Out here in the 601

This week was fun. We had the car, and good thing because it was a hot week!! I am surprised that it hasn't cooled down here that much. It only does in the mornings but in the afternoon it gets super hot still. It's good that I love the hot weather! Anyways, this week I caught a lizard and kept it overnight, and I took some pictures of it. Sadly I couldn't keep it because it is against mission rules and I had no means of feeding it or having a heat lamp for it. So I might just have to become an overnight lizard keeper.

This week I actually gave my first blessing and not just anointing. It was scary. But once I started doing it, I felt just a great amount of peace come to me which was awesome. Then after that we moved a new convert out of a trailer and into an apartment. So I had a lot of fun lifting and moving stuff. It took us about 3 hours and we moved her completely. Me and this other missionary did most of the heavy lifting. We moved an old television, couch, washing machine and dryer. That was pretty much it.

We also continued to knock doors in the projects. We did a little knocking on Saturday, but everyone was drunk and was watching college football. I just laughed and wanted to join them in watching the games, but sadly I cannot!

But the last thing that was awesome, was that the man we baptized last week named Dale, received the priesthood this week and right after that he was called to be the Sunday school president!! How crazy is that, being a member for a week and already getting that calling?!! He is going to be great. But ever since he has joined the church, he has just been so much more happier and healthier!! It is awesome to see the progress that people make in the church! Also it is awesome to see the blessing people receive when they live by the gospel and read the Book of Mormon! Anyways that is pretty much it on my week. My first transfer is up and I am about to start the 2nd transfer. I hope everything is well for all of y'all!!

Elder Corbett

The Laurel District

Elder Corbett holding the tiny lizard

A close-up of the lizard

Rain and a baptism

Well this week was fun!

We had a baptism on Saturday and I was able to participate in it!! It was great to see the progress that Dale made to become baptized. So the policy for our mission is that you have to stop smoking for at least a week, before you can be baptized. Dale had smoked last Friday, so he couldn't even smoke once this week. We told him that, and he stopped smoking and was able to be baptized. It is amazing that someone can kick an addiction that they have had for 40 something years just so they can be baptized. It's amazing what the Lord can do if you rely on Him!!

Anyways besides that, this week was kind of slow! It rained and it seemed like pretty hard rain for me, but people said it was nothing. So I am looking forward to an actual rain storm. But sadly, while it was raining I was on my bike riding through town, going to meet some people. So that whole day my clothes were damp... It felt so nice to change at the end of the day into dry clothes!! Anyways Laurel is fun, and I actually have some pictures for this week.

Elder Corbett

On a mission to find people

Well this one is going to be pretty short. This week we worked! We have a few investigators that are going to be baptized, but we also needed to find people. So this week we found 3 new people, who were very receptive of the message. One of them we actually committed to baptism on the second lesson, so hopefully everything goes well and she will be baptized on October 8th. Anyways this week we are having a baptism for this man named Dale Lucia. He has progressed a long ways but he has one problem, smoking... everyone down here smokes. It is hard to understand. I saw a bunch of teenage kids one day smoking a cigarette. But anyways Dale is trying to quit smoking, and if he doesn't smoke this week he will be baptized on Saturday. I am looking forward to being able to have my second baptism.

This week when we went to go find people, we went to the projects. If I wasn't a missionary, I probably would have been jumped and robbed... but luckily I am a missionary and people respect us down here. So we knocked doors in the projects and it is so sad to see some of the living conditions people are in. A lot of people down here don't have any form of transportation, so they aren't able to go to church. Then our biggest issue is reading. People down here can't read or they can't comprehend what they just read. It has been getting pretty frustrating. But one day we were knocking doors and down the street we say 2 little black kids. When they say us they yelled "POLICE". I think it is so funny that they train their kids to yell police every time they think they see one.

That's pretty much it! Our weekly focus this week, is the conversion that comes through the Book of Mormon. So we are hoping that we can find some people that are able to read and understand. We are doing this because the Book of Mormon can convert someone on its own. The churches down here tell their congregation that they need to stay away from the Book of Mormon because that's how the Mormons get you. I think it is so funny, because it is true. The Book of Mormon can convert you if you read it.

I hope everything is well for everyone.

Love Elder Corbett

Sweatin' away in the South

I've finally been accepted!!

This week I was walking on the side walk, and these two black kids were walking towards us so we talked to them. At the end when we said bye they said "see ya my nigga", SO I have finally been accepted into the black culture down here!! Anyway, it has been so hot! It got up to 102, at least that is what it said in our car!! But it has also been kind of slow, so this will be short.

This week I was able to do service for this little place called N.U.T.S. (Neat Used Things for Sale)! It is kind of like the D.I.. So they had a little carnival for a fundraiser for the police officers. So me and Elder Brown had the opportunity to be in charge of some booths and games. It was way fun to play the games with the little kids. The sad thing was, that I forgot my camera so I didn't take any pictures of it.

Then after that, we had an opportunity to go to a members house for dinner. We had hot dogs and hamburgers, while we had a bonfire outside. It was fun but at night it stays in the 80's so it was so hot, and being by the fire made it even hotter!! But we had so much fun there! We even started jumping over the fire, like dumb teenagers do - ha. But this week was hot!! We were on bikes, so that made it even better! I can be standing outside for a few minutes and begin sweating. So you can imagine how bad it gets, when we are outside, all day on bikes.

Besides that, I had one major experience this week. So I was on a mini-split and we were let into a house because we were sweating so badly! We started to talk about religion and the people we were talking with were Southern Baptist! They think Mormons don't believe in Jesus Christ and think we are going to Hell! While we were talking with them, they were telling us their beliefs and how that if we accept Jesus that we will be saved no matter what we do on earth. So I was kind of shocked by that. Then we told them our beliefs and talked about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. After we talked about the beliefs our church has, they just started attacking us. They said the Book of Mormon is false and that the Bible is the only set of scripture that we need on earth. I was so mad because they just kept saying that it was false. Then the lady of the house turned to me and got real personal... She started crying and said that the spirit was telling her, to tell me, that I need to leave the church and accept Jesus so that I can be saved and go to heaven. She told me that she was going to pray for me. But the hardest part was that she told me that I reminded her a lot of her son that had passed away. So I wasn't quite sure what to do. So I just let my companion talk. That was definitely an experience! It strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon! It made me think about everything that we had said. As I pondered it, I came to know that these things are true. I know that if anyone will read the Book of Mormon with an open heart, looking for the truth, and seeking an answer, that they will receive it!

So I would like to challenge everyone to read the Book of Mormon. It will bring happiness to you and will help you in life.

Love Elder Corbett

Elder Corbett with President and Sister Olson