Last minute things

11-26-12

Hey I´m getting kind of nervous...lol. But everything is going to go well. Ummm...I haven´t had the time to go check out the hotel but I will go tomorrow at least to know where it is. Are you both going to bring a cell phone!? I was thinking bring them both, not to use them in Peru but to use them when we are traveling back so if anything happens we can contact each other. Well if you don´t want to do that that’s fine but I do need the numbers you’re going to be using. If you have any questions you can call the office number I gave you or this cell phone: 971126025. I´m going to check this tomorrow morning to get those numbers before you leave, anything you need let me know. And I´ll be calling you if I can! love you so much!

This is the plan: 

Monday: come in get comfortable

Tuesday: Transfer meeting - La alborada - Miramar!!!

Wednesday- Huacho

Thursday- Cusco

Friday- Machu Pichu

Saturday- Come back- Go to temple- eat dinner with President

Sunday- Church in San Diego - Go to Rob´s house

Monday- Miraflores- Go home! 

Wow I feel like this whole week I’ve been in a kind of limbo because I´ve been like going around with other missionaries to say goodbye but I´m not going home yet. It’s like I’m dead but alive at the same time. It’s kind of weird; I think the real life is hitting me again! 

Love you so so much, and see you in less than 24 hours!

Just a sec Exciting!!!

11-19-12

I`ll send you all something soon about my week but my time ran out emailing mom and things for the mission. I`ll write you later or at night if I can!

Love,

   Elder corbett

11-19-12

Ok I need to figure some things out then. We will be in contact a lot this week I think because I`m not going to have much to do, I`m leaving my area tomorrow to go to Lima. I`m going to be staying there the whole week pretty much and having for example my interview with the president and we have like a tour and things. I`m going to be there figuring all this stuff out. Umm don`t worry, bring the blow dryer the plugs here have both the ports. It’s like a double thing they always have, it’s kind of cool so I have never worried about the adapters and my things are just fine. Yeah I think we can work that out with Rob. I was thinking that night spend it with you guys and the Dorius Family. They wanted to do something too but I will talk with them because I`ll be there in the offices all week! Just send me messages during the week with any question, I`m sure the president will be fine with me checking it to make sure everything good, and plus it’s not like I`m going to have all that much to do because I can`t work (I won’t be in my area) and I don`t need to really say goodbye to my area just yet because I`m going to go with you guys. I was thinking about some things we could do, and I was thinking it would be cool if you guys could come up here to Huacho, but I don`t know if you would want to do that. It’s like 2 1/2 hours but so pretty the drive right along the ocean side and beautiful views. But I`ll think about it a lot, it’s not expensive by any means so that’s not what I`m worried about, just time and you can really see all my areas in the mission!!  Umm if you are talking with Elder Guerrero, Yes!! he was my companion for 6 weeks and was like one of the best companion I had, he`s way fun and I`m thinking I might go with him to the airport to pick you guys up with him and we can come back together because it’s close to the offices and we can help you out if the money and anything else. Umm don`t worry too much about transportation, I know pretty well the system in Lima, we can always take a bus or taxi, and I can find a taxi real easily and at Peruvian price. I got pretty good at that in my time here, it’s actually kind of fun. If we have the direction and everything to Rob and can get us there and back to the airport easily! ;-) 

There are a couple things I would like you to bring if there is room. Those zebra pens, yeah Elder Guerrero wants some if you could bring them as well there is a zebra pen that is extendable, it’s kind of shrinks and you pull it out to use it. He will pay you back for those. Ummm. as well if you could bring a couple decks of cards to give to someone, just the normal ones but with different backs to play nerds! as well a children’s song book for a family here that speaks English, He served in Provo his mission and can`t find one here. And as well just something for the kitchen to give to my last pension here, she is so awesome and has been so good to me. 

