Road trip

Happy Holidays everyone:)

This week was crazy and one with had hardly any sleep. It seems like we have been constantly driving. I think I might be getting butt blisters haha.

At the start of the week it was nice. I did an exchange with Elder Adams and it was a lot of fun. We worked hard, but it was so cold and I forgot to pack a sweater. We were out knocking on doors and we met a pretty nice lady who works for Apple and wanted us to come back. Then we met this guy who started off by telling us that it was too cold to go out, and that I needed to go inside because I didn't have a jacket. We talked with him and broke down his walls a bit so he stepped outside and said, let me shut the door so I don't let all of the hot air out! I was like come on let us in, but sadly he didn't. We did teach him a lesson and that was a lot of fun.

After District meeting, Elder Tonga and I went back to Coushatta and worked hard. The sad thing about this week was that we only had 2 1/2 days to work in our area, because we traveled so much. Lorie and Lauren are doing well, they both have been sick but are still making some progress. We just need to get her to quit smoking and come to church regularly, then she will be baptized, which I hope that I will be here for.

Then we started teaching a member's nephew and he came to church this week and he is progressing pretty well. Then on Saturday I woke up at 3:30 in the morning to do some stuff and get ready because we had to meet at the Church at 5:30 to go to the Dallas temple. That was such an amazing experience to go back to the temple! Going 16 months with out it made it super special to me and I was so excited. The Drive was 4 hours and you don't realize how much you use a phone on a road trip. 8 hours in the car was pretty mind blowing but it was all worth it to go to the temple!

On Sunday we went to church, did some proselyting, and had dinner with a member. We then drove up to Shreveport to spend the night because we had to drive to Monroe the next morning for mission conference. It was great to see all of my mission buddies but the 2 hour drive one way was boring again. Elder Costa came and spoke to us and he was amazing. Elder Costa is a very loving guy and taught us on a personal level and I learned a lot from him. He was a super funny guy as well because English is his 2nd language. Then we had to drive 2 hours back to Shreveport and spent the night. It has been a very spiritual week and also a week were we spent a lot of miles on the road! Anyways I miss you all so much, and hope that you have a great week! If you want you can email me;) Love you!!

Elder Corbett

Changing lives

Happy Holidays Y'all!

This week was another good one. We struggled a bit in finding some new people to teach but we went hard with the ones that we do have to teach! We have been trying to help them keep their commitments every time, so that they can feel the spirit in there lives more frequently.

At the start of the week we had a lesson with Lorie and she started to debate us about the word of wisdom. She was trying to prove her point that If we can drink coke and all of these drinks that are bad for us then why can't we drink coffee and tea. I taught her that it is a principle and isn't limited to those drinks, but that it is between us and God, whether we should drink those drinks. Also I brought it back to whether the book of Mormon was true or not deems that the Word of Wisdom is necessary. We left that night a little uncertain of what was going to happen.

Then on Friday we had interviews with our mission president. We were told to get there at 2:30 but didn't end up being interviewed until 5, so we pretty much wasted a day because we had a pretty long drive back to our area afterwards.

Then on Saturday we met with Lorie again, she apologized for the debate and we had a really neat experience with her! She bore her testimony to us that she knows what we teach is true because she has seen such a change in her life. She talked about how since we have been teaching her, that she has been able to deal with things a lot better and feels calmer. Of course we told her, that she was feeling the spirit in her life. She is working hard towards her baptism date of December 30th! So pray for her!

After that we went with a member and some investigators to Shreveport and went to this Nativity/Christmas event the Church was putting on. It was a lot of fun to see some other missionaries but the best part of it all was that Sister Fields took us out for a steak dinner!!! You know that is my favorite thing ever and I was in heaven! It was amazing and I loved it!! She is the best.

Then on Sunday we went up to Shreveport to help with another event and that was a lot of fun. I hope everyone has a great week!

Love Elder Corbett

Thanksgiving

Hey y'all,

This week has been a super quick and crazy one. I picked up Elder Tonga on Tuesday and we stayed the night in Shreveport, so we didn't waste miles driving back to Coushtta. We had district meeting there so we didn't head back to Coushatta until Wednesday afternoon. We stopped by to visit a few members and investigators on the way home. By the time that we got home it was 8:00 so Elder Tonga unpacked and we got ready for Thanksgiving.

