Week 81 - Perth, Western Australia - February 27, 2017 - Atomic Spirit Bomb

Hello Family! It has been pretty hectic so i will fill you in on all I can.

So this last Thursday I was enjoying my day down in Rockingham and I got a call from Pres. Fife and he called me to be his Assistant...And told me that i was leaving the next morning so I could be here when Elder Renlund came and learn how that's all done... i was pretty gutted to leave the ward so soon. The members were seriously sooo cool...

So the assistants came down and picked me up and it's pretty much been full throttle from there....there was so much to do with Elder Renlund coming and heaps of departing missionaries. We have been running around the whole time driving to and from the airport picking up and dropping off missionaries coming in from country areas...Good news is President Fife told me that we never should be this busy again...and he wants us to spend as much time in our area as possible so we will see if that comes true:) My comp is Elder Vainikolo From New Zealand. He is THE MAN. Such a solid missionary. I am gonna learn heaps from him.

So on the day Elder Renlund came it was a good 108 degrees so Perth gave him a nice welcoming:) Then we all took a mission photo with him. Elder Hallstrom was also there...I think he recognized my last name as we were in the line shaking hands...he didn't say anything tho...

The meeting was a spirit BOMB! The mission came prepared and ready to feed...

Elder Hallstrom talked about 3 things we needed to decide TODAY on our missions...

1. Gain a vision. That vision will inspire you to 2. make a covenant which will be followed through with 3. Diligence. He was pretty much also just prepping us up to hear Elder Renlund - telling us all that this needs to be a turning point in our missions.

Elder Renlund is a very soft spoken man. He takes the opposite approach than Elder Holland haha but his talk was really good. He talked about how the Savior asks us to be friends with him....He talked about how a friend relationship Is different between that of a servant and a master...He talked of the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood and what it really means to be blessed with ALL that the Father has...And how we are all Joint Heirs with Christ. I need to go over my notes again but we haven't had time...I have no question he is a Special Witness of Christ...The world doesn't produce men of his Character. I've lived down here long enough to realize that. It was a special day and the mission is in really good spirits!

This work is true! Who am I to deny the Power of God. I am a witness of God's Love and of his Reality. Each one of you can count on me to stay true to the Savior until I am safely Dead. I won't let you down. What a blessing in my life to hold up the Light of the world and draw all men unto HIM. Salvation Comes only in and through Jesus the Christ...President Fife just walked into the office and wants to talk. Gotta go:)

LOVE YOU ALL

          ELDER CORDNER

Week 80 - Rockingham, Rockingham Zone, Western Australia - February 20, 2017 - History for WA

Full Mule....I try to convince him to go for NFL.

SO This is the big week everyone has been looking forward to, We have more Church Leaders coming to Perth this week than ever in the History of the world...So everyone is pretty excited.

It's been a hot one down here in the depths of summer. We have been struggling to get investigators to church this transfer. It's been pretty annoying to be honest. They say they will come but so far they have been no shows...So we were expecting several at church yesterday but nahh....All good tho. You gotta believe this week is gonna yield miracles!!!

We had an awesome visit with a kiwi family in the ward and we had an idea to put up a post on facebook offering free service during our least productive hours of the day...next minute the sister calls us and says she has had 54 comments.....haha we were PUMPED!!! So she set us up a whole roster for the week with the people scheduled in and everything so we are praying this leads us to some GOLDEN people:)

B, our keen investigator, is doing pretty mean. We had a member from the ward over and visited him. He is a pretty shy guy so we are helping him to gain enough confidence and make enough friends to come to church...He feels the spirit big time in our lessons tho...

"The Book of Mormon" play is coming to Melbourne Australia soon so people have been talking a lot about that on tv and the radio....At least it may get the Auzzies thinking:)

I love the Savior. What a privilege it is to represent him My life's pursuit will be to Draw Nearer to Him. Love you all so much:)

ELDER CORDNER

He dared us to eat some chilli peppers.  Missionary from Tonga went man down and started puking.

Week 79 - Rockingham, Rockingham Zone, Western Australia - February 16, 2017

Happy birthday to Dad, NANA, and King, I am sorry I was late on it but I love all you 3 so much and especially on this special month!

This week President Fife came out with us...that's always fun haha. I sat in the car alone with him as we traveled and he asked me all about dad and his call. He was giving me all kinds of advice to pass on. One thing he did say was that being a mission President for sure is something you wouldn't want to sign up for and if you did you have no clue what you are getting yourself into....Sounds pretty full on but dad will handle it I'm sure:)

One of our investigators we found a few weeks back tracting is really progressing well. We taught him another lesson and he agreed to say a prayer at the end. After he did, he was really feeling the spirit and so we put him on date right then and there... He is a real humble dude...such a rare gem in the land down under!

I already told mom, but in my interviews Pres Fife told me that he's not gonna have me go home in July but that's all good with me. I wanna finish the full 2 anyways!

Had zone meeting this week and we focused purely on the teachings of Elder Bednar from the missionary broadcast about the doctrine of Christ. It was awesome! The spirit was strong as we taught how to teach the Atonement and Repentance with greater power! Pres Fife was also there so he added to the meeting.

I am sorry about the short letter. I always mean to send better ones but I get distracted...the two hours go by quick! I am writing again in a few days tho so I will try harder then! I love you all:)!!!

ELDAH CORDNAH

Week 78 - Rockingham, Rockingham Zone, Western Australia - February 6, 2017 - Super Bowl Sunday?????

Hey guys:) Guess what?? I walked into the library today and the super bowl was on....

As I exit the library today I will be making a very slow exit and I will be cranking my neck towards the screen....haha

We actually met an American guy this week that is working for the Australian navy and he invited us over to watch the super bowl....This was one of the most tempting moments of my mission but we, with heavy hearts declined the offer...

Things are going great down here, The broadcast was unreal! Everything Elder Bednar said was just striking my soul. I am starting a study of the doctrine of Christ looking at everything from the view point of how he taught...I am pretty excited! I think it will bring more power into our teaching of the doctrine of Baptism in particular...

We did heaps of tracting this week and it paid off!!! we found 2 SOLLLLLLID Gators...haha In Australia if you can find 2 solid ones through tracting in a week that is a flippin success! One of them we found last night...we were at the end of our fast and we were feeling a bit weary but we continued on...Of course it was the last door that we knocked on that had a gold nugget hidden within...the blessings always come after the trial of Faith! He was a humble kiwi guy and we all felt the spirit strongly telling us not to give up on this guy he declined a return appointment twice...we didn't give up we then taught him for about an hour on his doorstep and he was FEELING IT...by the end he fully accepted a return app and he is reading a chapter from the book of Mormon...It was cool as....

Here in WA we are all looking forward to Elder Renlund coming at the end of the month...Everyone is getting all prepped for that...

Just know I am working hard out here...I am determined to finish the fourth quarter of my mission strong...My lack of effort into my emails is not a reflection of my desire to endure to the end:) Love you all so much.

ELDER CORDNER