December

December
December 07, 2020

Hola mi madre,

This week I have hit 14 months as a missionary. Oh what a great time it has been. I have learned a lot about patience and working with others. I have also learned so much more about the scriptures. I am glad to be a missionary at this time. With that in mind, this week I was able to help out in the community more. Teach more lessons about Christ. And see many miracles and great times.

The service we got to do was a park cleanup. Somebody went in before us and trimmed up all of the trees. The community came together in Owyhee. Well it was a nice afternoon in that day so I wore shorts to the service. It didn't get cold until the sun went down. I forgot about that detail for three summers in the row I had. We went back the next day to help with a bit more of the piles that got left. I dressed correctly for that one. Someone did ask where we were from thinking that it was stupid to where shorts. But to be fair Colorado has some nice cold days where shorts have been worn. That was the extent of our service for the week.

The lessons we have been teaching are continuing to go great. We have two more people close to a baptismal date. We just need to work through a couple doubts or worries. We have also been given another idea of Family Home Evenings with the members so we are going to set more member visits up.

Not much else has occurred here in Nyssa besides more covid rules we must comply to. So once again I am learning patience. Some scriptures I will share for this week comes from Moroni Chapter 6 and it is just why we are baptized. I also like verse 8 in this chapter. It says that no matter how many times we repent amd seek forgiveness. And as long as we truly desire it can we be forgiven always. A lot more then 70x7.

Love Elder Cormack

PS - And I am staying in Nyssa for at least another six weeks.

PPS - I also want to say we are being fed so much. Even though we may not be able to eat at members homes we continue to be fed and have plenty of leftovers. I had picked myself up a jump rope and a trash bag to maintain weight from this amazing holiday season.

Nov 30, 2020 - Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving
Nov 30, 2020

Hola

This week was a good week. Starting with service, lessons, of course the big holiday of Thanksgiving, and then some more lessons.

We will start with all of the services we got to do. First the food pantry helping hand out thanksgiving boxes, which contained a turkey, some rolls, and other things you would eat. The next service we provided was cleaning out a cow pen. What that entails is scrapping the bad "crap" out. All we had to use was pitchforks. It was a great workout and it was such a beautiful day as well. Then to end the service of the week it was just moving food around in the food pantry.

Now with the lessons. We taught a good amount of people and had lots of fun teaching them. I always find joy in teaching. We taught a lot about the commandments as we help a couple people prepare for their baptism. After the patience and trial of acting in faith do we then see the miracles be brought. This week was very baptism focused with the people we taught. They are already and close. Some just need a little more help and love. Then others have a date set and just need to continue learning.

Thanksgiving was a great day as well. We started with a mission wide zoom. Then from there we went to dinner at a member’s house but due to certain rules we have to wear our masks all the time. So they fed us outside in the backyard. It was still great to see their care for us. Then we went off to another appointment where we just visited and made a good impression upon the non-members there.

To end this letter I would like to leave a spiritual thought about The Jungle Book. We were allowed to watch one movie for Thanksgiving Day and think of how it relates to the Gospel. I will start with a quick rundown of Mowgli. He is first leaving with the wolves but is then rejected from them and told to leave and go to the man-village. He leaves and becomes friends with Baloo and they go about on their own. Well to round off the movie. Mowgli comes back to help the wolves and beat Shere kahn the tiger. How does that relate to the gospel? We can think of three names like Mowgli. Joseph from Egypt, Moses, and then Jesus Christ. Joseph was rejected by his family. Became friends with the Pharaoh and then saved his family during the famine. Jesus Christ was rejected by the Israelites his people he came to help. So he allowed his gospel to be taught to the gentiles. Christ is resurrected and atones for our sins so that he may help save the ones that first rejected him. If we truly look we can find gospel principles in a lot of movies.

Love, Elder Cormack

Nov 23, 2020 - Faith

Faith
Nov 23, 2020

Hola madre,

I would say this week was a great one. I am grateful to be a missionary here. Zone conference was great and helped me feel that there are things to do better such as how I teach people and share why we do certain things. And then all week we have been praying and planning on how we can hit our key indicator goals. We called a bunch of people, tried to set up appointments with progressing friends and no answers from there. Then it all came together on Sunday, we found two new people, we had three sacrament attendance and then a baptismal date was set. I am very excited for this family that set the date with us. The mom and dad were both inactive members and had some addictions. But now they have made a change in their life and are working back towards Christ. I can see happiness in the home and the effort they are putting in is amazing. The date has been set for the 12th of December. In that time we are going to keep helping him prepare for the ordinance. As I prayed Saturday night and expressed gratitude for the trail of patience and all of the blessings and miracles I saw in my life. I felt the reassuring feeling that our key indicators would be met. I am grateful for that which has strengthened my testimony in the lord, has a timing for everyone and will guide us to the people he has prepared.

The other thing we did this week which was very exciting was extending the baptismal invitation. We have a zone goal to extend the invitation once a week. So the people we are teaching can have understanding of where we are going next. And by extending the invitation we can see what their needs are and what may be holding them back.

We also did lots of service this week which included moving bags of rice and food for the food pantry, and then painting a gutter for one lady we are teaching. That was most of our week we continued to get newer and updated rules for the lockdown and quarantine of the mission. Since 40+ missionaries are quarantined.

Love, Elder Cormack

Nov 16, 2020 - Lock Down

Lock Down
Nov 16, 2020

Hola mi familia,

I would say this week has been a week. Oregon has gone on a lockdown till Dec 2nd. So in the meantime we are going to be getting better virtually. We also have a bunch of rules that we must now follow to remain safe and help it open back up quicker. But for this week the main things I got to do was some service and teach a couple lessons.

