Missionary updates

Jayden's having the time of his life in the beautiful country of Armenia. Here are just a few of the highlights from his letters.

February 10th:
I'm finally here in Armenia!!  I got assigned to serve in Gyumri, Armenia, which is up north.  It's FREEZING COLD. I hate cold weather, snow, and ice, all of which is plentiful here.  But the great thing is, none of that bothers me.  I know that I am exactly where God needs me to be.  And I love these people here.  My second night here I found myself crammed into a taxi with my companion and four other Armenians.  The drivers are psycho, everyone was shouting in Armenian, and I was laughing my head off because I had absolutely no idea what was going on.  

I'm not allowed to use people's names over the Internet, for their own protection.  So, if you ever wonder why I'm being vague, that's why.  

My trainer is so awesome.  His name is Elder M-----. He is such a great example of charity, dedication, and humility.  I know that my assignment here, with him, was inspired.  We are both committed to working hard, having fun, being obedient, and loving the people.  

I have had the opportunity to teach already, and it is definitely a struggle.  I can't really understand most of what other people are saying, and that's a little discouraging.  But I pray for the Spirit to help me understand, and to be there as I speak.  I have felt Heavenly Father's help as I try to help these people and focus on them.  It's not about the language, it's about the people.  

We have one lady that is going to be baptized next month!  That is so exciting, because baptism opens the door to so many other blessings... essentially the Kingdom of God.  We went to her house yesterday and took her to church with us.  

There is a lot of poverty here.  Most people live in run-down concrete buildings.  But all the people at church seem happy.  It goes to show that the Gospel can bring happiness where money or worldly possessions can't.  

I know that I am doing exactly what God want me to be doing right now, and I am so happy to be able to bear my testimony to the people of Armenia, and to all of you that I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and by following, and doing as he would have us do, and by becoming what he would have us become, we can find joy in this life and eternal joy in the next.  

February 16th:

My companion is exactly a year older than me, and his last name is the same as Mom's cousin Sandra's last name.  He actually does kind of like metal haha.  The DL is in the same town, with Elder Pttr from the MTC!  We also have two sisters in Gyumri.  That's it up here though, no one is in the villages or smaller towns.  If they're baptized, we're putting them into covenants they can't keep because they can't get to church.  

Dad and Mom, since I got here, God has blessed us incredibly with new investigators.  We are REJOICING!  But we had to do that before things started taking off.  What a blessing and a miracle.  We went from 2 investigators to 11 in three days.  We are meeting the standards of excellence, and I think we may be one of the only ones.  We are the only ones in our district.  But I don't say that as a means of boasting.  Rather, like Ammon, I'm boasting in the Lord.  He really does guide us, if we are willing and worthy, to the elect who are prepared.  We are blown away by this.  It is such a tender mercy.  

So a couple of "fun" things about Gyumri I forgot to mention last week... The sidewalks aren't paved, so they're covered in snow, but mainly ice, which is super uneven and kills your feet.  Also, the dialect here is different, they call it Gyumri Barbar.  So all the stuff I learned in the MTC has gone out the window... haha not really, it's not too bad, but there are some things that they say that are just completely different than the grammar we learned.  

Also, I've managed to gain 10 pounds since leaving the MTC.  That was a week and a half ago... 

This week has been incredible!  In the past few days we have found several new people to teach, and the work is just taking off.  We started off with 2 people we were teaching when I first got here, and now we have over 10.  I believe this is because my companion and I have great companionship unity.  We both strive to be dilligent, obedient, and consecrated.  We are also both committed to being happy.  The happier we are, we've noticed, the better response we get from people on the street.  We are trying to let our light shine.  We really haven't done anything special to find these people... actually it just felt like they fell right into our lap as we were trying to do our best and talk to everyone.  What a miracle and blessing it has been.  I'm always trying to be grateful to the Lord and show Him that I recognize that these blessings are coming from Him, because I know that humility is one of the most important things in this work.  

February 24th:

So, everyone has mistakes with the language... In Armenian, the only difference between "I know" and "I don't know" is the "ch" sound.  So, I was trying to bear testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, but I said, "There are a lot of things I don't know, but one thing that I definitely don't know is that the Book of Mormon is true."  Fortunately, my companion caught my mistake and corrected it.  

