"If you labor all your days and bring one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy" D&C 18:15

Monday, December 29, 2014

Navidad in Guatemala

Hola Familia!

This week has been a very special week as we had Navidad down here in Guatemala. One thing that I have to say, is that Christmas on a mission is very special. It's a Christmas when one is fully focused on Christ and is not like a traditional Christmas that can sometimes over take the real meaning of Christmas.

My companion and I decided that if we were going to make our Christmas memorable this year, that it would be from giving and not receiving. In order to do that, we decided to have our own Sub for Santa Guatemala style. Hermano Hector and his family came to our mind. So Christmas Eve we went out searching for toys, treats, and clothes. Wow, we did good. We even bought brands from the states! That night we arrived at their house and made sure that no one was looking. We knocked on the door and left a huge heavy box full of gifts and toys on the porch and ran!

The next day Hermano Hector came to our house and told us how grateful he was for what we did! Haha, it must have been the pictures of Christ that we gave them to put up on their wall that gave it away!;) He told us that he didn't have any money this year to buy any gifts for his children and one of his daughters had been asking and wishing for a Barbie for Christmas. That's exactly what we got her! The kids truly thought that this year, for the first time, Santa came to their house! It makes me proud and happy inside, to know that the Christmas that Hermano Hector and his family had, will be one that they will always remember!

Other than that, this week I got sick from eating so many tamales. This will also be one of the memories that I will always remember as I think of the Christmases on my mission! A mission is a lot like college. It prepares one for all the challenges that they are going to face in life, and builds one's testimony so that they can truly understand the Lords will and the love that He has for them! The church is true! y feliz año nuevo!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total: 1685

Tamales that I ate this week:11

Sub for Santa for Hermano Hector

Elder Corbett with Luis

Fireworks

Elder Corbett with some children from Xela

Elder Corbett with Manuel and Luiss

Monday, December 22, 2014

Show your love for the Savior!

Hola Familia!

This week was a very good week! As always, we found some great service opportunites including: Helping Hector in the field, Searching for moss in the mountains to put under a Christmas tree, And many other random service projects.

Also this week Elder Duncan (an area seventy) came to our mission. It's always a great experience to hear from one of the Lord's messengers! He told us that we have a lot more potential than what we are achieving, and that our work here is a lot more important than we think. He told us that David O. Mckay and President Eyring have both prophesied that the missionaries who come from Central America will go to all of the countries in the world to preach the gospel. He explained this more by showing us that there aren't very many members in Africa and Asia and that the missionaries from Central America are going to be the ones to serve there. Right now there are 3,300 missionaries from Central America. He says that it will take 4000 to be able to start sending them to these countries and that's where our work comes in! It was very inspiring and really motiviated the missionaries.

We also had a leader conference with Elder Duncan. He helped us by showing us how to be true leaders. He told us that we shouldn't just focus in our areas but in our zone. We don't just have bishops, members, and investigators in our area, but also our zone. He said that we need to get to know them all!

This week we have also seen a lot of progress in Hermano Hector. He decided to pray to close one of our lessons with all of his family, and he began to cry because he was feeling the Spirit. He said he hasn't ever felt the Spirit like that before! Also we taught him more about the Book of Mormon, and that night he explained the Book of Mormon to his wife who goes to a different church! He is awesome!

Well this week will be my last Christmas in Guatemala, which is kind of sad! I have come to love the Guatemalans. I hope that all of you guys have a great Christmas this week and that you give the time through scripture study to show your love for the Savior! I have come to know and have become closer to Jesus Christ through daily scripture study. The Church is True!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total 1662

Leader conference with Elder Navarro and Elder McMoil

Looking for moss to put under a member's Christmas tree

Putting up the Christmas tree

Elder Corbett with Alfredo and Amanda

A picture of three volcanos

Monday, December 15, 2014

Finding and Teaching

Hola Familia

This week was a great week! It started off with doing divisions with the assistants. I got to go to their area this time, and to make it even better I got to go with my bud Elder Farley. We had a very successful day there and even taught some members how to make chocolates.

After divisions my companion and I spent a couple of mornings helping our investigator, Hector, in one of his fields. We had to pull out all of the corn stocks and then harrow the ground with gardening hoes! The size of the field was about two-and-half acres, and we still haven't finished! The whole time I was thinking, if only I had a tractor, we could get this done in minutes!

