Transfer, week 1. Loving the work!

This week has been fun. It's fun to be in a bike area. My legs kinda kill, but whatevs. Biking makes me feel like a real missionary. We have a few investigators: Jesus Romero. He's a former gang member and drug dealer, but he's super nice and really loves the gospel. He should get baptized near the end of the month. Then there is Serena Ferrell, she's a referral from Jesus, and she just eats up the gospel. She's on date for the 19th. And then there's Currn Martinez, he's a referral from Serena. IT'S ONE BIG REFERRAL SYSTEM! THAT'S HOW MISSIONARY WORK IS SUPPOSE TO BE! He's on date for the 19th too, if he can stay clean from cigarettes and heroin. Yeah, welcome to MoVal. It's great, though. I live with some other Elders. That's a first. I've just been in homeshares my whole mission. I live with Elder Noorda from Pocatello, Idaho and his greenie Elder Peterson from Cove, Utah. It's up by Logan. He just came out of the MTC on Tuesday. My comp Elder Rampton has been out 3 months. It's so weird that I used to be there. I feel kind of old in the mission, and I've only been out about 8 months. This transfer is going to fly by. Week one is done, we've got a Zone Meeting this week, Conference on the weekend, then temple that following Tuesday, District Meeting on Wednesday, then a General Authority is coming to speak with us, then interviews with President, then Halloween. Then the holiday season starts up with Christmas and New Years, and then my birthday, then my year mark. WHAT IS GOING ON?! SOMEONE STOP THIS FROM GOING BY SO FAST!
But MoVal is fun.
That's what's going down around here.
Lots of work
Love you,


Cody

Yeah, finally a transfer! picture overload!

I'm being transferred to Moreno Valley (MoVal.)  I'm stoked. I'm going to be on bike and I'm step-daddying Elder Rampton. Elder McConkie served there and said it was his favorite area. I'm excited to go to work there. I love Woodcrest and everyone there, but I'm done there. I've got tons of photos from Woodcrest that I'll upload. It's been a crazy day, I was up late packing all my crap. I'm sad to leave Riverside because all of my friends are here, but I'm excited to get to know all the Elders in MoVal. It's a good change, I feel like a fire is being lit under me and me and Rampton are going to get some people baptized. This week has been fun. It's been fun to see everyone and say goodbye. Elders Frost and Westenskow are the other Woodcrest Elders and they're taking over the whole area, which is more than enough work for them. They're going to be teaching like crazy. I'm excited for them. The Michaelson homeshare closed, which is too bad. Sister Michaelson is really bummed about us leaving, but they told me to keep the key to their house, so that's pretty dope. Haha. I'm going to miss the Stubbs the most, though. They're such a good family. They took me and Elder Frost to the Temple of Friday and it was great. Just what I needed. I'm drafting and important email to send someone and used a lot of revelation and study in the Temple.
Anyways, hope all goes well with Kylee's MRI tomorrow. Once again, blessing, blessing, blessing. Do it tonight. Mikey and Jared. With oil. Aight?
Also, I've thought about it and sometimes I miss home, but then I think about everyone at home doing the same crap they've always been doing and I think, "That really freaking sucks. I'm over here in California living like a ghost (moving all the time, meeting new people, never seeing them again, watching people learn and grow) and it's freaking awesome and the Saviour is allowing me to do it. He's letting me learn and grow and help others learn and grow too. What a great blessing this is. Yeah, sometimes it's hard. Enduring to the end is really hard, because it's suppose to be. That's what separates the wheat from the tares. If you worked yours hardest to follow all the commandments to the T and got eternal salvation and exaltation, and I did the bare minimum and received the same reward, how is that even fair? Our Heavenly Father loves us enough to chastise  us and get us going in the right direction. (D&C 95:1-2).
And by "everyone at home doing the same crap they've always been doing" I mean the people I went to high school with, friends that aren't doing anything but slaving away.
Anyway, I love you.
You're great. You'll be great. Stay great.
Qualify yourself
Holiness to The Lord
Love,
Elder C-Dizzle G-String.

D&C 19: 15-18-->Mosiah 3:7 

Alma 12: 11-12
D&C 19: 23
2 Nephi 33:6

PS: Let's be honest here. I'm doing all I can to make my calling and election made sure.

 

 

Elder King and I

Elder McConkie and I. I love that kid

Elder Page and I. Elder Lieneiger in the background. He's deaf.

Elder Cook and I. He goes home today

Elder Knudsen and I

McConkie playing with my camera

Conkie is a goof

Elder Barton

Elder Anderson

Dope Palm trees on Victoria Ave. They go the whole length of Riverside

Me and The Wildes Andrew farted in one of the photos. Can you guess which one? Haha

Me and the Stubbs Family. I love them so much. They've had our backs since day one. 

Passmore and I being bomb as fetch before dinner

I went on exchange with Elder Page in the Arlington area (ghettoooooooo)

and there were these fake eyelashes on a trash can outside the 7-Eleven on Monroe and Indiana. #Ghetto

Also, I got roasted. It was like 105 degrees outside.

