We had a really good week. We found 5 new investigators and all 5 came to church! One woman is named Destiny. She was a referral from SLC and we called her, talked for a minute and invited her to church...and she came! And better yet, she brought her husband, and two kids. Then after church she came up to us and set the return appointment! NOBODY does that. It's never happened to me. We're excited to see them progress. I'm bummed that I'm not going to be here to see them get baptized. It was a good week. I'll see you guys next Tuesday!
Cody
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
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
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
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Hey, this week was fun. We had a multi-zone conference. I had to give my out going testimony. It was odd. I gave my incoming testimony at that same building, at that same pulpit. What a fitting place, I suppose. We ended up dropping Stephanie this week. She wasn't progressing. She wasn't reading or coming to church. She just wasn't making time for it. That's okay. She'll be ready someday, and she'll remember the Spirit she felt. We're preparing the area for when Elder Truman gets a new companion. It still doesn't feel like I'm going home. I feel like it won't feel that way until I'm there. It's just a weird idea. Whatevs. We'll figure it out when I get there.
Cody
Cody
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
I just ate a bunch of Taco Bell, so I'm going to try to make this quick; I feel a storm brewing. #CantStopWontStop
This week we picked up a little kid named Cyrus. He's 8, but since his parent's aren't members he'd be a convert baptism. He's a cool kid. His grandparents are members in the ward and asked us to teach him. He's on date for the 31st. I hope he makes that date so that I can go out in white before I go home. That would be killer. We walked a lot and talk to a bunch of people, but no one would keep the return appointment's, which is okay. That happens, you get used to it. You just keep going. There is someone out there, you just have to get through everyone else to get to them. I only have about 3 weeks left. That's weird to think about. You get so used to thinking that you'll be doing this thing forever, but you won't. At least not in the way that you are now. I had my exit interview with President Mullen on Monday. We talked about schooling, dating, plans, and all that fun jazz. It doesn't really feel like I'm going home soon. I just feel like I'm still moving from one meeting to the next. Maybe it'll sink in soon. I remember when I went to the MTC that being on a mission didn't sink in until I actually got to California. Maybe it will be the same for when I get home and I'm sitting down. We'll find out soon enough.
Cody
This week we picked up a little kid named Cyrus. He's 8, but since his parent's aren't members he'd be a convert baptism. He's a cool kid. His grandparents are members in the ward and asked us to teach him. He's on date for the 31st. I hope he makes that date so that I can go out in white before I go home. That would be killer. We walked a lot and talk to a bunch of people, but no one would keep the return appointment's, which is okay. That happens, you get used to it. You just keep going. There is someone out there, you just have to get through everyone else to get to them. I only have about 3 weeks left. That's weird to think about. You get so used to thinking that you'll be doing this thing forever, but you won't. At least not in the way that you are now. I had my exit interview with President Mullen on Monday. We talked about schooling, dating, plans, and all that fun jazz. It doesn't really feel like I'm going home soon. I just feel like I'm still moving from one meeting to the next. Maybe it'll sink in soon. I remember when I went to the MTC that being on a mission didn't sink in until I actually got to California. Maybe it will be the same for when I get home and I'm sitting down. We'll find out soon enough.
Cody
Friday, January 15, 2016
Plain and Simple!
Sorry I didn't email yesterday. We had Elder Hamula from the Seventy come and talk to us. It was really cool. He really hammered in on repentance and they why on missionary work. The why is because everyone needs to be clean. Because of the resurrection we will all stand before our Father and Christ to be judged on what we did her on Earth. All of us will be brought back into the presence of the Father, but that does not mean we will stay there. But because of the Atonement of Christ and the adherence to the principals and commandment that he has given us, we can stay with our Heavenly Father and Christ. That's the whole purpose. God's work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. The way that happens is through the Gospel of Christ. Adhere to it.
Cody
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| This is the amount of pills I was taking when I was sick. I went an bought one of those day containers. I felt geriatric AF. |
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| This is the fallen bricks. The footing of the wall was like 6 inches deep and the foundation was just concrete. I'm not surprised that it didn't fall earlier. We had to move all those bricks and break up a few. Most of them were full of concrete. I couldn't left my arms after that. |
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| Elder Truman going at it. Breaking necks and concrete |
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| My watch that I got for my birthday |
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Hey,
This week we were in for a bit of it. When you're sick and starting to feel better, the nurses still make you stay in. It sucks. But I'm feeling better. They gave us a car because I couldn't bike. So that's nice. We keep finding people, but they keep not coming to church. That's missionary life. Haha. It's easy for us to find them, hard to get them to progress. Satan has just taught people that it's okay to just not partake of the sacrament. That church isn't important. People are willing to drive 50 miles in weekend traffic into LA to attend their church to hear their pastor say, "Whatsoever you want to do is fine since you've accepted Christ. That is enough. Because of his grace you will be saved." Which is just untrue. But hey, people have their agency.