I have such a testimony that as we work hard to do the best we can, God helps us through our challenges.  It's been very hard to understand when people speak to me.  But as I press forward with faith and optimism, I've noticed that everyday I can understand a little more.  I have absolute confidence in the Lord to know that everything doesn't come to us at once, but as we show our faith in Him, He gives us what we need to get through the day.  

March 2nd:

This week has been a lot more difficult as far as the work goes.  We've had people move away or lose interest, and most of the appointments we set this week fell through.  It's been difficult to find new people to teach.  But there was a silver lining--we had a baptism this week!  That was exciting.  The Spirit was strong, and one of our other investigators with a baptismal date was there.  I talked with her about that, and she is excited to be baptized and begin a new life.  I think that makes all the struggling worth it, when you can see the gospel changing lives.  She has told us that before she met us, she used to get angry a lot, but now she turns to the Lord and reads the Book of Mormon.  We want to help her value prayer more too, so she has that strength to rely on in times of need.

I know that through our struggles, we become stronger.  We often don't understand our trials or weakness in the middle of our struggling, but if we remain faithful, and rely on the Lord for our strength, we will be able to look back and see where we have come.  

March 16th:

So we had another lady be baptized this week!  She is so amazing!  Her faith is incredible.  

We had a member of our Area Presidency come and visit us this week.  He asked us to exercise faith in the Lord that if we spoke to everyone we could, with real hope and intent to be able to teach them instead of just getting contact information (which almost never works out), the Lord would bless us with more people to teach.  He asked us to change our thoughts and attitudes to ones of hope.  As we did this, having faith in his promise, we were immediately blessed with a phone call from a member, saying she had a neighbor that wanted to meet with us!  

The Lord really does bless us for our faith.  But we don't see the blessings until AFTER acting in faith.  

Alabama Trip

John and I took a quick trip to Alabama / Georgia to visit with Josten and Jehkiah and it was magical. Of course, John fell in love with it all (must be the trees that completely surrounded us.) We weren't in a position to plan a trip like this. It was an unexpected surprise, paid for by members of Jehkiah's ward who insisted that we come so that John could ordain Jehkiah a High Priest. 

Jehkiah and Josten picked us up at the airport in Atlanta on Saturday (the 1st). We arrived there at about 8:45 p.m. Actually, our flight got in about 30 minutes early so we had to wait for the boys a while. What a huge airport ~ I was so grateful there was a wheelchair available and someone to push John to baggage claim. It's about an hour and a half drive to where they live from Atlanta, but we took our time to drive around the city a bit and later, on the way home, stopped off for a bite to eat at this waffle house.  It was fun. The waitress was pure southern hospitality! "What can I get for you darlin'?" I loved it...

We stopped at Jehkiah's place first to drop him off and take a peek at Jace who was fast asleep. Jehkiah and Casey have a cute apartment tucked off in the woods. Then on to Josten's where we stayed the whole time. He, too, lives off in a little area on the outskirts of town in a wooded neighborhood. The house was spacious and has a bonus room above the garage that doubles as a playroom ~ homeschool ~ Grandparents guest room :), and that's where we slept.  It was so warm that each night we had to open the window next to our bed and let some cool air in. We fell asleep to the sounds of crickets chirping and frogs croaking outside. On Monday, it got up to 70 degrees and we were in short sleeves. 

Sunday morning we went to church. The ward was so amazingly friendly and warm. It seemed like everyone knew us already by name and made us feel so welcome. It was fast Sunday and Jehkiah conducted ~ his first time. He's a natural! That ward members adore Jehkiah and Josten, and their families, especially the stake leadership.  Both of them bore their testimonies and had us in tears. It was a beautiful day. 

Jehkiah's boss, President Eiland was there and he bolted from the stand in the chapel to meet us and then sat with John through Sunday School and Priesthood.  Apparently, they are just alike and think the same way. This is the man Jehkiah has spent every day with swapping stories and so it was like they had always known each other.  Everyone kept asking when we were moving out there. After the block we went in to the Bishop's office and Dad got to ordain Jehkiah a High Priest. That was a spiritual experience for us all. Then we all went home to Josten's and had a huge feast.

