A Mother's thoughts about her Missionary

As Elder Cody Greenburg's mission comes to a close, I would like to share some of my thoughts, as his mother.

    We set up this blog (his sister Ashley and myself) to share OUR letters and emails from Cody to us.

     To make it clear, these were MY emails sent to me by my son.  We wanted to share with friends and family what it is like to be a missionary.  Being a missionary is not all unicorns and rainbows.  You are rejected daily, sometimes by your own.  You are held to a higher power, as you are walking side by side with the Savior Jesus Christ.  Having said that, it's not an easy row to hoe.  It is hard, it is discouraging, it is peaceful and joyful and HARD.  Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ is peaceful, but it's not easy, it will never be easy.  Satan works overtime to steal our happiness.  We accept our trials as part of living the Gospel.  It molds us and shapes us into who our father in heaven wants us to be.

     As I said, it's not all unicorns and rainbows.  It is hard and heartbreaking to walk that line everyday.  When you are a missionary, you eat, sleep, breathe the Gospel of Jesus Christ every waking moment for 2 years of your life.  You are yelled at, you have people slamming doors in your face, calling you names and yes, threatening your life.

     Elder Greenburg worked extremely hard to serve his mission, using the atonement to get where he is today.  It was hard and I am proud of him for his willingness to put his entire life on hold to help people come unto Christ.

     The Gospel of Jesus Christ is beautiful, it is peaceful and it brings happiness.  It also brings trials that we would not normally bring upon ourselves.  As Sister Marjorie Hinckley said " I would rather laugh than cry, Crying gives me a headache".  Sometimes, we use humor to get through our day, because if we didn't, we would lose our minds and possibly give up because it's just not worth it.

     As you many of you know, Cody has suffered from depression over the last couple of years, he has had a series of unfortunate events that have led to this.  He is being treated and he is doing good.  He does have days where it's hard to get up and do what is needed of him, but he does try.  Sometimes the only way for him to deal with things is to write it down (his therapist here at home recommended this, it's good for those who have a hard time expressing their feelings in a face to face confrontation.)  It's actually healthy to do that.  Elder Holland spoke about depression and how he himself suffers from it.  It is an illness and it is something that needs to be addressed.  It doesn't make you a bad person or even mean you won't be able to serve a mission, it just means that you will have to have things set in place to make sure you do succeed, not just on your mission but in life.  When we understand that, it is easier for both the missionary and those who work with them on a daily basis. Cody's rants are actually quite funny. Sarcasm runs deep in our family (he learned from the master, me! and it has kept me out of prison.) So he uses sarcasm to deal with situations that he would really like to shred you in.. trust me, this is a good thing.  However, Cody is one of my kids that really has a tender heart, he would never, ever, intentionally hurt anyone.

     There were a couple of letters that Cody sent that were just him ranting about his day, or week.  He found the humor in it and shared it with us.  Again, these were MY letters from MY son to Share WITH me.  I CHOSE to share them with you because I wanted you to see what a sacrifice it is for these young men to put themselves out there.  It's ok to vent, it's okay to use humor to fight your battles and get through that day.  It enables us to vent it, and then put it on the shelf and move past it.  It is actually healthy to do it.  Sometimes, our own members frustrate us, and yes, drive us crazy.  There are countless times I wanted to stop going to church because of the people.  I pulled from every fiber of my being and every ounce of faith that I had, to walk through the doors and keep going.  Because, the Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't about the people, it's about our own salvation.

     I love this Church, I love this Gospel, I have spent my almost 50 years living it.  I would have NO clue where I would be if I didn't have it in my life.

     I am Proud of Elder Greenburg and his service to the Lord.  He is an excellent missionary.  I love his sense of Humor, it's what makes him a good missionary.  He is real, he lives it, he loves it.  That doesn't mean he doesn't get frustrated.  We all do.  I believe the Savior did as well, an example is when he was in the Temple with the Money changers.  We are all in this together.
I remember President Hales ( my stake President) once saying, " I took my picture off the wall in the Stake center, because, I don't feel my job is any more important than the nursery leader.  We are all important".  This isn't a race, it's a marathon, breathe, laugh and love.  We will all make it.

     Thank you all for your love and support of Cody.  We are anxious to see him and watch him move on to the next phase of his life.

Thank you and love to you all,

Cody's mom, aka Mama G. aka DelMarie Greenburg