Dope street art in Woodcrest

Me and the Garcia family. Thom and Verlyn just received their endowments this last Friday and it was great. 

That's Elder Steet's smart car. He is a service missionary at the Bishop's Store House. He's like 85 and has one leg and will murder you. He trained with Chuck Norris. I wish I was kidding. He was at the Manti Pageant. 

Me and Azuree. My first convert. 

This was back when me and Hughes were still comps and Henderson was with us collecting grapes. 

September 15,2014

I've never been persecuted, or shot because I was a member of this church. I can go and knock on that door one more time. That's not a big deal.
The afflictions that I have bore while serving the Lord are nothing compared to the burdens of other people. I'm very blessed to be a part of this Gospel and to serve in a place that is accepting of the message that we share. I know that as we "come unto Christ" that he will bear our burdens and make then light when we "take his yoke upon us". The Lord and Heavenly Father do not take away our burdens, but strengthens our backs and what our strength increase.

It's good to hear that all (well, most) is well. I get to go to the Temple on Friday. There is a recent convert couple in our ward that are receiving their endowments and President approved for us to go. I'm excited because maybe I'll be able to gain some revelation that I've been looking for, and boost my spirit for transfers. I find out if I'm staying or going this Saturday. Everyone is saying that I'm gone, but I've known Elders who have stayed in areas for 10 1/2 months. We'll see what the Lord wants. It's too bad that Kylee's back is messed up, but I know that the Lord will be there for her. Scripture Pun: Mosiah 24: 14. Hahahaha, hurr, hurrr, hurr. #MissionaryJokes. Ask Jared and Mikey for a blessing of peace and comfort, then if surgery is a must, everyone get one, then after the surgery give one to Kylee with oil. Hopefully all is well with Tyler and Allison. Tell them I think of them often and pray about their well being. That may not mean much to them, though. Anyway, the work is going. We found a family and they believe everything and believe that the Book of Mormon is true...but just don't want to leave Catholicism. Ugh. We'll get them, though. 

Anyway, that's kind of what's going on here. 

Love, 

Cody

We freaking hiked Mt. Rubidioux a couple of weeks ago. It's gorgeous up there. 

Everyone that was in the photo was: Westenskow, Frost, Merriman,

Murray, Peterson, Williams, Knudsen, Anderson, Passmore, Greenburg,

Camper, Snider, Higashi, Barton, Mecham, Nielson, and Spanderson!

 Then there is David, Passmore, and I. David just left for BYUI. I miss him. He went out with us 

every night. 

That's Sister Soto and I. She has got to be one of the strongest members of the church I've ever met. She grew up in Mexico/Texas/New Mexico and when she was 15 she kidnapped and raped. She had her first child from that and her mother forced her to marry the man. He didn't want the responsibility of being a dad and abandoned Sister Soto and the child. After a year, he came back and decided that he wanted her to be with him and told her that she had to leave the church. She refused. One day after giving a talk in sacrament meeting of her little branch in New Mexico, she was leaving and he came and shot her 9 times. As she was laying there, blood running down the sidewalk, she said that she felt no pain and left her body for a short time. She said that she felt the love and the embrace of the Saviour. As she left to go back to her body, she was clinging to his robes begging to stay. She still has shrapnel in a lot of her left side, and a bullet in her stomach still that is not causing her some health issues. But she bore the sweetest testimony of Mark 11: 28-30, Alma 31: 38, and Mosiah 24: 15.  

Check out this dope freaking shirt I got from a recent convert. The dude is in his 70s and wears stuff like this!

  

Hey,
This week was pretty good, but weak in a lot of aspects. Low lessons, just obedience. We have two weeks until transfers and I'm just trying to finish strong and not die (Dying is when a missionary gets lazy). We had Zone Conference and that was good. It's always good to get a boost from your Mission President. We tracked into a family named "Torres" and have a lesson with them tonight. Hopefully they will keep it. We have high hopes for them. We're really excited about it. The area is hard, but good.

Sept. 2, 2014

Hey, this week we finished moving out the Marquette family and we moved Mark and Diane out as well. They're moving to Orange County in Santa Ana, then maybe they'll move to Utah. I don't know exactly what their plans are. All saints end up in Utah at some point or another. Pedro and his family cancelled their appointment with us for Thursday and moved it to this Thursday. Hopefully they'll keep it. It's so not good to miss a week, the Spirit is totally gone and Satan can move in. We have a ton of meetings this week. We have a Zone Conference tomorrow and a Zone Meeting on Friday and a bunch of stuff to do this week. We're going to have to resort to tracting, which is good and bad. Tracting is terribly ineffective, but it's showing the Lord or obedience and diligence, which is good. You have to show the Lord you want it. 

Me and Elder Westenskow. I went to high school with his cousin Travis Richardson. Small world. 

I went on exchanges with one of our Zone Leaders, Elder Cook, and we blew up air mattresses and slept outside. I woke up to this. #CaliLife

I bought a pretty sick shirt yesterday at Ross. I wish I could wear it while doing missionary work. 

Saw Elder Folau today for the first time since like, May. Anyways, his biceps so big that he can rip his shirt sleeves if he wanted to. I love that kid.