For service we went to an older couple’s house and helped clean up the yard and do some yard work. It meant raking leaves together, pulling the dead weeds, and just making it look nice. Well all of the leaves and weeds were raked into a big pile and then we burned it. I had forgotten how hot a fire can get in a short amount of time. It was a lot of fun being out and helping someone out.

Then with the lessons they had to be zoomed since the lockdown started on Wednesday. It was a different way of teaching. I have received some training over zoom but I never had to host or run the meeting. It took a while to figure out what is going on and I am continuing to learn. It sometimes feels like learning a new language how to online teach people. I will say the lessons do go great and could feel the spirit in them. The people we were teaching were still able to learn and understand what we wanted to get across.

I am also working on making more and more Facebook videos to help find those interested in the gospel. So this week I was able to make a video about baseball and connect it to the gospel. A member from the Owyhee ward gave us a bat and baseballs. When we heard about this lockdown, time opened. We decided to go down to the church field and hit the baseballs and that is when the idea hit me. Like the one guy at the baseball game who was wondering why the ball kept getting bigger and bigger than, it hit him.

I was also able to learn something new through my Book of Mormon studies. In chapter 2:25 I compared the great deep to our lives right now. If Christ didn't prepare a way for us then we couldn't make it through this life and receive eternal life. I also was able to learn more about prayer and that sometimes the Lord wants us to come to him with a plan. When we come to him with a plan and some action to do he is then able to confirm that we are on the right path or if we need to take a step back and think of another way. That is what the Lord said to Oliver Cowdry as well study out in your mind and then ask me. It shows faith and the desire to grow and learn.

Love, Elder Cormack

Nov 09, 2020 - Cows

Cows
Nov 9, 2020

Hola mi madre y a todos,

This week has been a very good week. We were able to do some service for the mom of somebody we want to teach. She has given us permission to teach him. We are also building a relationship of trust with her. We are also teaching an unbaptized youth of a less active member. The members are so amazing as well. At mutual we asked the youth to think of someone that could use a visit from the missionaries or is ready for the gospel. And then to send us that name. We got about 14 youth to send us a name. I can also see the members having trust in us that we are asked to help them serve their neighbors and willing to let us teach them the gospel.

We had Spanish conference and I felt that I wasn't using my ability to the fullest so I can still practice to be better. It was all Spanish and felt great to just hear the language again and know that I could still understand. I was also able to meet with lots of other missionaries I have met when I first came to the Boise Idaho Mission. As the days continue I realize I get closer and closer to the end. Later on this week after Spanish conference I was able to talk to some people we were passing by and offer to help them because I was able to speak Spanish we could understand what they needed us to do.

The other great thing we did this week was service for another older lady. It was some farm work. We helped her move the calves to a bigger pen. But the only thing we used was a milk bottle. So I had to move quickly and make sure the calf kept eating. Then when the calf was in the bigger pen it was trying to look for a way out but kept shocking himself. It was funny to see him learn. After we helped with the calves we then got to build another fence. Once again I may be a fence builder for a college job.

I also was able to give another talk to the Owyhee ward all about hope. I am going to share a little bit of it with you. (Moroni 7:41) "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." My favorite part of what we should hope in is the atonement. In chapter 5 verse 21 of Alma we read “I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.” Christ brought to pass the atonement so we may become purified and clean once again. President Boyd. K Packard said this about the atonement of Christ. "Had He not accomplished the Atonement, there would be no redemption. It would be a difficult world to live in if we could never be forgiven for our mistakes, if we could never purify ourselves and move on." What a hopeful gospel we have knowing that we can strive to be better. We have this confident expectation of having eternal life as long as we use the atonement to become better. I end with the teaching of President James E. Faust as well, “Hope is the anchor of our souls …“Hope is trust in God’s promises, faith that if we act now, the desired blessings will be fulfilled in the future. …“The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, saved us from death”. So as long as we have faith in Jesus Christ and have hope the world won't be so crazy we can find the peace and happiness in our lives.


Love, Elder Cormack

Nov 02, 2020 - Farmer

 

Farmer

Nov 2, 2020

Hola Madre, 

This week has been a good week in our ability to meet with members and help build their trust. We have found someone new from Facebook referral. We started off with painting her house and having a youth come help us in that. Then we set up a lesson with her we looked towards the youth to help us as well. But the two youth we turned to both were busy that day and the only other priest we could think of is one that we haven't seen at church for a while. But he was so happy and willing to come help us share the gospel. It was great to see him there, he also had come to mutual this week as well. It is amazing. We have also received a referral from a member for a potential family. And as we talked to them to set up an appointment we could tell they are very excited to meet with us and hear about Christ. The first few months I had a hard time and learn a lot of patience and hope. We are now teaching three people in Nyssa and two of them are very close to baptism. 

We also made some cookies for a family that is going through a hard time right now to show that we still are for them and are here to help. I am now a great cook from my mission. I also made hot chocolate from a Hispanic brand. 

The other service we did this week was door framing for a member in the ward that is building a house. And for Halloween we had a district council then watched the movie UP after to celebrate the day. We also were able to attend a little Halloween party for some youth in the ward that invited their non-member friends.

That is my week for all. I hope all is well. I do want to share with you Chapter 5 of Mormon where he shares the purpose of the Book of Mormon is to convince all that Jesus is the Christ.

Love, Elder Cormack