Monday Jehkiah, Josten and John hung out together and drove around looking at houses and stuff, then Josten took all of us to Ft. Benning and gave us the grand tour. He took us all through Columbus (which is on the Georgia side of the Chattahoochee River) and Phenix City (which is on the Alabama side of the river.  It's like Tri-Cities.  Those two cities (and Ft. Benning) are all right together, divided only by the river.  Ft. Benning itself is several thousand people. 

Later in the after noon we went to the base PX (military retail stores). It is actually a mall! John got one of those electric scooters and drove all over the place with Breck and Sienna riding on it with him. That night we all had dinner together, again and visited until late.   

On Tuesday morning Josten had to go to work early so John, Jehkiah and I (and Jace) drove around town to see the sights. Then we went over to Columbus sate University where Casey is head volleyball coach and women's athletic director. 

Both Columbus and Phenix City have historic as well as modern architecture, and we walked down to their river front park (like Spokane's) and enjoyed the features there. That's when Jayden called, so we spoke to him for some time.  He sounded so mature and spiritual. He admitted having had some refining while at the MTC that helped strengthen his commitment and enthusiasm. (Overcoming struggles of self-doubt).  It was emotionally hard, obviously, to say goodbye. He told me he loves me in Armenian which made me cry. Then he bore his testimony in Armenian to John. Then John asked him if he would recite the First Vision in Armenian beginning with "I saw a pillar of light..."  That's when they both lost it.  He was in Salt Lake at the time he called (at the airport waiting for his flight to New Jersey). There was concern his flight would be cancelled because of an Arctic storm that had already delayed flights. But, he was determined he would make it and call us later from there.

When Josten got off work we all met over at Ft. Benning to the Army's National Infantry museum. It was stunning and awe inspiring. A sober and reverent place where the government has spared no expense to honor the infantry soldiers of every war since the Revolution. 

After that they treated us to dinner (for Dad's birthday) at a Hibachi Japanese Buffet and it was fantastic food!!! What fun!  We all sat around this long table in a banquet room and feasted! Then Breck and Sienna brought Grandpa out a bag with a gift inside: a shirt and hat he had eye balled at the infantry museum!

We got done late and visited for a while but had to finally get to bed so that we could leave early back to Atlanta before rush hour traffic. We said our good-byes, which is always so hard, and then Jehkiah drove Dad and I back to Atlanta airport. It was so sad to have to part. We spent some time together at the airport before going through the security check. Then, said our goodbyes and flew home.

Good times, good memories!

 Papa looking for alligators with Breck & Sienna

 Sarah & Josten Jr.

 Jace

Jayden's Armenia bound

Instead of sending Jayden off to Utah and the MTC from Pasco, we drove him down so we could spend some quality time together. Quality it was! We left Saturday late afternoon and made it to Boise where we checked into our new favorite "cheap night's sleep"...at the Sleep Inn. It was awesome. Bed's (and pillows) were great and the shower was warm. Even had a nice breakfast the following morning of scrambled eggs and biscuits with gravy. Can't beat that.

Sunday, after breakfast we drove on down and stopped in Brigham City to take some pictures and see some sights before driving on up to the ski resort in Eden. The new temple is absolutely breathtaking. The town was all decked out for the holidays! It was fun to drive around and see all the different decorations.

Brigham Temple

We stopped in Ogden for dinner and then checked into our condo where we snuggled in for the night. It's an amazing resort with all the comforts of home. The view was awesome. Fortunately, the roads were clear and dry and it didn't snow much while we were there.

Dad and Jayden

 View of Powder Mountain

 Our bedroom upstairs was huge!

Jayden settling in

Monday, we drove on down to Salt Lake and walked around temple square. There was an almost surreal feeling around about us; knowing that in just a few short days, we would have to say goodbye and be separated for two years. It was bittersweet.