So we went to 2 member's homes for Thanksgiving and it was so much fun and so much food. I loved it. The members have been so much fun to work with! We even played sock baseball with a part member family and that was a lot of fun. It made up for missing the turkey bowl. I am looking forward to it next year and playing in it!

Then sadly on Friday we didn't do any black Friday shopping because we have no stores in Coushatta. But if we could have, it would've been a good finding opportunity with so many people in one spot.

Then Saturday we had some really good success. We were trying a potential investigator and he was asleep so we asked the person we met if we could teach them and they said yes. We taught them the restoration and they understood everything. One of them said that it answered some of the questions that he has had. We are going to go and see them next Saturday. We have been working hard and are going to try and get a few baptisms by the time we are done together! I hope y'all have had a great Thanksgiving and black Friday! I love you!!!

Elder Corbett

I am staying in Coushatta

Whats up y'all?

I am staying in Coushatta. This week we had a pretty good week. We have been working hard. We have been trying to help our investigators read the Book of Mormon daily and to pray about it so that they can receive their answer, so that they can be baptized. We have also helped them rake their leaves. We have been having some fun with them.

Sorry I don't have a whole lot of time, because we are having transfers today. Elder Muller is transferring and I will be getting a new companion. Its crazy to see how fast transfers go. It seems like they only last a week, when they are 6 weeks haha.

But something really cool that happened this week, is that we have been working with a less active lady. The members said she hadn't been to church and that she would just tell us she would come but never end up coming. That happened for the first few weeks, but I was determined to go against what the members said. So me and my companion set aside 30 minutes a day to go visit with her and read the book of Mormon with her. This has not only been a blessing to her but it has really impacted our days as well. We started this I believe 3 weeks ago and she has been feeling the spirit in her life more and more. This week she got one of her caretakers to bring her to church. At first we were disappointed because they were late and we thought she had sold out on us again. Then we saw her come in with her walker and I was so happy to see her there. She enjoyed church and I think her caretaker may be interested as well. It is cool to see the power of the book of Mormon and what it can do in our lives as we read it each day. It literally strengthens us and will help us in everything we do.

I hope y'all have a good turkey day and also some good black Friday shopping. Love y'all!!!

Elder Corbett

The miracle of the last door

This week has been a good one but has been one filled with miracles and a bit of disappointments. So to start it off, this weekend has been a tough one! We had a lot of appointments planned out and we thought that we were going to be really successful, but all of our appointments fell through. Our investigators were either sick or had to go out of town to see their family. So our weekend was rough, but before that we had a really good week!

So next to the miracles. We were challenged by our zone leaders to fast on Sunday and then tract or knock doors the next Tuesday to show our faith in finding someone that God has prepared for us. We prayed about an area and started knocking. We had a hard time for the entire area until the last door. Luckily my companion is a beast and made me knock the last door, because it was 5:00 and I was thinking that we needed to go because we had an appointment with someone and then also dinner with a member in a half hour. We were short on time. But he talked me into knocking the last door and the lady answered and she was friends with one of our investigators. She let us teach her a bit! It was the miracle of the last door.

Then later this week we had dinner with one of our investigators and his family. They are a bunch of rednecks!! And they are proud of it. Y'all should look up the video of "Ultimate Redneck camper truck pt1 and pt2". He literally made this thing and it is so dope! They also fed us some fried fish and it was really good. We are helping their son change his life! His name is Matthew. I told y'all about him in my last email.

That is it from me! I hope y'all have had a good week!

Love Elder Corbett

The miracles of fasting!!

Good day y'all

My week was a really good one. So to start it off, we went to a members for Halloween and we had a weenie roast and then a hay ride. Down here in the South or at least where I am it, it is a good distance from house to house. Also on Halloween not everyone was giving out candy, because it's now become too "dangerous. So they hop on the back of a trailer and go down the street until you see a house with the light on. Then you stop and let the kids get out. It was really fun.