Well I got to go, love ya,

   Elder Corbett

6 more days = 2 Years as missionary

Dear family,                                                      11-12-12

     Well I can´t believe its all coming to an end so fast but I´m working hard and this week will be a good week. We had a baptism this week of an old lady I contacted about 3 weeks ago and she was so happy and is so excited to be a member of the true church. She is 75 years old. We don´t have baptisms for this next Saturday but we are trying to help a couple people get baptized for the 24 of Nov. We did have a good week in the zone and there was a huge marriage ceremony here in the city where 48 couple all got married at the same time...it’s something weird that they do here so that people get married. We had 5 couples get married from the zone, some part members and we had 7 baptisms in the zone. We went to one of the baptisms that was very special, there is a new area in the zone that a companionship of missionaries are going to, it’s called "Sayan" and there are no members there until yesterday! Now there are two members and they can start a little group there. It’s about 50 mins away from our zone in taxi so they are going to make all the difference for the people there!! it’s so exciting how the work keeps moving forward. 

      Saturday I complete 2 years in the mission and still going strong! I´m writing so early today because we are going to a place that’s called "Caral" look it up online, it’s the oldest ruins that there are in all America and its only about 1 hour from here! cool huh? I´m going to take a lot of pictures, so that way, you can see this place.   It’s going to be cool but I hear it’s a lot of dust! We´ll see how it goes! I´m used to dust! Well I will see you all soon and love you all so very much!! 

      Con mucho amor,

              Elder Corbett

Tick Tock, Tick Tock!!

Dear Family,                                                                 11-5-12

      It’s crazy this end of the mission thing! I´m really enjoying it so much, the family that we live with is so fun that they are getting sad knowing that I´m leaving soon, I am too! But it isn´t taking away from the work I want to do before I take off! This week we had a baptism and it was so awesome this sister was so ready and so happy! Her name is Rosemary, she´s 40. It was so perfect the baptismal service as well, we also have a baptism for this sat. which was the older sister (who is 75) that we found last week who is going to be baptized sat. and as well we have a baptism for the next sat.! I´m excited,  We as well on a work visit while I was with Elder Paulson (my companion in the MTC) in my area, we contacted a man knocking his door and I didn´t think too much of it but when we returned the next day he was waiting for us. He said (because we arrived 30 mins late) "I didn´t think you guys were going to come and so I went and got on this web site that it says here and started chatting with some people of the church!" Wow, that caught me by surprise and then when we got to teaching about Joseph Smith I asked him have you ever heard of him, and he said "yea, I read what it said the pamphlet about how he prayed and saw God and Jesus Christ." This is a golden investigator. We gave him and his son and book of mormon and started visiting them every day or every other day. The mom of the family is very excited to listen as well but she works a lot, and the best part is that they got married 2 years before having their son. That is truly amazing for Perú!! They were going to come to church yesterday but they said in the morning when I called that they couldn´t and they would explain at night. When we got there at night they said they didn´t feel ready or prepared to go to the chapel and they would feel a little weird there, sometimes people use that as like an excuse but he was so sincere, like he knew how important it was for his life but he was scared to take that step because he knew how big it be. So tomorrow we are going to go with him and his family (Him, his wife, and son) to the chapel to have a tour and they can feel comfortable when they go Sunday. I have the faith that they can still be baptized before I go home! They are so prepared and have started to read the book of mormon, The dad is in Chapter 5 and the son in Chapter 4. 

        Well that’s a little bit of what’s been going on this week, just keep working and pushing till the end! Its going to be a good reward just feeling so relaxed and at peace flying home knowing I gave it my all! Well love you all and thanks for your support and prayers,

       Elder Corbett

p.s. We can do hard things!

p.p.s I can´t wait for you guys to come out here and see Perú!!!

Working hard, or Hardly working!?

