To Boise - Jan 18, 2021

To Boise
Jan 18, 2021
 
Hola a todos,
 
This week was good. Lots of information to come. I found out that after almost 8 months I'm being transferred to Boise Central. 

We also had some great lessons and service opportunities. We have been working closely with the members and gaining their trust. We have been able to see so many more referrals because of it. We visited this really cool family from California who had lots of really great questions. We also continued to help others progress to baptism.

I am excited for the chance to go to a new area and learn some different things. I am nervous because cities aren't really my favorite thing. Not much has happened this week. We continue to teach others of Christ and change lives in the process.
 

I enjoy the history of all things. As a child I loved going to a museum to learn history or Oregon trail sites. So when we get to read about Church History I love it. I enjoyed the words of Joseph Smith and how he overcame his trials. I learned more about prayer because of it. He felt worthless and that he messed up, so he goes to pray asking for knowledge. The words I love the most is he prayed with "full confidence" that he would see a vision like before. We can pray with that same faith to receive an answer. I also enjoyed the words of Malachi and the importance of our families. That is the other thing I have learned is this church is one of families.
 
That is the week for y’all.
 
Love Elder Cormack

A Busy Week - Jan 11, 2021

A Busy Week
Jan 11, 2021
 
Hola a todos,
 
This week was a very busy week. Something to do every hour and it felt great staying busy. We had lessons and visits with members. Interviews for baptism and with the President.
 
We have been getting more referrals from members as the days go by. They are developing this desire to love, share, and invite. On Wednesday President Wagstaff gave us a call and to see if we had an open afternoon. We were then able to move things around and went with him. We were able to find someone new and help the Spanish sisters find someone as well. It was great to see the desire in the members to be missionaries. We have also set up another return appointment to visit more people this week. I am excited to visit with all of them. During the ward missionary discussion we left them the invitation to think of someone they know that can be baptized in 30-60 days. And one name had come up that Bishop had given us as well. So we will definitely be working hard there.  Elder Micheli gave a great talk in church and we were able to get one of our friends to go that expressed disinterest a while ago. She came and stayed for all of it and Sunday school. It was great! We heard that she was gonna leave right after his talk but stayed and made friends in Relief Society. I love the Nyssa wards members and their desire to greet anyone who walks into their doors. We also have been setting up activities for the youth to invite their friends over. And help them get involved in this "Great Work". The theme this year is great. We also attended a youth fireside on it. The music for this year's theme is different than ever before. A lot more pop.

 
For my studies this week here is what I would like to share. He Come, Follow Me this week was great. I had learned of somethings that I haven't thought of. Especially with what people say is going on in the country of debates and arguments. Lots of confusion is rising. But we can do what Joseph Smith did, study it out as he visited different churches. Turn to the scriptures for they are the word of God. And I specifically enjoyed verse 12 "Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine." As we look for answers the spirit will guide us to those passages that will bring us the best guidance. And then we must pray on it as well. And ask for a confirmation on what we have learned or think is right to do. I also learned that we should take into consider the temptations Joseph Smith went through and the power of Satan. Cause after that he felt the love and warmth of God and Christ. He knew the difference between the two and can boldly testify that the vision he had was from God. It reminded me of Moses as we talked to God we were then visited by Satan and knew the difference there because of love. I am getting a great theme from all. Of this is Charity and Love the greatest attributes we can develop of Christ.
 
Love, Elder Cormack

9 months

9 Months
Jan 4, 2021

Hola a todos,

This week was wonderful. We continued teaching lessons and helping others come unto Jesus Christ. We also had a nice calm new years eve. It was like being in Chocope Peru. Not many people were out celebrating and could have a nice sleep. Nana sent several packages and and complete New Year's Even party, so we shared it with the district and had a virtual New Year's party.  We did a district video call and played some bean boozled. What an awful game if you get the wrong flavor. Let me tell you, dog food does not leave. You think you have overcome it and then bam it hits ya.

We also had a lot of good training on how we can teach of Jesus Christ more. They would like us to emphasize His doctrine in every lesson we teach and the points we bring up.

The area is doing great as well. We have the youth in Owyhee inviting friends to an activity next Monday. Once they can enter the church they can feel the spirit and the beauty of the building itself. And we have gotten more referrals from members and scheduling a time to go back. We have also been able to take a priest out and visit some members on the ward list and clean it up to see who still lives in the ward. While we were out visiting we found that some of the members have moved allowing a perfect opportunity to contact them and ask if they are interested in a message of Christ. We were also parked out front of a house while we were doing some tracting. There was a kid sitting at his window who would hide every time we looked over at him and we looked over because he knocked on the window himself.

That was the week. It was great like every week on a mission is. But it was filled with the usual lessons and service we do. Every so often we have something really big and fun. There is also just little things that are funny.

Christmas package was very late... mom was upset.  We celebrated later - like the Wisemen.