On the way back they stopped and shared a few scary stories but the coolest one I thought was when we pulled down this dirt road. We went a little ways down and the driver stopped and started talking about the history in this area. So back in the day, in Martin, the town we were in, there used to be this place where they took the slaves. It was down this little road and was where they would tar and feather them and eventually lynch them. It was a pretty interesting, but sad place to go. They said this is why you don't see any black people in Martin, because they are still scared to go up there. So that was Halloween.

Then the next day we were trying a potential investigator and this old man with a big beard came up to us and started talking to us. We tried teaching him but he kept telling us that he knew more than us and that we need to read the book of Enoch. It was pretty funny because he was trying to tell us that it talks about how Enoch was taken up by an alien spaceship. I was just laughing in my head. The funny thing is that I went on an exchange with an elder in my district and we were at a lesson and the investigator had a different translation of the bible, which translate the word stranger into alien. So the whole conversation with him was that he was trying to tell us that angels are aliens, and that they come in spaceships. The things that some people believe. That is why it is so important to read the most correct translation of the bible because the change of a simple word can change the whole meaning. So that was fun.

But the best part of the week happened last. We have been struggling a little bit with the work here in Coushatta and getting people to sacrament meeting and also new investigators because the town has been tracted out so many times. So we fasted this week along with our zone that we would be able to find someone who could be baptized by the end of the year. We started our fast on Saturday after lunch. This is when the miracles began.

We went out and tracted a little bit before we went to see a less active lady that we read the Book of Mormon to everyday for 15 minutes. But while we were trying a few people we met this girl who was semi-interested and taught her the restoration. She also invited us back which was nice. Then we read the Book of Mormon with the less active. After that we had a return appointment from the day before. This guy said come back, and he actually was there!!! That's rare and he wanted to hear what we had to say, so we taught him the restoration and he loved it. We committed him to be baptized and he accepted! But it gets better.

We went over to Lorie and Lauren's house to invite them to church. They each have been having boy troubles. We talked with them a bit and Lorie has another daughter named Summer. Summer has a kid named Kade, and he is always at Lorie's house. So all of them were there and Lorie had even invited Summer's baby daddy over to come see his kid. His name is Matthew and he had just gotten out of prison for some things. But we started talking with him and he wants to make a 180 in his life so we taught him a little bit about the atonement and gave him a Book of Mormon to read. We also invited them all to church, and they have been having struggles coming to church the whole time I have been here. They kept promising us they would come but they would end up not showing up. Sunday rolled around and they came to church!!! Lorie, Summer and Matthew all came, and something that was really cool was that the boy that Lorie was having issues with came to church with her!!!! It was great. They loved it and we received a text from Lorie that night saying how much she loved it and wants to come next week.

So I learned this week that the power of fasting is real! That when we give up things that we need and show God that this is important to us, that he is going to help us out. I look back and know that it was only by the help of God that we were able to have such great success this week!!

Sorry this is so long, but it was a really good week! I hope y'all have a good week and email me if you want:)

With love,

Elder Corbett

A week full of fun

What's up Y'all

This week for me was pretty good. Tuesday we went up to Stonewall and did an exchange with the stonewall elders and it was really fun. Something that I like to do that we aren't really able to do in Coushatta is what we call AI. Which is we just go to a public place and talk with people and try to get their contact information and get a time that we can go see them. So that is what we did for most of the exchange. I had a lot of fun doing it.

Then on Wednesday we had interviews with our mission president which was good. I was nervous though because our interviews were right before district meeting and he could have possibly come to my district meeting that I teach every week. But luckily he had to go somewhere else. But interviews went well. Apparently we will be getting smart phones sometime in the first 6 months of next year. So right as I am about to go home they will be getting them, but oh well.

After District Meeting we rushed back to Coushatta because we had a dinner appointment with a member, then the trunk or treat. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet a few more of the members.

Then on Thursday we worked hard in our area and did some fun service. Every Thursday we go to a place for an hour and play dominoes with disabled people. It is so much fun and they are good at it too.

