Chicken Foot

Hey y'all.

Sorry I wasn't able to write last week. We had our p-day in a different town and got back late. So I'll write about the past two weeks, and try to share with you only the highlights.

Tuesday our pension's son left for his mission to Brazil. So the week before we were able to participate in all of the fun farewell celebrations. There was the testimony session, farewell on Sunday, and Monday we woke up early and played soccer with him and his friends for one last time. Then early Tuesday morning he left. It was super weird to participate in all of these events but looking at it from the inside, as a missionary.

Then that Saturday we were at the stake center basically all day because President Nelson and Elder Stevenson and their wives were in Lima, Peru. They had two meetings, one for missionaries, and another for everyone. They were super good and what was super cool was that in the general session President Nelson spoke in Spanish. I was a little disappointed, because I'm still learning Spanish, but to see the faces of all the natives light up made it worth it.

Then came Sunday and you're not going to believe what picky Landon ate. Soup... haha. The soup was good until I found a chicken foot in it. I can be a little picky when I am at my pension's house but Sundays we eat with members and you have to eat everything and anything. So yeah, I ate it. And no, it wasn't secretly good. I was just grateful that there isn't a whole lot to eat on a chicken foot. If you want a good laugh, just picture me eating a bowl of soup, which would've been a rare sight in the states. Then fishing around in my soup, only to find a chicken foot, and in that moment realizing that my life would never be the same again. But I survived, and ate a bunch of skittles (shoutout to my family) afterwards.

We had zone conference this week, and our President gave us a goal to contact 20 people each day. It's hard to do that with all of our appointments, but it has really payed off. One time we were out contacting and I had the feeling to go knock a door that was a street over. No one was home. I was a little confused, but then at the next house there were two people outside we talked to and are super interested in the gospel. So just know, this work is guided by the Spirit.

We had a ton of rain like normal. One night out of no where it started hailing super hard on us. and we just ran to our apartment. It was funny. Then this Friday it rained so hard and I'm pretty sure we got more rain in an hour than Logan has gotten all year. One thunder strike shook the house we were in.

Also what has been super funny but really random is that people keep thinking I'm from Venezuela for some reason. There are a lot of Venezuelan refugees in Peru but I haven't looked like any of them. Also I convinced this guy on the street that I was from a town in Peru that was settled by Germans or something like that. Anyway if you ever feel down, read the Book of Mormon, or the Bible, they help. God loves you, I love you, have a good week! Semper Fi Hoo Rah

Dog Count: 818 for past two weeks and 2067 for total!

Love Elder Corbett

1)A Shepherd in the Lords Work

2)A super cool Catholic church I found

3)Rainy sunsets are he best

Stress leads to success

Holy moly this week was loco.

As you heard last email I have a new companion named Elder Moya from Bolivia who is super cool. He literally knows all American music so it's fun to talk or jam out with him to random songs.

As for the week, it probably was one of the most stressful weeks of my life, but ended super well. Because my companion is new to the area, it felt more like I was the trainer not the one being trained. This week was straight appointments and we literally didn't do any contacting. I was worried that I wouldn't know how to navigate the area and find the houses, but we made it to all of them! There were times where I truly felt guided. Like Nephi when he got the brass plates, I went not knowing beforehand the things I should do. Lol I didn't always know exactly where to go, but the routes felt like muscle memory and sometimes it felt like I was being nudged where to go. Also we ran into so many investigators in the roads randomly which has never happened before. We were truly blessed.

As I said earlier, the week was stressful and crazy but amazing, and the weekend provides the example of this. We had a baptism Saturday. Before a person can be baptized they have to be taught certain things. With the person being baptized, her name is Aracely, we had her last lesson Thursday, baptism interview Friday, and baptism Saturday. Well she wasn't home Thursday and said she probably wouldn't have time before the interview to be taught. That night I was so worried the baptism wouldn't happen and that night was one of my most strongest/desperate prayers. In the morning her sister called us and said she could be taught at 4:30 before the interview at 6. Truly my prayer was answered. The lesson and interview went well and that night we planned and threw together the baptism. Saturday came. The baptism was supposed to be at 3. No one showed up until almost 5. I was so frustrated with the ward and everything. But later talking with another elder about it, he just said welcome to Peru. haha He said no one ever shows up near the correct time. So once the baptism started everything was fine. She chose me to baptize her. It was super special. When I baptized her it was probably one of the purest moments of joy I have ever felt. She also gave a super touching testimony afterwards.

After the baptism, the ward had an activity where everyone brings food for people to try. It was awesome... But I guess the food is getting to me haha. Yesterday my pension was laughing at me and said that I'm starting to get fat or chubby. Also I've now ripped my pants 4 or 5 different times and got some new pants from the office to wear. But what do you do? I eat rice potatoes and chicken all day every day. And I'm also in South America. So I'm not going to stop myself from eating snacks and comfort food. And everyone says that it's the rice that gets to you. So rip literally. Haha

Now for a spiritual thought. A lot of times we may feel inadequate or not good enough to do something, but the thing is, is that God loves to work through weak things. Think about it. Joseph Smith, or José Smith in Spanish, was 14 when he saw God and Jesus, restored the church to the earth, then died in his 30s. Why did God work through a young farm boy for something so significant? It's because weak things are humble enough to rely on Gods help. In conference someone said that the hardest child to teach is the one who knows it all. So now when you don't think you can do something, that's not bad, because you will be more humble enough to rely on Gods help which is the best you can get! God always wants to help. It is us who need to decide to use his help or not.

