February 4, 2013 - Family Email

MICAELA

Hahaha that is crazy that you are here in SPAIN.  I was in Madrid like 5 months ago!  Well this week was good and very normal besides the fact that I am leaving.  I am really sad and this last Sunday was the worst thing in the world.  Yesterday the Bishop started talking about me at the end of the meeting and was saying all this good stuff about me and that I was a really good missionary and that I worked miracles here in Málaga II.  Then he said we don´t normally do this but we are going to change the last song and sing "God be with you until we meet again" and then said Elder Hafen come up here and stand on the stage with us.  He made the whole congregation stand  up and sing and of course I cried it was awful!!  However, there was one that cried more than me and that was Lidia, I think she cries and freaks out more than mom!.  Last P-day she took me out to Burger King haha and drives us sight seeing to areas, she is crazy!  I love that woman so much!!  This family has turned out to be people very special to me.  I literally think saying goodbye to them will be the hardest thing I will do on my mission.

 

This week we had a some crazy stuff going on do to conferences with Elder Teixeira from the 70 and transfers.  I was having to do splits with missionaries for like three days so that was fun to work with other missionaries.  Elder Teixeira was awesome and I had no idea that he could speak English so well but I guess in order to be a general authority you have to speak English.  Ha he came and the first thing he started talking about is that everyone has to learn English and was just ripping on all of the natives.  He said hey all the Americans learn Spanish they aren´t any smarter than you so learn it.  He literally talked for 15 minutes about learning English.

This guy was a missionary in Madrid when I was in the mtc and he will be studying at byu he´s from England but grew up here in Malaga

The Futbol crew!!  THE BEST of times

Ward Mission Leader and his family

 

This is how we found Maxi through the lady to the left named JOVITA and the other lady is Lidia

Second Counselor, wfie, his daughter and Husband 

 

 We found a new person to teach through a less active family and they all came to church so that was good to see all six of them there.  We still haven´t met with Luis yet because he came home and then got mad and left the house again.  The poor guy has a little bit of anger problems but I am sure he will get baptized soon.  So cool news Elder Seely is coming to take my place and end Elder Peroni´s training!  Yes!!  You will get to meet Elder Seely finally.  He is one of my best friends along with Elder Manning for life.  He is the best and he already calls you Jude.

 

The Bishop and His Wife

This last Saturday we ate with the bishop in his home and he sat me down and told me that I am going to be a leader in the church haha.  He is an amazing and super intelligent man and he told me with my knowledge and spirituality I am going to do wonders for the church.  That was really nice of him, ya´ll will meet him on Thursday.  So this Thursday at night time we are going to eat food with like 10 people from Argentina it´s gonna be great.  They are all like my favorite people here in Málaga but they live in the little Village called Torremolinos.  You will get to see Lidia cry!!  She will probably make you cry. Well I am excited to see you all!!  I am freaking out and I just want Thursday to happen because I am sick of waiting and thinking about saying goodbye to people!!  I love you guys and tell the Kohs hi for me!

 

Broke back Estrada, he hurt his back and has to hang out in the mission home now

 

I love you!

CODES

January 28, 2013 - Family Email

Hey guys how is everything going??

Lidia's Baptism

Well yes Lidia did get baptized and it was a day very special!!  Hey Maxi as you can see; Maxi baptized his mom!!  He was really nervous and we kind of had to convince him a little bit to do it but then he finally did it!  

It was a really spiritual baptism and they both cried in the font right after the baptism.  He had to baptize her twice because the first time she didn´t go all the way under the water.  Lidia was a good camper and she was even sick but she was SO happy.  I have never seen her so happy in my life.  The next Sunday I gave her the Holy Ghost and that was a really spiritual experience as well.  When I finished the blessing she was crying so that was really special as well.  

Maxi and Cody

Hey I have one last small but big favor to ask before you all come out.  Micaela wants purple vans!  You know the vans that I have mom?  Well could you buy light purple vans for her??  She is a size 40 in women's European shoes.  Here in Spain they are 80 euros!!!  They don´t make a lot of money and they have given me a ton of gifts.  They have given me a jersey from Argentina and a this thing called MATE and it´s expensive!  So I feel like that is something that we could do for her.

Hanging out with the Spainhowers

District Leader Training

District Leader Training

So this last week we have still not been able to get a hold of the Philippine guy but we know where he lives now.  Also we have been talking to the Cubans and we talked to her and she is doing well.  She has stopped smoking on her own with the help of God of course.  Well okay I don´t know what more to say!  Hey Luis will get baptized this week as well!  Wooot!  The Lord is blessing us!

The missionary closest to Pres. Deere is Cody's new companion, Elder Oldroyd

I have a new missionary with me for 2 days named Elder Oldroyd. He is from Mesa Arizona.  I will train him until he gets some paperwork completed.  There is some pics in the next email.

PS  Manning can sing hymns really well.  He has arranged hymns to play and sing so no worries he will still sing.