Then on Friday we had a elders quorum activity where they went skeet shooting. It was a lot of fun, but we were just the designated button pushers to throw the clay pigeons. They did want us to shoot but we told them we couldn't so we stayed strong.

Then On Sunday I gave a talk and that is pretty much it for me! It was a good week to be out on the Lords Errand. I miss y'all and hope that you have a good week!!

Love Elder Corbett

Small town life

Good Morning from Coushatta:)

I actually am learning to like the small town life. At first I was disappointed because we barely get service and the closest missionaries to us is about 1 hour, but I have really come to like being out here and the small town feel.

This week has been a really good one. We went up to Shreveport to do an exchange with the zone leaders. I went with Elder Topham who is a really good guy and me and him get along great! So we went and taught a family that they had got a return appointment with and we had a really good lesson. These people were actually competent and understood everything that we taught. They are honest seekers of the truth. These are the kind of people that we look for. It was great and I had a lot of fun teaching them.

Then after that we went to the air force base and it is huge! We saw some planes that had been retired and we talked with a family on the base that had just moved in. That was a lot of fun.

Then later on Thursday we had this service opportunity where we got to go play games with some disabled people. I had a lot of fun. We got to play dominoes with them. I look forward to it everyweek.

To give an update on some of our investigators, we are working with a family. Their names are Lorie and Lauren. They are great and I love going over to their house and seeing them. We have taught them the first 3 lessons and now we are going to be teaching the word of wisdom which could potentially be a tough one because Lorie smokes. But I believe she'll accept it and be able to work towards her date of being baptized.

Elder Muller and I have just been working hard. We also have been working with some less actives and they always are telling us that they want to come to church but they don't have their priorities in order, but that is why we go and see them.

That is pretty much it for me!! I hope y'all have had a good week!! I love y'alll!!!!!!

Love Elder Corbett

Coushatta

Good morning y'all,

This week has been a super interesting one. So I have been moved to Coushatta, Louisiana which is about 1 hour from the closest missionaries and doesn't even have a Walmart. This town reminds me a lot of Malad, Idaho.....just not a lot going on. I think there may be about 1,200 people that live in town. These next 5 weeks are going to be very different.

Luckily I came into a family that is being taught! Their names are Lorie and Lauren and they seem to be progressing well and love the missionaries, so we have a lot of fun with them. We also have been working with members a lot too, because the town has been tracted out like crazy. So we are trying to get into members homes and get referrals and also work with the less active group.

When we went to church, for some reason everyone came up to me and was asking me if I was a new missionary. I was like why do you think I am new, but they told me that it was because I looked so young. But that is it for me sorry it is so short. and the computers here aren't working with my camera... so I'll try figure it out, but I'll try and find a way to send pics home! I hope all is well!!

Love Elder Corbett

Yazoo

Hello everyone,

  This has just flown by! We started the week off by going up to Yazoo City which is a very ghetto place. But it was a ton of fun. We took another set of missionaries with us so that we could double work the area. So Elder Atkinson and I went and worked hard but it got frustrating. We were going around knocking and this black guy called us over and wanted us to teach him. We started teaching him, and not even halfway through the lesson, he stopped us and asked us for $30. I got a little annoyed with that. People down here think that because we are church people that we will pay their bills for them. I told the guy that I live off less money than he does and that I actually don't make any money at all. But he was convinced that I was going to mail him the money. He made me write down his address and told me to write the check into someone else's name because he was having I.D problems. But the rest of the day went pretty well.

Then on Wednesday we had district meeting and that was a ton of fun. The zone leaders came and we had lunch before it started. It was a pretty good meeting.

Then on Thursday we went and saw our man Kenneth! He is doing great and still preparing to be baptized on October 28th! So keep the prayers going for him. On Saturday, for the afternoon session of conference, we got a member to pick him up and take him to their house to watch it. They also had dinner with him! It was great and Kenneth really liked it.

Also on Thursday we went to try a potential investigator. Luckily he was outside mowing his lawn so we stopped and talked with him. He was very interested in us coming back because he sees the signs of the times and he doesn't want to be left behind. But he has just been super busy because his son is now in college and playing football for Florida State! I believe that he is a freshman and that he starts.