Love Elder Cormack
 

Christmas Week - December 28, 2020

 
Christmas Week
December 28, 2020

Hola,
This week was a great Christmas week. It was lots of fun going to Boise and watching the Forgotten Carols and seeing the Missions talents as well. We also had a good Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Because of the holidays that came up we were able to make candy with a member family. We made Christmas crack, Martha Washington balls, and candied pecans. And those are amazing with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. They then allowed us to take 8 plates of it with us and deliver to families we are teaching or less active families that could use a little more cheer. It was a great thing to do and many people loved that we have been thinking of them.
 
So on Tuesday we had a mission activity and went to Boise to watch the play The Forgotten Carols and pick up some mission presents. Tuesday was the first time I have been to Boise since June when I flew into this mission. It was a very good play that helps you focus more on Christ during the Christmas season.
 

Christmas eve was a good day as well. We started off with doing service for the food pantry and showing love like Christ through service. We then came home and had a mission talent show. It was very fun to watch everyone do something funny. I had the district sing Mele Kalkimaka. Then we went over to the Schulthies family to visit them and they fed us dinner as well of turkey and ham. We thought they were gonna do a nativity but it was a dinner. We then had another dinner scheduled after that and went out to the Wagstaffs and they fed us really good food. They had steak, prime rib, and king crab then all kinds of desserts. It was a good Christmas Eve. I do look forward to going back to the movie and snack tradition. I have been eating so much.
 
Christmas was a great day. I started it by talking to family and seeing them open presents and it was good. I am glad that next year I can be home for Christmas because it is different through a phone. We then had district council and took Christmas pictures. We then had some little studies and off to lunch we went then dinners and those last two days we ate lots of food. Now I must eat healthy and go on a few runs.
 

Those were the few majors of the week. We had some good lessons. Played lots of missionary impossible with families and some are starting to look on where to buy it and play. It has been a great way to connect with people. My invitation I want to leave is read 3 Nephi 1 specifically verse 12-13 and the words Christ tells Nephi. If we can remember those every day we will feel a lot more peace and happiness.

 
Love Elder Cormack
 
 

Snowman - December 21, 2020

Snowman
December 21, 2020
 
Hola,
 
This week has been a good one. We had some good appointments and good member lessons. We also had a baptism on Saturday. We also were able to find some more people to teach.
 
On Wednesday night the youth were going around and caroling to a bunch of less actives in the ward. We went along with them but followed in our own car. Just in case I had to give a baptismal interview for one of the areas in our district. As they went around doing that we gave the families a pass-along card to invite them to the Christmas program at church. We continued to follow them around when I saw a house of some people we helped move in. So we went over to that house and invited them to church and set a time for us to come visit with them. It was great to make contact and find new people. They also watched the Christmas program virtual.
 
We also had lot's of members invite their friends and heard lots of non members had watched it or came to church in person. It was a great Sunday and great programs. I am excited for the upcoming weeks and to see the fruits of hard labor. I also have been editing a facebook video together.

Saturday after some waiting due to covid exposure we were able to have a baptism. It was great to see the testimonies and the faith of those being baptized. It also brought a family back together and a stronger desire in church. I am grateful for the opportunity to see the change in all of them. I am glad that I was sent to Nyssa. It was one of the biggest baptisms I have had. Cause in Peru there wasn't a lot of people that could make it. But it was amazing to see all of the ward support and love they have for each other.
 

That is the week for y'all. We are continuing to teach and learn more of Christ. No matter what we do we help the church grow.
 
And Feliz Navidad
 
Love, Elder Cormack

Snow - December 14, 2020

 
Snow
December 14, 2020
 
Hola a mi madre,
 
Snow has made landfall. It has been over a year since I have seen snow since I got the lucky shot of having three summers in a row. I did not miss the cold wet snow. This week was once again service and the joy of teaching about Christ. And all kinds of meetings.

The service to start off with is farm service. It was fun to be back on a farm and do something but not a lot of fun because it was cold outside with frost still upon the ground. I also forgot to put "cat crap" on my glasses so they fogged up a lot. Our job was to pick drip tape out of the field. Just these little black plastic tube that waters the ground. It was a lot of walking and great way to exercise.  The other service we did was moving some window panes around at 9 in the chilly morning. It is also good to get out and do service.
 
We taught multiple lessons this week. Every time I teach it is fun to share what I know about Christ. We are getting closer to baptism with some people which is a good thing and then others we have to take a different approach with and have a little setback. We are also finding more people that are interested in the gospel and excited. The other things we did this week was Family Home Evenings with different members. We start with a game and go onto sharing a message. The game we play is missionary impossible. It is so much fun to play and get to know each other better this way. The trust also increases and the desire to invite someone to a fun activity as well. The message we tend to share is the nail lesson as well. One of the only lessons I remember missionaries teaching me and Bishop Brown.
 
We also went on a drive about and visited a lot of people with our ward mission leader and Bishop. We would go to one house and visit with them for a while then somebody would knock or ring so we then move on to the next house. And it started with just two visits and then expanded as he thought of different people.
 
Missionary work is a great joy and so much fun. I think of the story from President Hinckley of when we are serving others and forget about ourselves does time fly and so much joy comes from it. I also want to share this scripture in Acts 10:38 where it says that Jesus went about doing good. So we should go and do the same to follow the example of Christ.
 
Love Elder Cormack