First Week In Corona

This week was a week where we were just trying to get organized. It's always weird the first week. Elder Vang and I are getting along great. Elder Felix trained him so I knew he'd be cool. I think the thing that I'm going to struggle with in this area is our ward mission leader. He's super weird and doesn't really know what he's doing and doesn't want advice on it. It's just weird. Whatevs. That doesn't really change anything. We've got a great zone and I like my district. I'm around some Elders that I've been around in the past. They're good guys. We have fun, we work, we make it work. It's fun to be here in Corona. 

Transfer p-day isn't even really a p-day. #Shafted

Hey, guys. 
Short email today. I've been transferred to Corona with a kid named Elder Vang. He's from Sacramento, he's Asian, and I guess he break dances, so y'all better be ready for me to throw the flip down on you when I'm home. Also, I hit 17 months yesterday and I still feel like I just left training. I have 7 months left. Duh fetch...this week we cleaned up the area for Elder Waldron's next comp. We thought they were going to double us out, but Elder Waldron is staying for a 5th transfer. That's 7 1/2 months in one area. Poor guy. Been there, done that. Haha. If it doesn't kill you it will only make you wish you were dead. Haha. I've heard that Corona is a rich area, and ergo hard, but oh well. Been there and done that too. No biggie. I'm stoked to move on. Wildomar was great and I've made a ton of friends here, but I'm down to bounce. I'll come back and visit. I'm right outside their stake anyway, so I'm not to hard to visit. 
Hang tight,
Cody

Happy 4th Of July

Hope everyone had a happy 4th of July. We hung out at the church and played soda pong. Noorda and Anderson did the gallon challenge and ended up puking everywhere. It was hilarious and another Elder ended up throwing up because Anderson and Noorda were puking. I have it on video, but it's too long to send. Someday, maybe. It's week 6 of our transfer so we find out this Saturday night if we get transferred and where. I want to go back to Riverside. I love Riverside. It would be a great place to finish. This week was kind of hard. Holidays are either really good or terrible. This one kind of sucked because everyone left town for the weekend, but it was all good. We had two at church.

Nuttin eventful

This week was uneventful. I put a Q-tip in my ear and went a little too far and kind of dented my ear drum, so I'm waiting for that to recover. It's almost transfer time, we have about two weeks left in the transfer. We're pretty sure that we're getting doubled out. It's possible that if I get transferred that this next area would be my last. That's crazy to think. I feel like I just got here in the mission and I'm coming up on 17 months. Elder Lavender goes home in two weeks. That's crazy. 

So, since the Supreme Court has decided that gay marriage is legal and constitutional in all 50 states, there has been little affect here in California. It's been legal here for years. But tensions in the zone have been high and members out here are kind of over reacting in my opinion. Do the apostles look worried? Does this change anything doctrine wise? No. 
While from a secular stand point I am happy for the friends that I have can get married to the person they love regardless of sexual orientation, and I see no reason why this issue took so long to be decided, because there was a pretty obvious inequality towards others in this country concerning marriage. 
Doctrine wise the Lord has set forth the law and standard of marriage being between a man and a woman, and that is an unchanging law. This does not excuse anyone from acting in a manner that would be unChrist-like, and if you find yourself discriminating against anyone who is practicing a lifestyle that you do not approve of, whether it be drug/substance abuse, homosexuality, co-habitation, or anything else, I invite you to repent and encourage you to exercise to Christ like attribute of charity. 
Men are free to act or be acted upon and have the God given agency to choose liberty and life, or captivity and death, and while the world becomes more and more wicked, we must choose to be a city set upon hill, and a light house. We cannot change peoples minds, or act for them and bring them to the shore, but must stand as a beacon of hope. 

Mon'ia got baptized!

Mon'ia got baptized! Finally after months of waiting for her adoption to be finalized! It was crazy. We almost flooded the church because we were told that it takes 2 hours for the font to fill, but it does not. But it worked out because Mon'ia had a really hard time holding her breath and going under, so the Lord knew that the water had to be higher. Then we were cooking chicken at home since we didn't have a dinner. It was overall a really good day. A baby threw up during the baptismal service. Whatevs. That's my life. I was stressing super hard, and then I thought, "As long as Bill says the words correctly, his hands are correct, and she goes under all the way, I don't care whatelse happens. That's all I ask tonight." And all that happened, so I don't care. It's been a fun time here in Wildomar, but I'm ready to bounce to my next (and possibly final) area. 
Stay cool. 

 Mon'ia got baptized! 

 This baby was all over the place on Saturday. It's only fun until a baby pukes, then it's hilarious!

This is what we do and we don't care if you like it.

We had Elder Neilson from the Seventy come and train and address us. He's a really cool guy. We all thought he was there to survey our mission for iPads, but nope. He told us that he has no idea when we're getting iPads, but that the Twelve will meet in August to discuss which missions would be next. I'll be at 18 months by that point, so I'm just whatever about the whole thing. I went a year and a half without it, the Lord is obviously thinking that we're doing fine or that we're not there yet, either way, I'm down. I'm just tired of hearing other missionaries rant on and on about how they heard a rumor from the office or from a friend of a friend about how we're about to get approved. Missionaries are such gossips. That's probably been one of the hardest things for me to get used to or over, other missionaries. They are totally called by the Lord and do amazing things, but they are some straight up dumb individuals sometimes. So, this really is inspired work, because I firmly believe that no other organization that rest so fully on the backs of 18-26 year olds would be as successful as the missionary effort of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our church baptized about 300,000 people a year. It took from 1830-1930 to baptize the first 300,000. That's one hundred years. So this is inspired work. Anywho, we're baptizing Mon'ia this Saturday and then we're going to baptize a lady named Kim later this month. She almost got baptized a couple of months ago but she wouldn't stop drinking, but now she's been sober for 6 weeks. We've just got to get her to church and re-interviewed. 
Peace, 
Sweet blasphemy, myself, and I. 
"I'm not wrong to wish you were stronger. I'm glad that you're gone but I think that I'm the goner."