Then this weekend we had conference and it was so good. It was very spiritual and it was great to watch and to know what God wants us to know for the next 6 months! I hope everyone is doing well! I miss you all!

  Love Elder Corbett

Oh Yeah, Dale went up to Salt Lake City for conference and he got to go through the temple! So here are a few pics of him with my family, with my mission father and some other mission buddies!!

A great week full of fun

What's good in the hood y'all?

This week for me has been a really fun one! To start it off on Tuesday we went up to Mama Hamils before an exchange with a member and it is one of the best places! It is a southern buffet and it is really good food, not like Golden Corral, it is wonderful! We ate a ton and I didn't eat until the next day for lunch because I was that full! We are going again today with another member and I am excited:)

Also on Tuesday we went on exchanges with the zone leaders and I went with my boy, Elder Scoresby we had a lot of fun and we even participated in the new trend drive by dunking! I will try and get the video but it makes missionary work fun when you can do stuff like it. We also saw a lot of cool people.

Then on Wednesday we had our Zone Conference and that was when I got to see some of my mission buddies. But the best part of the week was our ward activity. It was supposed to be skits like on Saturday Night Live. So all of the missionaries did a skit and it was a ton of fun. We did lip syncing to 4 different songs and the ward loved it. I think that we had the best skit, because that is what everyone was telling us. Luckily people got it on video for us, So I will send that too.

Then on Thursday we went to the Mississippi Food network and they were so happy to see us! It has been a minute since we had been there, so there were a few new female inmates haha, that didn't know us. But it was a ton of fun!

Then on Friday we helped out with the bishop storehouse. After we went and saw Kenneth and we had a very spiritual lesson with him and set him with a baptismal date, for October 28th. I hope that he makes it. He came to church and I think everyone in the ward came up and talked with him it was great! The Stake President even came up to him and asked when his baptism date was and told him that he was going to come. It was a really great week and a lot of fun.

I hope you have a wonderful week:)

Love Elder Corbett

Catfish, collard greens and a day with Elder Monibidor

Good day mates!

This week has just flown by. We have been working pretty hard and also having a lot of fun! I love Elder Deming he is a good guy!

This week we went and tracted for about an hour and a half and no one was answering. I was getting super frustrated because it was a Friday night and everyone should've been home, so we kept going and knocked and knocked. Finally we come to a house with a guy that was sitting outside. We went up to talk to him and his first words to us were not very nice. But I know God lead us to him because he was going through some hard things. I think it helped him to remember God, and all that he has done for him. We got talking with him and his fiance had just broken up with him. We shared a scripture out of the Book Of Mormon and he loved it! He wants us to come back often because he loved the feeling that he had while we were there.

Also this week we went to a southern restaurant. It is called Cock of the Walk and it was really good. It was my first time eating fried catfish and also this decent thing called collard greens. They were actually pretty good. Normally people don't like them. It was a lot of fun.

Then on Saturday I went on an exchange with an African Elder. His name is Elder Monibidor! We had a lot of fun and did a lot of work together. I think we walked about 5 miles in the morning to an appointment that fell through. It was sad but we got blessed for it. We saw an old lady on a porch who I thought was really old, so i just said hello and kept walking to the appointment and on the way back Elder Monibidor, he being out for only 3 weeks, walked through her yard climbed up on her porch and introduced himself. We sat down and taught her. It was great!

Also later on that day, we went and saw Kenneth. This time we are taking a different approach because he has depression and a few other mental things. We went and played Uno with him and listened to him play the saxophone. It was really good. He did want to come to church with us, but sadly we couldn't find him a ride because he lives about 24 miles from the church. But we will get him next time:)

Also I called Dale last night because it was one year from when he got baptized and he told me that he is going to general conference and that he will be receiving his endowment next week!!! I was so hyped!:) But anyways that is all for me!! I hope y'all have a good week.

