Week 85 - Perth, Western Australia - March 29, 2017 - Pure

Hey Family! 

P day was today because we are heading to the temple. 

We have been locating all of the massive old apartment complexes in the city and have started tracting out heaps of them. It's pretty awesome.  We have found a lot of people who are humble and pretty keen:) 

So the Chinese miracle that overheard our conversation and came to church told us he isn't interested anymore...aka he felt the spirit and he realizes how hard all the change is going to be and he got scared...we tried to go over and talk to him but he wouldn't answer...

We tracted into a golden Potential the other day named S, an Aussie guy who wanted to get rid of feelings of guilt and regret. We were able to teach him and help him offer his first ever prayer....we knelt down and he gave a touching prayer. We asked him how he felt...He told us he was feeling it big time....anyways we set him on date and we were pumped but then he texted us and told us not to come around any more...haha. These people just get scared of change....We went around and tried to tell him we know what he was feeling but he still declined....Change scares people more than anything...

A is still struggling to kick the smoking but we are working closely with him every day. We have faith he can do it!

It's funny how the world, when confronted with God's Truth as revealed through His  Prophets will say..." I'm not going to let someone else tell me how to live my life, I want to be unique, I want to be an individual, I want to be different" and then they all follow the same typical crowd doing the same typical worldly things....If you want to be unique, if you want to be different, if you truly want to know your individual worth, follow the Savior and strive to become like Him. The most unique thing you could do is to have your spirit be in complete and utter control over the desires of the flesh...There are very, very few people on this earth who can achieve the true desires of their heart uninterrupted by the Degrading, Habitual, Diseases of this world.

I am experiencing true Joy out here in the field! I love you all:)

Elder Cordner's mom and dad hope this is dinner with other missionaries and not
members since shirt is untucked and said missionary looks a little unkempt.

How did the Trevor Toolson from Mitch and Trevor's Innocent Chimp video get to Australia?

Week 84 - Perth, Western Australia - March 20, 2017 - Ready to Harvest

Hello! 

This week flew by! This last Tuesday, President Fife asked us to go to a zone meeting down in Bunbury which is a 3 hour drive south. So we went down there and spent a good portion of the day with that Zone. It was pretty awesome because that's the only Zone I had never been to. So now i can claim the full AMP experience...

This week was filled with success. We started teaching a part member family from Columbia. The husband is a non-member so we have helped him to develop a desire and they came to church this last week. 

A is doing awesome...That guy is straight up converted! He knows the church is true and he is down to 1/2 cigarette a day! We are doing everything we can to help him but the decision is his to make....If he can quit smoking he will for sure be baptized in 2 weeks...

We were tracting a large apartment complex and we knocked on one door. A man responded that he was busy, so we continued to the next door where we had about a 20 minute discussion about the Plan of Salvation...The woman was not too interested, and was leaving for Brazil a week later so we left her with a pamphlet and started walking to the next door when we heard a voice call "Wait, come back!" It was the man who said he was busy...He told us that he listened to our entire conversation with his neighbor and that he felt something stir within him...He essentially told us that when we speak we speak with power and authority and not as the Scribes and the Pharisees. He felt the power of the message...He came to church yesterday...loved it and wants to continue coming...We have an appointment with him on Thurs:) There would be no point bothering in this work if it weren't for the Spirit...We either do it His way or not at all:)

The family from Ghana that moved into the ward is doing well. We put one of the sons on date...working with their parents is going to be key...

Without my friends and family, this life would be nothing to me. There would be no desire to grow and progress. I love all of you for supporting me and praying for me:) 

ELDER CORDNER

The family from Ghana.

Elder Cordner's investigator - A

A Windy Day.

Week 83 - Perth, Western Australia - March 13, 2017 - Summer summer go away

The temp down here is really settling down...We had a massive lightning storm yesterday- loudest lightning of my life. It was pretty awesome...

3 of the 7 days this week were totally taken up by Conferences and meetings since we had Elder Cardon here in Perth. He gave the talk a while back in General Conference "The Savior Wants to Forgive." It is an amazing talk. I recommend reading it:) I was a little nervous to give some training in front of a General Authority but it turned out well and my first time conducting a big meeting went alright too... Elder Cardon really broke down all the verses in scripture relating to the Lords Promise to Abraham and his seed. He linked it all back to that we as missionaries are literally the Hand of the Lord made bare In the eyes of all nations - that we are the literal fulfillment of the greatest promise the Lord has ever made with man...the spirit was powerful...

Our investigator A told us of a cool experience he had. When we went to teach him a lesson the other day, he told us that he had a dream and in this dream God had told him that the true church in the last days would be the one mocked and persecuted the most....He now knows for a fact that this is the true church...We never had spoken about this with him so it was super cool to hear the Lord speaking to different people in such individual ways:) Aboriginal people are so spiritual, kinda like Native Americans.

We are just trying to smash out the work in our area since we have had such little time in it...A family from Ghana just moved into the ward with 12 people in the family and only one of them is a member...They came to church yesterday. It was legit! They live in the other Elders' area but they are moving soon so maybe we will get to work with them:) 

I am so grateful for the knowledge we have of God's plan for us and that we do have a purpose and that we know we can speak to our Heavenly Father any time anywhere! Serving a mission is such a blessing, If God didn't truly love us he would allow us to simply live life in comfort and leisure...I am so glad He loves me enough to invite me to stretch and grow...It is the only way we will be able to one day become like Him and achieve our true potential. One truth the mission has taught me is that I am nothing without God. I am so dependent on Him. I never want to do things my way. The natural man is an enemy to God. He is Devilish, fallen in nature, and carnal....On our own we are nothing...

It's never a question of whether or not the Gospel is true, we all know that...The real question is whether or not we will be true to the Gospel. Stay close to the Spirit. There is no substitute for daily prayer and scripture study:) 

LOVE YOU ALL:)

ELDER CORDNER

Week 82 - Perth, Western Australia - March 7, 2017 - TIME FLIES!

Hey Family:) 

This Week flew by! We spent most of our time with the departing missionaries, and also all the new GOLDENS (we don't call them Greenies in this mission!) It was fun to feel the Golden Fire they come out with!

So the ward I am in is the original of Perth Australia so there are quite a few older folk but there are also some younger families that are awesome! Our ward mission leader is from New Zealand and he is THE BEST! He is an animal! He magnifies his calling like none other! I am super excited for the next few transfers working closely with him! 

We have a super solid investigator named A. He is part Aboriginal and he served 9 years in the Australian Army doing several tours in the middle east...He is Legit....A has come to church the past 2 weeks and we have him on the quit smoking program. He just started it 2 days ago and hasn't smoked yet so we are pumped about that!!! His date for baptism is the 25th of March:)

Elder Cardon from the Area Presidency is coming for a mission tour tomorrow so pray my comp and I can get our training on point:) haha but he also wants to interview me and Elder Vani so that will be a cool experience...

I love you guys:) I 100% know we are all children of a Loving Father in Heaven. At no point will he ever turn us away. Have an awesome week!

ELDER CORDNER