CODES

January 21, 2013 - Family Email

Hey Family how are ya´ll??

Mom Micaela is from Argentina haha but she has been practically raised here in Spain.  Things to look out for here in Spain:

Well just be careful with unattended bags.  Our Stake President just barely got robbed in the church last Sunday.  He had a little side bag and he set it down and it just disappeared.  Also Elder Manning has gotten bags or backpacks stolen from him for just leaving them and someone took off with them.  As far as water goes I have never gotten sick.  There is some areas I have heard where you don´t want to drink the water but where you will be and with me there will be no problems.  As far as food I haven´t gotten sick but some families don´t think that fridges are very important but there will be no problems.  Really Spain is really clean and safe they just don´t know what vacuums are haha.

Well we had a good normal week.  But we got some good news!!  Lidia is going to get baptized this weekend and the dad Luis told me that he wants to get baptized before I take off!  This family is the best!  They keep giving me gifts and feed me.  They made me lunch and here is a little photo of our lunch.  Today we are going to a famous park in Torremolinos.  That´s where they live.  They actually don´t live right in Málaga, they live in a small little town called Torremolinos.  We have to go and spend some time with them on that Thursday.  There is a lot of people that want to meet you guys here in Málaga.  I really would like to spend most of the visiting time with this family.

We haven´t been able to get a hold of the guy from the Philippines because he doesn´t have a phone and we never had time to pass by his house out in Torremolinos.  That was a little sad and he didn´t come to church either!  However we are trying our hardest to go and work with him.  

We had a Training with President Deere, his first counselor and our Bishop this past week so there is a little photo attached.  

President Deere and our Bishop and 1st Counselor

The Assistant to the Presidents

Hey something important!  What is my topic for my homecoming??  I would like to know soon but not too soon.  Ha well sounds like everything is going well back home and I am really tired!!  Sorry my email is so short I don´t know what else to write about!  

CODY

January 14, 2013 - Family Email

Hello Family,

Well this last week was unreal!!  Except Inma and her family dropped off the face of the earth.  I literally just got a text saying that we can´t go to the house anymore.  Well that is sad.

I do have good news!!  Noemy and Micaela got baptized!!!  They were both amazing baptisms and I baptized both of them.  I felt very privileged!  

 

Micaela

Noemy

So this last week we went to go and talk to Maxi and the family and we decided that we wanted Micaela to get baptized because she always reads and loves church.  So we asked her if she wanted to get baptized and she said YES.  She  always wanted to get baptized I think just all the problems with the family it just didn´t happen.  So she wanted me to baptize her and I was like of course!  I love that girl so much.   She is my very good friend.  Maxi didn´t want to baptize her and she wanted me to do it.    Her baptism was great and a lot of members came to see it.  This last Sunday Elder Peroni gave her the Holy Ghost and that was a really good experience for him.  The parents are still fighting and it´s not looking pretty.  The mom mentioned that she wants to get baptized before I take off, so that is awesome!!

Micaela and her Family

Also with Noemy she wanted me to baptize her and she is awesome as well I love her to death.  I am very excited for Málaga because they didn´t have any young women hardly a year ago.  Now there is six that are active and they only had 2 a year ago.  So Noemy was so excited for her baptism and a lot of members were there as well.  She is going to be a great leader in the church and she is Spanish.  Her step mom is from Brazil right next door to were dad served.  So I will put a picture of her too.  

Noemy and her Step Mother

So other than that this week we really weren´t able to do a lot.  We got Inma and the daughter interviewed but now they don´t want anything to do with us.  So that is all. I feel really bad.  The Cubans are doing okay and we weren´t really able to teach them do to the baptisms.  A man from the Philippians came to church and he is a member and served a mission but has been inactive for a very long time.  He told us he wants his kids to get baptized and everything so we will do that for sure. 

Well I ended the Book of Mormon today in Spanish! It took me one year, but I understood everything and really studied it.  I love that book.  I prayed when I finished and the Lord reconfirmed my testimony.  I felt the spirit last night praying about it and this morning. 

Micaela

Yes I worked in Foothill my Junior and Senior year and I started the summer after sophomore year,

 

Well that is all!  I love you all!

 

Love,

CODY

January 7, 2013 - Family Email

Hey Family,

So this last week was fun and successful thanks to the Lord.

So New Years Eve we got to stay out until 12 and then go home.  So we went to the same house that invited us on Christmas Eve.  We got to teach a lesson as well and Micaela, Lidia and Maxi were there.  I have a photo of it all.  

So for my Birthday I didn´t tell anyone but some how Noelia the little Spanish girl remembered that it was my birthday and they had a mini party when we went over to their house to teach them. I have some photos of the family.  Also my companion gave me two ties and made me breakfast.  Other than that nothing really happened because I didn´t want people to know.  I got two letters from Heather the night right before my birthday so that was nice.