Dejunking! I hope he does something with it, I don't want it to come home with him!

Pictures!

This one is for Jared. THAT'S a friggin Tonka truck

 "OOOOOOOOO!!!! I am going nuts right now!!! Bringing it back to childhood....who am I kidding, somtimes i'll slip into the nursery on P-day and play with the Tonka Toys on occasion " Elder Jared Greenburg's response to the Tonka Truck!

Waldron and I 

Sometimes I skate empty, graffiti'd abandoned pools. 

(It's Been a long time since I have seen him on a skateboard.  Look

at his mad skills!

Me and Elder McConkie. The MuConkaDonk. He goes home in a week. I'm going to miss that lurpy fool. 

Tell Grandma Shirley that her and I have the same shoes. #ImmaTakeYourGrandpasStyle

"You're a tiny furnace, and I'm the coal you're burning."

This week was kind of a weird one. We got transfer calls on Saturday night. Since Waldron and I have been in the area for the same amount of times, it could have gone either way, with him leaving or me. But we're staying together for another six weeks. Which leaves kind of a sticky situation. They could leave one of us for a 5 transfer, totaling 7 1/2 months in one area (been there with Woodcrest) or doubling us out. What ever works out, I guess. I like Wildomar, it's a great ward and I've made tons of friends. I've been finding myself wanting solidarity more and more. I've found that on a mission you go through phases. You start off loving it because it's interesting, you've never done anything like it and you're constantly in a new environment. And then it starts to get old. You get tired of living out of a suitcase. You start disliking the things that were interesting, like meeting new people, because at that point it's just another thing that you have to remember. You kind of become disillusioned. You think, "this is not what I thought it'd be" and how could it? It's such a vastly vague work that it boils down to "go out and work, here's some tips, but in the end, it's all you, man." Then you come to accept it. And that's the surprising/scary part. It's surprising because you think, "hey, I can do this. It's fine now. Not perfect, but manageable." And the scary side of that is that that same principal can be applied to a dead end job, or a relationship that you hate. You think, "Eh. This isn't ideal, but I can do it, and it kind of pays the bills. I'll hang in there. Maybe it'll get better." But it doesn't get better, just bitter. I guess one of the things that my mission has taught me, is be accepting of your circumstances, but not final of them. 
Doesn't that make sense? Or am I jaded?

"I know we're hard pressed to find some common ground, but I won't let this world wipe me out."

Oh, I guess they made me a District Leader. Whatevs. 

I really am getting tired of emailing. Haha. You get tired of it. This week we did a lot of finding, a lot of working. We have transfers this week, so I find out on Saturday if I am getting transferred. I think Elder Waldron is going to bounce and I'll get a new guy for six weeks, then I'll bounce, and at that point I'll pretty much be at 18 months. That's crazy. It's just flying by. 



"We live for cheers, sweat and blood. It's the scars that make us. We leave them open, we've got the guts to show them."

Cody

Went to a restaurant, wore fake moustaches. Took photos with the British owner. 

 Let's be honest here: she's hot. But has a boyfriend and going to Paris on her mission. #GameOver 

This is my incoming from when I came into the mission. This is the first time we've been together since then. All those sisters go home in 3 months, then only I remain. 

Me and Elder McConkie. The MuConkaDonk. He goes home in a week. I'm going to miss that lurpy fool. 

I baptized Thu Ha, So Ap's shut up!

After investigating since October, and almost being dropped about 600 times, Thu Ha finally got baptized. It was great. She cried. Which is kind of what I hoped for anyway. This was the 3rd time she has been baptized and she made a joke about "3rd times the charm". That's 1 down, 1 to go. Mon'ia is on date to be baptized on May 30th. She has been officially adopted and is going to go down. Other than that, this week has been a lot of prep for the baptism. We have a multi-zone conference this week on Friday where we're going to be trained by the AP's, Zone Leaders, President and Sister Mullen. Probably all of it will be on planning. Eh. Planning leads to success, so I see why they push it so hard, but it's still tiring to hear that every multi-zone or zone meeting you get trained on how to plan. This last P-day we found an abandoned pool that has a ton of graffiti in it and me and Mock going to go down there and take some pictures and videos. The zone activity is bowling today, and I totally don't want to go. But it's a required activity. I was sick on Saturday night and Sunday morning, so we missed church. That was like one of the only times I've ever missed. The other was when Elder Felix had his kidney stone and couldn't go anywhere, and then another time when Elder Hughes got a migraine during Sacrament Meeting and threw up in the bushes outside and Sister Pendleton made us go home. Haha. 

Anyway, hit me back, foolios. 

Cody

My homie Elder Mock took a Polaroid of me in an abandoned swimming pool

 Reasons I stay in my apartment

Group photo 

Thu got dunked this last Sunday