Also my companion and I have been working really hard to establish a habit of finding and teaching. We have made a plan with our zone called find, teach, baptize. So we are trying to be the example. But, wow we did a lot of work in our area! This week we found 15 new investigators and we found a street filled with people who don't attend a church!

We came across a drunk lady who needed help getting back to her house, so we carried her things and walked with her to her home. What we didn't know is that she lived at the top of the mountain. It was really cool though, because she invited us to her house and we met her family and they were very nice! The lady who was drunk is actually a widow and has had a rough life providing for her family. As we left the house, she gave us a huge bag of corn to make our tortillas! I was touched by the love she showed for us. Now we hope to share our love for her by teaching her family the gospel of Jesus Christ, and helping her fix her life!

This week will be pretty interesting! We have a lot of things planned. Tuesday night we are going to try the making chocolates activity in San Juan. Wednesday we have a multi-zone conference with Elder Duncan, a seventy of the area. Thursday night we have a meeting with the mission president and the stake president. Friday morning we have a leaders meeting with Elder Duncan and President Smith. Friday night we are having our ward Christmas party including a bon fire and night of talents, in which I will be playing the piano 3 times! This week is going to fly by! Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad! Don't forget the love that Jesus Christ has for every single one of you and don't forget to help make someone elses Christmas special this year! #sharethegift

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total 1645

Divisions with Elder Farley

Making Christmas chocolates in Elder Farley's ward

Working in the field with Hermano Hector

A nativity scene in the Central Park in Xela

Monday, December 8, 2014

Everyday we can see miracles if we just trust in the Lord

Hola Familia!

The mission is going great! I feel like every day it gets better and better. Everyday I try to get better and closer to Christ! One thing that I have started to do this week, is every morning and night I read one chapter from the Book Of Mormon and the Bible. I found that by doing this, that I'm always pondering about the gospel and I feel the spirit stronger throughout the day! This is something easy that you guys can all do too!

Last Tuesday we had another leader conference. For this conference we had to bring our plans for December for each one of our zones. After praying and studying my companion and I came up with a plan called Find, Teach, Baptize. Our major goal is to baptize right, but to do that, first you have to find someone and then you have to teach them and help them have a spiritual experience. Then you can baptize them. Imagine what it would be like if you can form a habit to teach and find everyday! It was pretty cool because when we got to the conference, all of the talks that the president and the assitants gave, had to do with the plan we had. So we were happy with the revelation the Lord gave us to make our plan.

One thing that we focused on this week in our area and our zone, that was part of our plan, is to talk to everyone, and to share with them "The Gift" which is a video made by the church to help people learn more about the birth of Jesus Christ. It is the perfect video for christmas. My companion and I were amazed by the success we had. In one day we found 6 new investigators, just by knocking on their doors, singing a christmas hymn and showing them the video.

By putting trust in the Lord, that he will prepare his elect for me, my desire to talk to everyone has increased! Like today after playing soccer we took a bus back to San Juan and I started talking to this lady, in corte, and her friend. We slowly got talking about the church and more people started listening. Noticing that more people were listening, I shared a brief message about the restoration and almost everyone on the bus was listening to me. After I finished, I gave a pamphlet to the first lady that was listening to me and took her number. After that, more people started asking me for pamphlets and gave me their numbers so we could come and teach them more! This is one little miracle that the Lord provided me, just for opening my mouth to share His gospel with one person!

Everyday we can see miracles if we just trust in the Lord! I know that this is true and that if we show our faith through action by sharing the gospel with others, or helping others through service, or even inviting a less active member to church the Lord with provide us with the miracle!

To watch "He is the Gift", click on the link! http://www.mormon.org/christmas

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total 1622

Teaching Hermano Hector

Making tacos for Hermana Blanca

Painting Alejandra's home

My Christmas tree

Monday, December 1, 2014

I am enjoying my mission and the blessings and miracles I get to experience and see everyday

Hola Familia!

Wow the time goes by so fast, I can barely even remember anything that we did last week! Now that I have almost completed 17 months of my mission, everyone calls me old. I never thought that would happen!

This week my companion and I were privileged to have many different opportunites to do service. That's one thing that I have learned to love here on my mission. Also because when we serve, we are always doing something new!

Hermana Alenjandra who is a less active member, with 2 daughters who aren't baptized, asked us to come help her with her plumbing pipes that are hanging off of a forty foot cliff! The pipes were 25 years old and had started to leak onto the neighbors house......gross!!! So my companion, our new investigator, Hector, (her next door neighbor) and I got ropes, pipes, glue and got to work!