Dear family,                                                                  10-29-12

       Man we worked hard this week, we were going to have a baptism this week but she couldn´t because of her work. She has been working so much because the other lady that works with her had an operation and she couldn´t help out for a while and our investigator has been working all day from 10 in the morning to 10 at night. And her companion couldn´t come in on sat. So we ended this month with only 2 baptisms but that ok we have seen other miracles in our area this week. Tuesday afternoon, while we were doing an exchange with other missionaries, I was with Elder Bulacio from Argentina and him and his companion don´t like contacting a lot. They do about 30 a week but never more, so we tried to do a lot of contacts with them so they learn to love it. When we started out the afternoon going to an a appointment and they weren´t there so I said lets go to the next one, and I knew we were going to have to contact so I said, lets knock these 3 houses, I haven´t knocked them yet! (It was the same street as our house) and so we knocked the first one and just normal and put their direction down and invited them to church and everything just like normal. The second house had on the door, "this home is catholic". I thought oh great we are going to get the door in our face, but we knocked and an older lady answered and looked very receptive and happy. And so we asked her if we could come in and teach her more about the church. She said "of course" and she grabbed a couple seats and as well we invited her grandson to participate, and it was such a great lesson. It was so powerful we told her that we were sent by god and this is what she needed. Her house was/is full of Catholic things but she felt we were sent by God. The next day we visited her and again, and with tears in her eyes, she said "my whole life I have always needed someone to explain the things to me and you are finally here." the Bishop gave the class of Gospel Principles and she asked the bishop if she should give up everything about being catholic for this, and he explained how he was catholic but found the truth. She said if I have to give up everything about being catholic for this I´ll do it! I then went in the afternoon and taught her and she is going to be baptized this 10th of November. I love finding people that are prepared. I always love telling the missionaries that I feel more like a missionary when I am contacting than anything else. I love baptizing contacts that I´ve done because it just makes me feel that what I am doing makes a huge difference. It’s crazy! 

       Well I hope you all know I´m working hard and not just hardly working! We as well had Zone Leader Council and it was really cool, we practically just practiced for 3 hours with the president and it was alot of fun! Well I hope everything is going well I´m just going to give my all until the end! Love you guys!!

Love, 

     Elder Corbett

The president is awesome!

Dear Family,                                                     10-22-12

      Well this week was crazy. I spent one day in Lima for the transfers to pick up all the missionaries from the zone and come back. It was interesting. We actually had a funny experience there. Elder Diaz and I went to bed very late packing stuff and getting things ready, probably at like 3 in the morning. We had to wake up at 6 to get ready and be on the bus at 7 to go to Lima and make it in time for the transfer meeting. Well he had pretty much everything ready and we went to bed. We woke up to voice of the pension (who live above us and there’s a window we can talk to each other from) saying "Elders, Elders, have you left yet?". I looked at my watch 7:20!! OH my....we had to get everything ready so fast. We took off running! We made it to Lima and the meeting as they were starting the first hymn. haha it was kind of funny but we were so exhausted that we didn´t hear the alarm. I never wake up late but what a day to not hear the alarm. So that was something funny this week.

       We also had interviews this week with president, and I thought, oh everything will be normal just interviews and he´s leave and everything will be cool. We when we called the night before, he said "I want to study with you guys for an hour and a half and then we will do the interviews of the whole zone and then I will work with someone in the zone for the afternoon." I was kind of nervous. So we did the practice with him, we had to teach him lesson 2 (plan of salvation) in 45 mins, it actually went really well, and me and my companion were very new in teaching with each other. But because we studied with him I was almost sure he wasn´t going to work with us but at the end of the studying he said. I feel I need to work with you two for the day. I think my heart went into shock. But we got to eat lunch with him at the hotel where he was staying and that was the best Steak I have eaten here in Peru. It was a fun day! He really didn´t work with us all the day. just a couple hours and then we had an baptism interview in our area and when the DL came to do the interview he went with them so it was cool for them too. It was a good week, we have a lot of people progressing and so this last week’s can go very well. My goal is to have 1 baptism every week till I go home! We will see how that goes but I feel with the people we have right now it’s very possible.

