No transfer this time!

We had transfers. Elder Vang and I are staying together for at least one more. After that he'll probably leave and I could possibly train. That would put me at about 22 1/2 months, and then I would leave somewhere for 6 weeks. That would be fun, but it sucks to be put into an area for only 6 weeks and know it. It makes it hard because if someone hasn't come after 3 weeks, there is no way to baptize before you go home, so it's really hard to not die. I'm glad with the way that transfers are working out. I'm happy to be with Elder Vang for at least one more transfer. The work is slowly picking up. We're organizing a blitz in our area and a lot of the members are really excited about it. They were asking how they could help and how it all works. They're going to try to match the number of missionaries that come so that we can split rather than just jumble up companionships. I really like this ward and the people are great. I really like Corona.


Cody

I'm not sinking, I'm just kicking it at sea level.

This week was tiring. No joke, I got home last night and slept from/ went to bed at 9:30. I spent 6 hours in meetings yesterday alone. That was crazy. Then we had crossfit this morning. That hurt. But I got to go to Riverside. I want to finish my mission there so bad. I miss Riverside. I had so much fun there. That's like my home. It's a shipwreck, but it's my shipwreck. The sister's in my district are baptizing like crazy. If they keep it up, they'll be baptizing every week for a month straight. That's really good. We're kicking it hard here and working where we can.

"Change the way you act, not just the way you think. Change the way you live, live the way you claim. Words are just words, until they're put to work, and it will be actions, not words, that change this earth."



Cody

Screw That! I'ts HOT!

Only 6 months to go!

6 months to go. I still feel like I've been out 6 months. Dang. Whatev. We're going to kill it and then peace out. I feel like that's how your mission should end. Just be there one day, then not the next. Set people to be successful in the gospel and then disappear. No glory, nothing to brag about. Do your job, bring people closer to Christ, keep in touch, but disappear when someone blinks just a second too long. Anyway, that's this week. We went to a minor league baseball game on Friday. It was cool. It was in Lake Elsinore, and a ton of missionaries were there. It was good to see everyone again. 
Cody
"Honesty is a very expensive gift. Don't expect it from cheap people." - Warren Buffet

Got antsy and did some stuff today. 

Saw a baseball game on Friday. It was cool. Tons of members from Lake Elsinore and Wildomar. I miss them. I saw a ton of missionaries as well. 

Sometimes I don't shave until like 5:55 on p-days. I just wish you guys could really appreciate this shot

We call him Baby Face Smith. Because he's got a booty, doe.

Looked in the back up camera on our Cruz and saw a pleasant surprise. I cut Elder Smith's hair. 

We are on the count down!

I don't even remember if I emailed last week, that's how blurry I'm getting. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! You're going to be 29 again this year, and I really think you should go see a doctor, because you've obviously stumbled upon the fountain of youth. This week we found a new gator named Fabian and he really wants to get baptized, but he has pretty bad depression and anxiety, so it's going to be a little bit harder to help him out. But we'll do what we can where we can. Elder Vang and I are getting a mini-missionary until Wednesday. It's this thing where kids from around the mission go with the missionaries for a length of time. It's going to be fun, but not for him. Haha. We have meetings and stuff all week, but it will be good for him. Kids need to realize how much of their life they're going to spend in meetings. Meetings, and then more meetings, then you'll have meetings about future meetings. 90% planning with 10% execution. 

California trees are weak. This one fell outside our apartment last time it rained. 

The Dalebout Family

 Sister Bess

 Sister Torres

 That  is hella cute. She's a Spanish sister named Sister Burris. She's from Colorado and we listen to the exact same music. 

Ann and I. She needs to get baptized

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!