Elder Navarro stayed up on top and did the job of lowering down Hermano Hector with a rope to where it was the most dangerous part. I volunteered to lower myself down with a tree to a tiny ledge that was ten feet below! It was super fun and we really helped Hermana Alenjandra! The best thing about the service is that Hermana Alejandra, her 2 daughters and Hector all came to church on Sunday! The branch is coming along. We are surely but slowly raising the attendance of the branch!

One thing we are going to do every week, starting on Friday is noches de hermanamiento. It's like an activity night with games and a small message where all the members can come and bring friends. It is also another chance for us to bring investigators! We are hoping that this will help us and the unity of the members! Well all is well in the work of the Lord! I am enjoying my mission and the blessings and miracles I get to experience and see everyday! The church is true!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total:1597

And add 1 to the big mac count!

Doing service for Hermana Alenjandra

Elder Navarro holding the rope from the top of the cliff

Our new investigator, Hector, working on the pipe

Fixing the Sister's shower

Some of the Elders from our zone

Monday, November 24, 2014

God loves everyone of His children

Hola Familia!

Well here in Guatemala while I am currently under the Lord's time, the weeks feel like days, and the changes (6 week period of time) feel like weeks! My second change in San Juan Ostuncalco and my first change with Elder Navarro has now came to an end. But I will be here in San Juan and with Elder Navarro for another change, which means that I will be in San Juan for Christmas, woooow!!!

Well can I just say that being a missionary is the best! I don't have to worry about myself at all! It's such a great experience to have the opportunity to only worry and care about other people!

My companion and I have been putting all our work and effort into the Branch San Juan Ostuncalco, and we are seeing a lot of success! We have activated the family Castillo, which is one of the greatest and nicest families that I know. The Castillo family is Amanda, the mom, and her 2 kids Luis and Lucas. Missionaries have tried to get in the house for years, but finally the Lord prepared away for us to meet them.

Luis is 17 years old and is now on the right pathway to getting ready to serve a mission. He even took us to a stake priesthood conference yesterday! We weren't planning on going, but he called us and said, "Hey I want to go to the priesthood session, will you guys come with me?" So we ended up going!

We had a powerful lesson with them last week. We watched the video "Because of Him", which you can find on lds.org. This video shows the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us. After the video my companion started talking about the video, but a question came into my head from the Spirit and it wouldn't go away. So I asked them, "You can see the love that Jesus Christ has for each one of you, and I know that all of you love Jesus Christ with all of your heart, but what is one thing that you are going to do this week to show your love for Him?" Amanda, the mom, started crying and said this Sunday I'm taking my family to church again! And she showed up! It was so powerful!

Also the Lord gave my companion and I an opportunity to share the gospel in front of a crowd of around 200 people. One of our friends who is a member, had a graduation dinner and invited us to share a little bit about the gospel with all of his guests. It was a very neat experience and a lot of the people were really interested!

Well all I can say, after I have seen all of these miracles and lived and experienced what the prophets in the Book of Mormon experienced sharing the gospel to the Lamanites, is that this church is so true. God loves everyone of His children and especially his brown skin children. I hope that you guys can think of one thing you can do this week to show the love that you have for our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total 1566

Elder Navarro and Elder Corbett

Elder Corbett and Elder Navarro in their soccer gear

Preaching the gospel at the graduation party

Cooking tamales

Elder Corbett with a man from San Martin

Monday, November 17, 2014

A week of protests

hola familia! que tal el nieve?!

This week for the most part we were stuck in our house during the protests. Because of that we got a lot of studying, cooking, and piano playing down. The protesting started on Tuesday and ended on Thursday! They wont be protesting again until next year because the congress is now on vacation. :)

The sister missionaries from our closest area called us and told us that they were walking down the highway to go visit someone. They were walking in the middle of the highway because there wasn't any traffic due to the protesting. But as they were walking, they saw all these Guatemalans running for their lives. Behind the mob were over a hundred policemen with their shields and in trucks, throwing bombs into the crowd. The sisters didn't know what to do so they started running with the protesters to get away!