Anyway now for the dog count: 313 for week and 1249 for total.

1)Views of the sky for days

2)Huancayo loves to have school parades. This one even marched to Staying Alive (the disco song) on repeat

3)Baptism! Pic is with my old companion

4)General Conference brings us together. My companion is back row far right

First 6 weeks in the field down the drain!!

Wow I've finished my first transfer. These six weeks went by crazy fast. Transfers are kind of rough though. My companion is getting transferred and I have a new companion. His name is Elder Noya and he is from Bolivia! He is also district leader, so now I'm 5 for 5.

Last night at about 11:00 my old companion and I went over everything I need to know about the area. Lets just say I'm more than a little overwhelmed with it. We have a bunch of people closing in on baptisms that need things. And one, the area isn't like Utah with perfect block roads and where people actually use addresses. And two, Spanish doesn't come over night, so it's hard for me to remember people exactly, and their needs. But I shouldn't be as stressed as I am, because God won't let us fail.

But other than this, the week was super chill! This week I got a good dose of America which is good but also sucks. Monday I bought bread and cheese and showed my companion how to make grilled cheese. Either I've become an amazing cook or my tongue has changed haha, because that was one of the best things I've ever tasted. Also I found microwave popcorn the other day which was heaven. Then Saturday was general conference and it was so cool. It's crazy on the mission how inspired you can feel everything is.

Then Saturday afternoon I went on exchanges again with the zone leader from Rexburg Idaho. After conference we picked up one of my good buddies from the CCM because his companion had finished his mission. So Saturday afternoon through Sunday I was in a trio with two super cool gringos. It was a time of pop culture, music, and meme references, etc. But don't worry, we also worked hard haha.

Sunday we weren't allowed to watch conference because it was election day and you're not allowed to hold meetings on election day. It wasn't even an election for president, just regional governor. The future of the region I am in, may be uncertain. One person I trust told me the new governor is super corrupt, probably payed off the election, and is communist. Haha is there an American hotline I can call? But another trusted person told me he is super good and just, and will do a lot for Huancayo. So I don't know what to think. But during this week there would be parades for the different political parties. It felt more like a school election.

So next week I get to watch Sunday conference, but Saturday conference was so cool!! Some thoughts that stood out to me is that 1)God gives us difficulties so we can use the power of the atonement and have a testimony in it. 2) Fear limits the perspective of God's children. We need not fear because fear literally does nothing for us. If we have fear, our love of God counters all fear. Perfect love casteth out all fear. 3) All we need to do is Trust in Him(Jesus), Rely upon Him, follow Him, press forward with and in Him. 4) Our faith is like a campfire that can get us through cold and dark nights. 5) BELIEVE, LOVE, DO. God knows us, loves us, and desires to fill our emptiness with joy. It is through believing, loving, and doing that we let Him fill our emptiness. Notice these all have a theme. I had been praying for some kind of talk about this and there were so many on it. God is good. I love y'all and hope that you have a good week! 😜😇👊

Dog count: 594 for week and 936 for total

Love, Elder Corbett

Why I feel happy

Wow, where did the week go?

It has rained every day this week except for Saturday. Apparently we are approaching summer and I've heard that it basically rains every day. But sometimes the rain is nice to cool things off. Every day this week it starts off cool and partly cloudy. The clouds disappear and it gets super hot. Then around 4 or 5 big rain clouds appear out of no where and it rains and gets cold until the next day.

But Huancayo has been good to me! The work is coming along really well for us. What is cool about it, is that all of our progressing investigators are youth. It is super cool to see young kids taking charge of their lives and caring about religion.

This week was a little more eventful than last week. I met a drunk guy. Side-note, every drunk person I've met so far knows Joseph Smith which is funny. One even told me he needed to pray to Joseph Smith for forgiveness. Anyway, this drunk guy shook my hand and pulled me so close to him, that he could've kissed me. And yeah, he told me I have beautiful eyes and look like Brad Pitt. Ladies take note.....just kidding - Don't. But sometimes being a gringo almost feels like being a celebrity down here. Everyone loves to talk with me, but a lot of them are drunk people or kids so you can't do a lot with them.

Anyways now for a small spiritual thought. My stomach has been hurting a lot the past couple weeks. But don't worry I'm feeling better now. One day I was laying on my bed and I thought, I've had a stomach ache for a week straight, I'm in Peru, it's pouring rain, I have to express myself in Spanish, but I feel super happy. I was trying to figure out why I felt happy. I still don't completely understand, but I think a couple reasons are that one, on a mission you don't have to worry about yourself. You are guaranteed food to eat, a place to sleep, and I have clothes to wear. That means I don't have to worry about myself at all, or even if I have money. On the mission you only need to think of others. Also I've been reading the Book of Mormon a ton and I'm in a super cool spot right now. This week I finished the war chapters in Alma and am starting 3rd Nephi. So if you need some happiness, in the wise words of Cee Lo Green, Forget You - haha. He meant it in a different way, but forget yourself, focus on others, and read amazing scriptures.

P.S. This Tuesday I started counting street dogs. But don't think much of this count, because I forget to count a lot of times, and I probably see a lot of the same dogs every day.

Street dog total for week: 342.

Anyways I love yall and would love to hear from you!

Elder Corbett

1) Family History Night!

2)Chillin with some street puppies

3)This photo is a result of not having water to shower, and all of my p-day clothes being washed haha

4)First Baptism! (From Last week)