        Anyway besides that we are contacting a lot and meeting lots of new people, I gave a talk in sacrament meeting and it went really well. I talked about how we aren´t ever alone and we need to help those around us as well know that they aren´t alone. I love you guys and as the time gets closer I´m getting excited to see you all but i´m going to end first what I came to do. I know this is the work of God and it’s a lot bigger than any one of us, its not at all our work but His very work. 

                Love,

                            Elder Corbett

Last Transfer!!

Dear Family,

      Well this has been the quickest transfer I have ever had. I can´t believe it went by so fast, but it was a blast! Well after it all I´m going to get a new companion, I never thought I´d start to have so many companions at the end of my mission, but that's how the cookie crumbles. I´m excited to just work hard this last transfer and come home feeling really good. I know it’s going to go by so fast! My companion Elder Diaz is going to be companions with my old companion Elder Zeas from Nicaragua, that's kind of cool. We will see how that goes! My new companion is Elder Ochoa, and he is from a crazy new place, Guatemala. My first companion was from there and my last will be too. My 6th Guatemalan! That’s cool though, I heard he´s cool and we will be good zone leaders. So I´m excited. 

       Well we had 1 baptism this last week and we have 2 for this Saturday, so we progressing a lot. We are going to work so hard this last transfer, I want to go home good! We are going to do a cool activity in the ward called "Yo Soy", it is a TV program that goes on here and it’s kind of like American Idol but you have to imitate someone and the best one to imitate after some rounds wins, or something like that. So we are going to do it in our ward and its going to be fun. They already did it once so the second time it will be fun too! Well I´m getting things ready for classes and as well when you guys come out here. I can´t wait but I´m actually a little scared to go home! Well love you guys and hope this week is great. I´ll let you know next week how my companion is! 

Love you all,

      Elder Corbett

We have a lot of work ahead of us!

Dear family,                                          10-8-12

     This week has been a week of a lot of distractions. We had Zone Leader council and that took about 2 days of the week and then as well we had general conference that took another 1 1/2. Well that's how the cookie crumbles. But we did have a lot of good progress this week. We have a couple new investigators who are men and can progress. A lot of men don´t want to hear about the gospel and its sad because the church needs more priesthood but when we find willing and good men its always something great! We have a couple young men and women who want to be baptized and so we are helping them and trying to talk with their parents and get the whole family involved. But everything is going great. 

      Conference how crazy was that? now they go out at 18 and girls at 19. I was shocked!! I´m amazed but do kind of love the idea. We will see how it goes. Here in Peru it was like that for about 7 months or so but not for too long. but only for the young men and young women, that blew my mind. Cool though how the lord needs more missionaries. I love the missionary work and I hope that everything person that goes on their mission will puts their whole heart, might, and soul into the work. There really is no other time in your life, like the mission! I actually had my personal question answered in the conference too. I asked a question very specific and in the first session Pres. Uchtdorf answered it perfectly! So that whole talk I know was for me, and I needed it! So that was my favorite talk and as well from Elder Nash! I shook his hand and got to meet him my first transfer here when he was in the area presidency. Anyway I just love conference, I can´t believe it went by so fast, I wish it could last a week but sometimes good things end and we have to keep pushing forward in the work. 

      Well I´m still just working real hard and helping my zone out a lot. Next week is transfers and we´ll see if I get a new companion or if Elder Diaz will kill me!! It will be a fun last transfer and I just want to work real hard and leave it all in the field. 

Love you all,

     Elder Corbett

Lots of stress!!