When they told me this, I was freaking out! I asked them if they went back to their apartment where it was safe and they said they hid and then went to their appointment! They were diligent but crazy! To make sure that they would be safe, I told them that they had to stay in their apartment for the rest of the day! When the protesting finally ended, we went up and got some work done! We are getting more and more people to teach and those that aren't ready yet to accept the gospel, we stop working with them and continue with those that have been prepared! facil!

We are working with one hermana named Blanca. She told us that she had a dream in which an angel lead her to a tree and wanted to show her something important, but then some lady pulled her away. She thinks it's an answer from God that she needs to come unto Him and learn more about Him. We promised her that is was an aswer from God and that we have been called by God to help her learn about Jesus Christ. It was a very spiritual lesson!

Well that's about all that happened this week, other than on Sunday, when a member called us and told us that there was a drunk guy locked in the church! We called the 1st counseler and met at the church. As we looked through the church we found the back doors were open! We talked to some people that were nearby and they said he got locked in and climbed the fence to get out! So many times drunk people walk into the church(who knows why?), but this time President Ordonez was in his office and didn't notice him, so he locked him in the church. That was super funny! Well the church is true! And this is the only true church that has a living prophet on this earth who God speaks to and who guides us! soy Mormon y soy feliz!

Elder Corbett Tortilla Total 1546

Hanging out on the chicken bus

Zone leader conference

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Time is going by way too fast

Hola familia!

This week has been a great week. I just feel like time is going by way too fast! I feel like I wake up and then it's already night time and then I'm in bed again! My companion and I have been working really hard this week, and not only by ourselves, but with the members of the branch presidency! We have been making plans to go and find all the inactive members, and plans for working with our investigators, which have been very successful!

This week we brought two new investigators to church, Gildardo and Alvaro. They are both super amazing and really enjoyed their time at church. We also brought two inactive members to church, one named Luis who is 17 years old and awesome and the other named Herman who is in his thirties. They had both been inactive for over 2 years!!! So when the members saw them, they all got excited and there was a different spirit in the church yesterday. It really helped us gain trust with the members and now they all want us to come visit with them so they can also bring more people to church.

We had an attendence at church of 56 which is pretty good for San Juan! Elder Navarro and I have experienced so many miracles! With the zone this month we have been focusing on faith and miracles, and it's so cool to hear all the amazing miracles that the missionaries in the zone have seen too! It just goes to show that this is the Lord's work, and as we become more like Him and as we learn more about Him, He will always help us! That is the secret to missionary work! The church is true!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total 1521

Husking corn

A picture with the quetzales

Lizard

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a church of miracles!

Hola familia!

This week has been a great week for the branch. I think a lot of the members are trying a lot harder and are more excited to help the branch! Also, this week was my last Day of the Dead in Guatemala!

Yesterday we had our first branch counsel meeting. It went really well, we assigned 5 families for the branch presidencies to visit and 10 families for the 2 companionships of missionaries in San Juan to visit. These families are less active or inactive. The members were super excited to go visit them!

On Saturday, the first counselor and the branch president called us and we went out and visited a lot of less active families. It was super helpful! We not only found part member families and families where their kids haven't been baptized yet, but we also got to know the branch president and gain his trust.

Speaking of trust. This week I have been trying super hard to earn the Lord's trust. And this week especially, I have felt the Lord working through me. Like this week we went to contact and reference, and this lady was very rude and didn't want anything. We felt kind of bad and didn't know where to go. Then this picture of a guy in a green sweatshirt in a street that was familiar to me wouldn't leave me head. Knowing which street it was, I decided to go find this guy. As we got walking down this street sure enough we found a guy in a green sweat shirt in a tienda, reading the bible. He was very nice to us and let us teach him, and he wants us to come back!

Also, as we were snacking on some tortas and visiting the less actives who make them on a street side, a huge semi-truck came driving by very slow. There was a pretty good size rock in the road, and a voice came into my head, get out of your chair, get out of your chair. Recognizing that it was the spirit, I followed it. As I got out of my chair the semi-truck's tire drove over the rock and using the weight of the truck as pressure, shot the rock like a cannon into the chair I had been sitting in. The chair completely shattered to pieces! I wasn't even surprised when I saw that happen. After we searched for the rock, and it weighed about 10 pounds!

I'm grateful to belong to the one true church that blesses us with the gift of the Holy Ghost. It helps us find God's elect and it protects us from danger! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a church of miracles!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total 1501

Branch Counsel

Elder Corbett with Walter

Wearing Hats with the investigators

Headed up to a village

Flying kites with the zone

Eating at Pizza Hut with Elder Navarro

Monday, October 27, 2014

Flying kites and listening to the Spirit

Hola Familia!