Love,

Elder Corbett

Raytown Branch

What up Y'all? How it is? (lol the language of the South)

I am doing well, and yeah I have been hearing a lot about Hurricane Irma. The priesthood in the ward went down to Houston this past weekend and it was crazy! It is crazy how much these hurricanes affect the people around them. We were checking out gas prices as we needed to fill up our car, and since the last time we filled it up, the prices have jumped up 40 cents!! That is crazy, I am wondering if this is God trying to wake up the people to remember Him and turn their ways around. It seems like sometimes in the Book of Mormon that he does that to the people to stir their hearts back to Him.

This week for me has been a super crazy one!! I swear it has just flown by! So last Tuesday was our p-day and then on Wednesday we had district meeting! Then on Thursday our mission president had a district leader conference!! It was so much fun. We started calling it a district Leader retreat because it felt more like a retreat. We all arrived in Madison at 4:30 and then they drove us up to Raytown, which is a small branch building. They had a barbecue, and we just hung out for about an hour-and-a-half and talked. I got a chance to catch up with a few mission buddies! After that, we had a little meeting where our mission president taught us a about the history of the little branch and how much sacrifice and how many miracles it took to keep it standing! Then after we got bused back and we got back pretty late to the apartment that I was staying at. I guess if you are with your mission president, rules go out the window... haha just kidding.

The next morning we all had to get up at 5:00 so that we would be able to get out of the door by 6:40. This was with 11 people in a 2 bathroom apartment. Talk about a short shower. Then we actually had our conference and we were able to learn a lot about how we could improve and be better district leaders and help those that we are over. I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to learn a lot. I really wish I had that chance to learn earlier on when I first became a district leader. But eventually it ended and we headed back to our area.

On Saturday, Elder Deming and I went and tried a bunch of our investigators thinking that it would be a good day to catch them and invite them to the other Elder's baptism. We literally walked 5 miles in about 3 hours and no one answered... or wasn't home. I was so sad. But It was nice to see that others in our district had success that day! The Jackson North Elders got a baptism and after we went to Wendy's to celebrate and we got frosties and played risk in the middle of Wendy's. It was pretty funny, and a lot of fun!! Then on Sunday we only went to sacrament meeting it was actually really neat!

I hope all is well with you!! I miss y'all and hope to hear from you!

Love Elder Corbett

1 Elder Hubert and I. He came out with me!

2 Elder Hubert, Elder Wandry and I. Some of my mission buddies.

3 Guest Star, President Olson, who jumped in on the pic!

4 Playing Risk at Wendy’s

5 The new thing called the Batmanning!

6 2 Elders that are in my district

This is the Raytown Branch building. It is a very small building and over 100 years old. It was built in 1906 and was bought by Joseph F. Smith for 10 dollars cash and was the first LDS church building in Mississippi. The early missionaries would meet there for mission conferences. It was not used for a number of years and then the church came and decided to restore it. During the dedicatory prayer when it was first built it was said that the building would be there until the millennium. Since that time several tornadoes have come through the area and jumped the building leaving it unharmed. There have also been wild fires that would stop just before the building.

Hurricane Harvey

This week was a good one! I hiked the water tower last p-day with a young man from our ward and that was fun. Then we said goodbye to all of the members because Elder Conger would be transferring. On Tuesday I shipped him off to some area and I got Elder Deming. He is a really cool guy. He is from Dallas Oregon and we have had a good time so far.

I am still the district leader and now I am over a district of all elders. I couldn't be more happy. Sister missionaries can be tough to deal with, so this was an answer to many prayers.

This week we tracted a ton of hours and we got rained on by Hurricane Harvey. I don't know why everyone was freaking out about it. It wasn't even that bad in my area. But I know that we experienced a little part of it. I am sad for the people that got hit hard. But I hear that we are about to get hit by some tropical storm and that it is going to tear up the South.

Lately we have been knocking in areas that say no soliciting and technically missionaries aren't soliciting but people still get way mad at us sometimes. But it is the work of the Lord that we are doing so it must go on. The one really funny thing is that we were knocking, and this lady asked me where I was from. I told her Utah and she asked me how many Mom's I had. It was really funny but we resolved her concern and now she is doing better. Sorry nothing too noteworthy happened. Next week will be a lot better!!

Love Elder Corbett