Dear Family,                                                     10-1-2012

     Well this week and the last week have been so stressful. It’s been kind of hard these last weeks with the work in our area, as well in the zone, and as well with personal debilities and feeling that I can´t do it. I like things to be well with the missionaries in the zone but I have been having a lot of stressing trying to make the best decision and knowing what to do. I hope I’m being a good leader and we are being a good example. But God does work in mysterious ways and I have seen that these last 2 weeks. We only ended this month with 1 baptism but we worked very hard so that she could have a good conversion and feel the need to be baptized. She said after her baptism that she was so very happy to me a member of the "Mormon" Church. It’s actually weird here in my new area, I love it and the people and everything but it just very different from how it was in Lima. I don´t know if it’s me, the areas, or the missionaries; but it feels so very different here. I´m still trying to figure it out but these last weeks have been rough on me but very fun. I kind of wish I didn´t end as a zone leader it’s a lot of stress and especially when I came from a zone when I felt I had everything under control I understood the missionaries I knew how to talk to all of them but here it’s very different. But I will do everything I can so I can end my mission well and help the zone and just end working my heart out! Even if I come home with a big headache, it will be a lot of relief when I see you all again to know I did everything I could.  

        So sorry I didn´t write last week I just got caught up in a lot of things I needed to do and never got back around to it. That's as well how I feel today, with some things we need to do and as well I want to just sleep a little and relax. This week we are going back into Lima for Zone Leader counsel. That will be cool, ya know why? this month we had the best month that our mission has ever had, 214 baptisms. The last record was 176 baptisms but this month we did better and we were all excited!!! our goal for the year is 2012 baptisms in 2012 which meant like 200 baptisms per month was the goal but we never got that high. And because we were slowly falling back we almost thought that we weren´t going to make it. But we are starting to do it! Maybe we can still pull it off, the only problem the mission is having right now is that a lot of missionaries are going home but not a lot are coming into our mission. We have so many going home because when the mission started every group was huge that came in! But we have the best mission president of any mission so I can´t complain!! Well anyway that’s what has been going on here and I hope everything goes well for you guys this week and everyone has fun in the things they are doing; working, studying, teaching, partying, or even parenting! Make it fun!! 

Love you all,

      Elder Corbett

Good hard working week!

Dear Family,                                                                 9/17/2012

      well everything this week went very well. We now have 3 baptismal dates, 2 for this sat. and one for the next day.  We could have more for the next weekend. We need to work hard though and just help a couple people take first step of baptism to bless their lives. I’ve been doing a lot of work visits this week and it’s been interesting. We are doing to visits a week and so I don´t feel like I´m ever working with my companion, as well we are trying to help the zone so much and we go and study with them and lose a lot of our own study time. It’s been actually a crazy week, switching areas and doing service. It’s been fun though because we are doing the abb program and its keeping me in shape! I´m going to come home looking built....I hope! 

      We have been just working out tails off this week so not much to report. I´m going to finish right now so I can send ya some picture a little later with some time because a lot of the time here was used for the zone and i didn´t have time to write you guys. I´m going to go put my pictures on my usb and send ya´ll some a little later today!!

love ya guys and hope everything is going well,

    Elder Corbett

HUACHO!!!!!

Dear Family,                                                                 9/10/2012

       This place rocks!!! I love Huacho. I´m really close to the beach and its a little bit of a different feel but I like it. Its like Lima but its smaller, and the traffic is not crazy. We live just a couple blocks from the beach and when we go up on some hills that are in our area there is a sweet view. Our Pension is the best, I love this family! Sometimes when we have a little bit of time after lunch we will play a quick game of skip-BO or Monopoly Deal, I have now even taught them Zonk! So they are a very fun family and I love them to death already! We have a baptism for the next 3 weeks planned and we are going to be working hard to have 5 baptisms this month. We actually lost a ton of time this week. We have transfers Tuesday and so after lunch we came out here with all our stuff and it take 3 hours to get here. Then Wednesday we had to go back at night for the Zone Leader council Thursday and we stayed the night in the offices. and then Thursday after lunch again travel back to our area. We lost 3 days this week but even with loosing days we had almost the best numbers in the Zone so we need to help a lot of the Elders work more effectively. 