This week Elder Navarro and I have been finding a lot of new investigators which has been great! Of the many we found, Isabel is super positive. She works in a little shop selling shoes. We contacted her and she happily accpeted us. We have been working hard teaching her and we have invited her to be baptized on the 18th of November. Now the real work comes in with the members, as we invite them to invite her to church and activities at her house. If the members will help us, it will for sure be a baptism! She is really nice and I even bought shoes from her. She's getting them handmade for me because they don't make a size big enough! haha!

The weeks go by so fast, I can't even remember them! It's starting to turn into winter here in Guatemala, and so all of the kids have their kites out because of the wind! It's a big thing here. They even make kites that are 2 stories tall! So today for p-day, our zone had a kite flying competition! We went up to this peak on a mountain to where there is a lot of wind and flew kites and enjoyed the view. It was a good p-day.

Other than that, the one thing that I've been focusing on lately is listening and then acting to the promptings of the Spirit. Because if a missionary can do that, wow, he is going to have a lot of success. Plus San Juan is a huge area, and we can't just go up and talk to everyone right?! So when we contact by the Spirit, we contact the people that the Lord has prepared for us. I've noticed the more that I follow the promptings of the Spirit through thoughts that I receive, the more the Lord blesses me with the Spirit! It's great, and we find people who are willing to listen to us! The Church Is True!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total: 1475

Working on a bus

Elder Corbett and Elder Navarro making tacos

Elder Navarro flying his kite

Monday, October 20, 2014

Elder Navarro and Serving Others

Hola Familia!

This week I dropped off Elder Reinhold, and picked up my new companion, named Elder Navarro. He is from Peru and has 19 months in the mission. I have the privilege to train him as a new zone leader! It's cool though, because we already know each other. We both started out in the same area, Las Roas in Huehue! So that's pretty awesome.

We have been working very hard to edify the branch, which means to me, to help everyone develop a love for Christ. Instead of just looking for baptisms, we have also been looking for people who need the gospel, which could be anyone from inactive members to active members.

I would definitely have to call this week a success. We brought two families to church, who have been inactive and having many problems in thier lives. To me that is just as important as baptizing, and I know that the Lord looks at it as the same. And really all that those people needed, was service and someone to remind them of the love that Christ has for each and everyone of us. I always think of the scripture in Mosiah 2:17 "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

Serving other people, is like hitting 2 birds with 1 stone: First we are helping other people, and second we are helping God. I think we can all apply this in our lives! How easy is it to help a neighbor, or someone in need with something, or even just saying "hi" to them can help a lot!

I know that if we live by this standard, that the people around us will look up to us as examples, and we will be able to bring so many people back to the truth!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total:1453

Elder Corbett and his new companion, Elder Navarro

Sitting in the driver's seat of a chicken bus

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Visiting Eden and Saying Goodbye to Elder Reinhold

Hola Familia!

Wow ..... Honestly I can't even remember what we did last week! The weeks just fly by! We spent a lot of time the last few days saying goodbye to a lot of people because Elder Reinhold leaves to go home tomorrow.

All that I do remember this week is that we went with a companionship to a village in our area, called Eden. It's about a 45 minute drive all up hill! We went to a really cool little house, with flowers and animals. The man living there said that he never needs to leave because he has everything! The bad side to it, was that his dad was a pastor of a church and the other elders wanted to baptize his son, who lived in their area. He had a lot of questions, and hard ones, but we just followed the spirit and he was actually really impressed with us. NOT only did he give his son permission to be baptized, but he also wants his son to serve a mission to be able to preach the gospel. It was a really neat experience, and that's what it means when it says this in D & C 68:4 "And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation." This is definitely one of my favorite scriptures. We have the promise and blessing that if we are obedient, the Lord will help us share the gospel! It's so simple!

Among the people living in this village, we ran into an Amish colony. It was really neat to see other gringos. They even have a bakery and they sell amazing cookies and donuts. I keep seeing them, so I always try to talk to them. Maybe one day they will invite me to their farm, and teach me how to make their cookies!!!

Other than that, I go tomorrow to Xela to pick up my new companion! Wish me luck! Love you guys!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total: 1437

A party for Elder Reinhold

Saying goodbye to Elder Reinhold

Eden