Jayden and Dad at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

 Father & son, forever and ever

Mother and son

Temple square was festive and the lights were beautiful. We loved walking around taking it all in. We were trying to capture moments in everything we did. Jayden wanted to eat lunch at the Lion House so we did that. It was fantastic! We went to Deseret Book and bought him Armenia scriptures and had them engraved. We didn't want the day to end. 

Salt Lake Temple

For dinner, we met up with Dad's old missionary companions, Rob Thompson and Steve Solberg and their wives at the Red Iquana. What a place!! The food was so amazing they had people lined up behind the block. Fortunately, they were there early and had a table waiting for us. Good times. (I ate a salad smothered in prawns...omg).

On our way back to the lodge, we met up with John's niece Stephanie and nephew, Kevin with his wife Melanie (and kids) at a convenience store. It was so much fun reconnecting with Steve's kids. Jennifer wasn't able to come but her husband, Dave brought the kids to meet us. So fun!! They are so awesome. We committed to not let so many years go by before we visited again. 

 Jayden, John, Kevin and Stephanie

Tuesday, we got a late start because it snowed overnight and it was an icy commute into Salt Lake but well worth the effort. We did a session at the Salt Lake Temple. Neither Jayden nor I had ever been so it was powerful to say the least. Afterward, we walked around temple square again, taking in the visitor's centers and talking to several of the Sister Missionaries: getting Jayden all excited about his adventure! We ended our evening visiting with our good friend, Lucy! (which I didn't get pictures of, darn it!)

 Truly a missionary!

I cannot express in words the ache and void that filled our hearts as we stood across the street of the MTC (missionary training center) while we said our goodbyes. Jayden was strong, and kept his parents from falling totally apart :) So like him... We love him so much and are so proud of the choice he's made to go and serve the Lord in the great country of Armenia. We pulled it together long enough to send him off, then John drove around the building and parked the car where we sobbed our hearts out. We cried all the way home and for three days after, literally mourning over the separation. As time moves on, we're learning to celebrate the beautiful man he's become. Carry on Elder Cornett!!

Thanksgiving at the Thorn's

It was a final holiday for Jayden before his mission and we spent it with Karen, Travis and the kids. The Olsen's joined us, which was so great. Of course, the food was spectacular and filling. Our hearts were a little heavy as the impending trip loomed ahead. Time with Jayden was coming to a close and we felt the emotions. Good memories...

 Cindy hanging out with the kids

 Kevin and John into some deep conversation, as usual

 The Olsen's with Jayden

Cannon Beach

It was our final trip to the Oregon Coast with Jayden before he goes on his mission. Another "last". A big thanks to Karen who was able to score our accommodations from her boss! It was an awesome room! We stayed at the Inn at Cannon Beach and our room was connected by a porch to Karen and Travis'. They were beautiful and nearly new; had two awesome queens, a fireplace and an enormous bathroom. Colby bunked with us so he didn't have to sleep on the floor:) We had a complimentary breakfast each morning and could even rent videos.

John, Jayden, Shyane and I left Thursday afternoon and stayed in Longview so we didn't have to do our heavy traveling on Friday, which left more play time. We took our time and toured a little of Longview, and then drove over to Long Beach so we could check out the town, shops and museum. Karen and Travis met us there when they got into town. Of course, we had to sample some scrumptious homemade clam chowder.

On the way over to Astoria, we went through Ilwaco ~ a little city of about 950 that sits on the Long Beach Peninsula. There are fishing charters and a processing business right on the bay. Hence, the photos of John's dream job. Afterward, we went to Astoria where we had to get our pictures taken at the "Goonies" house!

The weekend consisted of shopping, playing at the beach, eating lots of fun food and spending time together. It was a good time to capture these memories in our hearts. Saturday afternoon we drove on down to Oswald State Park where John proposed to me back in 1994 and played on the beach there. At night, we dropped the kids off at the Fun Center in Seaside and the adults had a wonderful dinner at McKeown's Restaurant down the street. The food was fabulous and it was a time to relax, reflect and be grateful.

There seemed to be a lot of emotions during this weekend. I know for me personally, I was trying to hold Jayden close, to remember everything we were doing so that I can draw on these memories when he's gone.