       My companion, Elder Diaz, is awesome! Really funny, at first I was a little nervous but he´s way cool and we teach well together I feel. We are going to work our brains out these next two transfers, and I really hope he doesn´t get transferred this next transfer because that would be a little sad to not end with him. We will see what happens though. All of the members here when I meet them and tell them how much time I have all freak out and get excited that I´ll be ending my mission here, it’s kind of funny but I´m liking the ward and its members. They are all very willing to help us and come with us to appointments, we actually did division yesterday and I felt good because I didn´t get lost and I only have like 3 days working and learning the area! We will be working hard this week and tomorrow I´m excited too that we are going to have a Mulit-zone conference. So I´ll see a couple of my companion that I haven´t seen in a while!

      Anyway that was about my week and everything is going very well!!

Love,

    Elder corbett

The best week of my mission!

Dear Family,                                                     9/3/12

        This week was the best week every, all sacrifice is worth it for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So we didn`t really have the BEST numbers this week but we do have 5 people who want to be baptized this month and are all very excited for that day to come! I do unfortunately have a transfer. But that’s ok because I’m going outside the city! It will be cool, I`m going to Huacho which is in Norte Chico it’s about 3 hours from the offices. Meaning I`m not going to come to the city or offices except maybe once a month.  There is also a really cool Elder coming to replace me, I`m excited for him. He`ll do a good job. My new companion is from Colombia, Elder Diaz, and I`m still going to be Zone Leader 1. So the responsibilities isn`t going to change at all and that’s how I`m going to end me mission:. It’s alright.

         Ok now about this week. So we went to the Temple early Friday with the whole ward there. We waited in a spot and as they were heading to the temple they picked us up! When I got on the bus I felt famous! It was just me and Elder Lopez (My companion when we were there) and we jumped on and saw like 9 of my converts all going to the temple, some for baptisms for the dead but 5 of which going to get their endowments. It was an amazing experience. Everyone called us the Alma and Amulek of The Miramir Ward, it was amazing. The only problem was that they arrived late to the temple. :-/ and so couldn`t enter. We went to the conference and saw Elder Christofferson and then thinking we were going to go back and see just the sealing. But couldn`t get in that day so they had to go back sat. afternoon. We ask president and he gave us permission and was there for everything. It’s such a crazy experience to see your converts in the temple. And then to be there for their sealing...WOW! I was full of the spirit! We weren`t able to stay (for time) for all the sealing of 3 families in that ward but we stayed for the first, Familia Ortega! I couldn`t believe seeing them kneeing around the alter, all four of them and being sealed for time and eternity! I still can`t believe it, with finding, teaching, baptizing, and now being endowed with all their ordinances! I saw that day in the temple 7 of my converts, including the two daughters of The Ortega Family! Thanks for your prayers and love. Everything is worth it! I know this is where God wants me to be and I know I want to be worth to receive those blessings that they were able to receive in the temple! 

        With Elder Christofferson, that was an amazing experience too. I was really far back and we didn`t get to shake his hand but he talked to us as if I we were his best friends telling the things. It was awesome of what he shared about how we need to teach repentance to the people. and how it should be a thing of Joy that the people can repent. I loved it; it was also very powerful when he said that our entire message to the people is the Testimony of Jesus Christ! That he suffered, died, and rose again. There were so many things he said that really caught my attention but right now I don`t have my notes with me! :-/ I`m sorry! I did feel the spirit very strongly though. And on top of all the things we had this week there is an entire family who came to church this week! Two have baptismal dates but the other 2 we are working on still. But the daughter (22) yesterday said, "I just can`t wait for the 15th, I want it to be NOW!". They are very happy and the whole family is reading the book of mormon. The dad is now in Mosiah and the daughters are in 2 Nephi. That’s amazing for just a couple weeks. ;-) But they feel the spirit that way!! 

       Well I can`t say much more, just that I`ll be working my hardest to finish on that same up beat that I have been having my entire mission! 

Love you all,

Elder Corbett