Cody
This week we were in for a bit of it. When you're sick and starting to feel better, the nurses still make you stay in. It sucks. But I'm feeling better. They gave us a car because I couldn't bike. So that's nice. We keep finding people, but they keep not coming to church. That's missionary life. Haha. It's easy for us to find them, hard to get them to progress. Satan has just taught people that it's okay to just not partake of the sacrament. That church isn't important. People are willing to drive 50 miles in weekend traffic into LA to attend their church to hear their pastor say, "Whatsoever you want to do is fine since you've accepted Christ. That is enough. Because of his grace you will be saved." Which is just untrue. But hey, people have their agency.
Cody
Thursday, December 31, 2015
December 28,2015
Sup, homies.
This week was a throw away pretty much. Everyone we talked to rescheduled for this week, so we're going to get it done. I got sick on Christmas Eve and I'm still trying to kick it. I can't inhale deep without trying to hack my lungs up, so that could be a problem on bike. I'm talking to the mission nurse and things like that to get some type of solution worked out. Whatevs. It's only six weeks. It's funny, before my mission when someone said that I would be in a rough situation for six weeks I would dread it. Now I can do that crap standing on my head. It'll fly by and I'll be walking off that plane before we even realize it.
Cody
This week was a throw away pretty much. Everyone we talked to rescheduled for this week, so we're going to get it done. I got sick on Christmas Eve and I'm still trying to kick it. I can't inhale deep without trying to hack my lungs up, so that could be a problem on bike. I'm talking to the mission nurse and things like that to get some type of solution worked out. Whatevs. It's only six weeks. It's funny, before my mission when someone said that I would be in a rough situation for six weeks I would dread it. Now I can do that crap standing on my head. It'll fly by and I'll be walking off that plane before we even realize it.
Cody
Cody is coming home soon!
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Your trip
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Booking ref:
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7TVMWF
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Issued date:
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21 December 2015
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Traveler
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Cody Higham Greenburg
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Agency
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CHURCH TRAVEL CWT
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50 East North Temple St
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SALT LAKE CITY UT 84150
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Telephone
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Tuesday 09 February 2016
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Delta Air Lines DL 4753
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Departure
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09 February 10:13 AM
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Ontario, (La/Ontario Intl) (+)
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Terminal: 2
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Arrival
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09 February 01:00 PM
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Salt Lake City, (Salt Lake City Intl) (+)
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Terminal: 2
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Duration
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01:47 (Non stop)
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Booking status
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Confirmed
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Class
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Economy (V)
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Baggage allowance
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0PC
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Seat
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16B confirmed for Cody Higham Greenburg
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Equipment
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CANADAIR REGIONAL JET 700
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Operated by
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Skywest Dba Delta Connection,
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General Information
MISSION PRESIDENT JOHN H MULLEN B/951 788-9690 H/951 800-9100 C/951-258-0921 2012618@LDSCHURCH.ORG *** PLEASE CHECK YOUR ITINERARY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RESERVATIONS ARE BOOKED AS REQUESTED *** . *** THANK YOU FOR CALLING CHURCH TRAVEL-801-240-5149*** . **NOTICE** ARRIVE AT THE AIRPORT 1 HOUR PRIOR TO DOMESTIC FLIGHTS AND 2 HOURS PRIOR TO INT*L FLIGHTS WITH REQUIRED STATE OR FEDERAL PHOTO ID AND TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, FLIGHT CHANGES ENROUTE, OR SIGNIFICANT DELAYS, IMMEDIATELY TELEPHONE MISSIONARY TRAVEL (800)537-3537 OR (801)240-5111 EMPLOYEE TRAVEL (800)537-1232 OR (801)240-1000 GENERAL AUTHORITY TRAVEL (800)453-3860 OR (801)240-1000 | |||||||||||||
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Airline Booking Reference(s)
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DL (Delta Air Lines): GECKBF
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Copyright © 2015 Amadeus v1.3.6.14
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December 21,2015
This week was really good. We picked up 4 new investigators. In Moreno Valley it's easy to pick people up, it's hard to get them to church and keep appointments. That's just the way missionary work is. You just go with it and continue to find the person who is going to progress. Our current stat for investigators who get baptized is 16:1. You have to pick up 16 investigators to baptize 1. You need to talk to about 18 people a day to find a new investigator. That's a lot of people. And our mission is one of the lower ones. In Arkansas, the ratio is like 75:1. That would suckkkk. Anyway, we have Christmas this week. It'll be an interesting week. Not a lot of people are going to be home, so we'll have to work harder.
Cody.
Cody.
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