging down from her tree.  I then casually just plucked it off the tree as I was talking to her. The second I plucked it off I saw a furious anger fester up in her eyes and then she looked like she was going to cry. I was like, "I am so sorry! I don't think your tree will die I think it will be ok" She then said she had been saving that 1 seed hanging from that tree for 8 months waiting for it to ripen.... She said she was going to give it to a friend. I was like I am sure there are more of these seed things somewhere on this tree and I frantically tried to locate one....but she was right it was the only seed haha. It was so awkward! I have never seen an old woman so infuriated. We just awkwardly said goodbye and then laughed about it for the rest of the day.

Anyways, I am about to head to Fremantle to enjoy a P-day on the coast. I love being a missionary!

Elder Cordner

Tofa Soifua! Olofa Te tele mo outou<3

Week 21 - Gosnells, Southern River Zone, Western Australia - January 4, 2016 - GOSNELLS!

Hello fam:) THANKS to those who wrote me -  always makes my day! Well, this week has been super crazy with transfers and with new duties and what not, but my new comp is Elder Brinkerhoff and he is from Evanston, Wyoming. He is a really good missionary and we get along soooo well we are already just laughing all day and having an awesome time. So my new area is Gosnells Southern River.  We also cover a few other suburbs. It's pretty awesome. Our zone is huge! It extends from Perth city and beyond all along the coast. I haven't been everywhere yet, but we have a GIANT map hanging in our flat with our whole zone on it soooo its pretty massive.

Elder Brinkerhoff and the massive map!

Going from Kalgoorlie to the city is sooooo strange. Haha! It's such a different type of missionary work but I am loving it so far. Elder Brinkerhoff and I are already seeing miracles as we have decided to sacrifice every spare moment of our days serving the Lord. We don't come into the flat until we absolutely have to.  We just go baboon all day till 9:30. We had a cool experience the other day. It was 9 at night and we were near the flat and considering turning in for the night, but we wanted to push on and see what would happen, so we just rode over to an older former investigator and had a nice talk to him. We were also able to share a message with a less active family.  We ran into one of our potential investigators randomly on the side of the road at night and we set up an appointment with him and we met a Brazilian couple taking their daughter on a walk and set an appointment to go and teach them the Restoration. BTW.. they are from Santos (near Sao Paulo)....pretty cool how the Lord blessed us when we decided to go above and beyond the minimal effort! So far I love it here! I have a lot to learn being a new Zone leader and we have a lot of meetings and Zone conference, coming up on Friday, I am a little nervous for but I will be fine as I rely on the Lord and not in the arm of FLESH.

I have full trust in my Father in Heaven.  He is constantly pushing me to grow.  He refuses to let me be idle. I know it is because he loves me:) It is crazy how on the mission I am so close to the Spirit. I can just be sitting anywhere doing anything and the Spirit will just be talking to me telling me things I should do differently or telling me things I am doing well. 

One of my favourite chapters of the Book of Mormon is 3 Nephi 17. As I have been reading this, it has entered my heart deeply and taught me of who Jesus Christ really is and how I can become like Him. I love all of you! Have a very warm week by the fire:)  and yes mom it is a little cooler here in Perth but a lot more humid. I will have to get used to that and our A/C in our flat does not work so we are currently suffering but all goods:)

S/O to Sister Cordner love you:)

Elder Cordner

A good-bye party in Kalgoorlie night before I left.

A sad good-bye to my main man A. H.  I love him.

Saw Elder Ellsworth in the mission office during transfers. 

Ate with some Filipino friends.  Good food!!