Inma and the family

Inma and the family

Well I am sorry but this keyboard is awful and I am trying to write the best I can and the fastest I can.  This week was great.  Maxi´s family situation hasn´t gotten better or worse.  We have started teaching Luis the father and he is doing well.  He has tried to fix things but he has things to change.  The mom Lidia is really hard headed and doesn´t want to humble herself yet and try to fix things.  They are both amazing and I love them to death.  Micaela is doing well and she always reads and is progressing.  I want to try and get her baptized with out the parents because they have some things to fix and the bishop is going to give them a class about eternal marriage and all that.  So pray for them.  The Spanish family is great.  The one bad thing is that the daughter Laura now doesn´t want to get baptized and so she is being rebellious but the mom and Noelia are going to get baptized on Friday.  So I never talked to you all about this girl that has been coming to church since she was nine and so for three years now.  Her step mom is from Brazil and is a member.  She has been taking her to church these last 3 years and wanting to get baptized but her mom wont let her.  So we told her we are going to pray and you need to go tell your mom that you want to get baptized.  She did so and we got a phone call from the step mom and now Noemi the girl will be baptized this Saturday!!  She is Spanish too.  So this next week we will have 3 baptisms that are Spanish.  We met some new Cubans this week that actually want to progress.  The others kind of dropped us.  The new Cubans are named Yirian and Alberto.  Really good young couple and they are really wanting to get baptized too.  So we will see with them.  

Maxi and Micaela and some Argentine people

Hey this last week a member from Sevilla came in and he is my favorite.  He wants to go out to dinner when we are in Sevilla he also knows Elder Manning good.  His name is Dani Blanco and he served in Salt lake about two years ago.  He is a good guy and he married someone here in my ward in Malaga.  So keep that in plans please when ya´ll come out.

I love you all!!

Elder Cody

December 31, 2012 - Family Email

Elder Peroni and Malaga in the background

Hello Family Happy New Years,

Okay so my new companions name is called Elder Peroni.  Juan Manuel Peroni and he is from Corrientes, Argentina but, he lives in Taraza, Spain.  He moved here to Spain about four years ago.  He is a convert of four years as well.  He is a good kid and really excited to be here on the mission so that is good.  It is hard for me to get "trunkie" training, because the kid looks at everything I do.  I wasn´t going to get trunkie anyways because I love the mission way too much.  So I already knew I was going to be weird talking to you all on Skype and now I will be only speaking in Spanish the last 5 weeks of my mission so I am going to be a strange guy when I get home haha.

Christmas Eve

Malaga

Cody's District and some Members

So this last week was a little hard on the work due to the holidays and then on Wednesday Elder Norton had to get all packed and then say good bye to everyone really fast so we didn´t get to teach Wednesday at all.  So then on Thursday I had splits with the Zone Leaders all day because Elder Peroni got here at like 10.  So finally on Friday we got to go and work.  On Thursday actually I got to go and teach the Argentine family and well they aren´t doing so well.  The dad left the house on Christmas day and they almost had to call the cops and everything.  So yeah now we are only teaching the mom and the daughter.  They came to church and they are doing really well.  They obviously didn´t get baptized due to all that had happened this last week.  I feel so bad for them because I love them so much.  We had a really good lesson with them on Thursday and they were crying and all, they love the church.  I think that Micaela went to a young womens activity this last week and really  liked it.  They Spanish family is doing great and they came to church again this week!  They are progressing a lot and they are reading most of the time in the Book of Mormon.  So yes they are still on for the 12th of January and I am positive they will get baptized.  They are doing great.  The Cubans are doing well and we haven´t really had time to talk to them much because of the holidays and we didn´t teach them this last week but they are doing well and about to move so they may move out of our area.  So that is all that has happened this week and we just barely talked.

Sister Nelson (She went to Provo High)

Oh so I was looking at translators for all ya´ll when you come out.  The best ones that I have found that I would have liked in my mission are the CASIO EX-WORD 3100 or the CASIO EX-WORD 4000.  They are the ones for people that are fluent and need all the words.   They are the ones that I wanted my whole mission and that I want for my Spanish class.  My one was great but some times I couldn´t find words that I needed.  I would prefer the 4000 because it is nicer, bigger and only 50 dollars more.

Here is the website:

 http://www.ca-interpreter.com/casio4000.html

Training three times in a row is tiring just so that you know but at the same time it is good for me and the kid likes me a lot.  I love you all and I can´t believe that I am 21 years old!  Crazy stuff.  I hope you all have a happy new year today and tomorrow.  Love you all!

PS manning is on the 24th of February at 1:00

CODES

Malaga Mission Card

The missionaries are lined up in order of those who have served longest to the newest - notice who is first - the oldest missionary and next to come home first!

This Christmas season he Spain Málaga mission would like to thank you for the great work of your sons and daughters. We have compiled a “Christmas Card” with a small picture of each of the currently serving missionaries in this mission and thought you might appreciate a copy as well. Here we can truly say that the Lord has sent us His best, and we thank you for letting us have your loved ones for these 18 months or 2 years. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas this year and may the Lord be with you!